Today in Sports History 6/11/1997
Photo by Tom Cruze/Associated Press
“Out of everybody in the room, he was the only one that ate. Nobody else ... then 2 o’clock in the morning, I get a call to my room.” Michael Jordan’s trainer recalled. “I come to the room, he’s curled up, he’s curled up in the fetal position. We’re looking at him. We’re finding the team physician at that time. And immediately I said, ‘It’s food poisoning.’ Guaranteed. Not the flu.”
June 10, 1997, in Salt Lake City, the night before game five of the NBA Finals, Bulls star Michael Jordan ate a poisoned pizza and suffered the consequences.
Utah tied the series two games apiece, and the Bulls needed a victory in Salt Lake City to bring the series back to Chicago. The five-time MVP decided to play through fever and dehydration, and exhaustion.
“I didn’t wanna give up,” Jordan reflected, “No matter how sick I was or how tired I was or how low on energy I was. I felt the obligation to my team, to the city of Chicago, to go out and give that extra effort.”
Photo by Dick Raphael/Getty Images
June 11, 1997, Jordan made the opening tip and looked like a shell of himself during the first quarter, then scored 17 points in the second. Jordan struggled after the half and stayed quiet during the third quarter. In an interview with Rachel Nichols on ESPN’s “The Jump,” teammate Scottie Pippen referred to Jordan as the team’s “closer.”
Jordan did just that. Jordan scored seven points in the fourth quarter during a 10-0 Bulls run that quashed Utah’s 77-69 lead. With the game tied at 85, Jordan came up clutch, burying a 3-pointer with 25.0 seconds left, forcing the Jazz to call timeout and giving us a classic image. Pippen was supporting an exhausted Jordan back to the Bulls’ bench. Chicago held on and won Game 5, 90-88.
Jordan played 44 minutes and scored 38 points, shooting 13-of-27 from the field, 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. He also totaled seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. “Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Jordan said afterward. “I almost played myself into passing out just to win a basketball game.”
The Bulls went back to Chicago and won the title when a double-teamed Jordan found a wide-open Steve Kerr at the free-throw line, who sunk a jumper with 5.0 seconds left.
“The Flu Game,” or “Food Poisoning Game,” remains an iconic moment in Jordan’s illustrious career. More than anything, Jordan’s performance showed his physical and mental toughness, which made him the greatest of all time.
