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ESPN Analyst Makes New Revelation About Michael Jordan’s Famous ‘Flu Game’

Published 10/02/2021, 1:30 PM EDT

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Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan has been through thick and thin during his career. Along the course of the numerous titles he has won, Jordan faced many adversities. One of the infamous, yet iconic performances of Jordan, was when he battled food poisoning during the 1997 NBA Finals. Although ‘The Last Dance’ documentary revealed the details of the incident, a latest revelation has emerged.

Before Game-5 of the final against the Utah Jazz, the now 58-year-old fell terribly ill but managed to compete in the game. The match was famously tagged the ‘Flu Game’, as the reported reason for his illness back then was the flu. On the contrary, the docu-series on the Bulls revealed that ‘MJ’ had in fact experienced food poisoning after eating some pizza the previous night. But is that the truth?

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ESPN’s Holly Rowe details her version of the Michael Jordan flu story

As per the Netflix documentary, Jordan was starving the night before Game-5. With no other option left, he decided to consume a pizza at the hotel. However, things took a turn for the worse when the 14-time All-star began vomiting and came down with a severe case of food poisoning. Naturally, everyone involved figured the pizza is what got Jordan sick. However, according to journalist Holly Rowe, who was also present there, the real reason for the poisoning was a craft services table.

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In a recent interview, Rowe provided the details of the night. “They were trying to figure out where Michael Jordan got sick from and why he was sick. Michael Jordan grabbed food off the TV craft services table leaving the building, and so did I. I know the documentary. I know Michael Jordan has this theory about this mystery pizza that was delivered. I’m pretty sure he actually got food poisoning from the craft services table in the Delta Center at that time.”

This means that the infamous pizza is not to be blamed for Jordan’s sickness. Irrespective of what went down, it turned out to be a historic night and a historic series in ’97. And post what happened, Michael Jordan continued to script his own legacy in the sport.

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Written by:

Sankalp Harikrishnan

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Sankalp Harikrishnan is a tennis and NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He aspires to pursue Sports Journalism and has represented his institution in cricket, badminton, football, and table tennis. Apart from his professional desires, Sankalp does voluntary service with his friends to feed hungry animals on a regular basis.
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