Did Jazz fans poison Michael Jordan before famous flu game?

The NBA’s Western Conference is breathing a collective sigh of relief today, as the Utah Jazz were officially eliminated from playoff contention after Wednesday evening’s loss. 

The West’s playoff participants weren’t especially worried about what the middling Jazz would do to them on the court, but rather what their fans might do to them off of the court, in light of a recent report involving Michael Jordan’s famous flu game. 

Michael’s performance that game, scoring 38 points and leading the Bulls to a 3-2 Finals lead despite being barely able to get out of bed, is widely considered one of the gutsiest performances of all time, and represents a legendary moment  in Michael’s long list of memories. 

However, a recent revelation from Jordan’s long-time trainer, Tim Grover, reveals that it may not have been the flu at all that was afflicting Michael on Finals Game 5 in 1997, but rather something less natural. 

‘He was poisoned for the flu game,” Grover stated in his recent book release, Relentless, “100%.”

Grover goes on to explain that the night before the game, Michael became hungry after room service had already stopped, and had to order a pizza, as there were no other available options. 

“We had been in that hotel for a while, so everybody knew what hotel [Michael was in]. Park City didn’t have many hotels back then so everyone kind of knew where we were staying,” Grover explained. 

Despite the apparent availability of MJ’s address, His Airness needed to eat, and so a pizza was ordered. 

“Five guys came to deliver this pizza. I take the pizza and I tell them: "I've got a bad feeling about this. ... I've just got a bad feeling about this." 

Grover was apparently on to something, and at around 2:00 am he got a call saying that Michael was curled up in the fetal position, feeling awful. 

Michael was reportedly the only one who ate the pizza, thus he would be the only one to show such symptoms, making the claim difficult to dispute. 

So was Michael actually the victim of some foul-play on the part of Utah faithful, hoping to secure the title for their town?

Why it took so long for this story to surface is a valid question, and one that may never be directly addressed, just as we may never know exactly what was ailing MJ on the afternoon of the famous flu game. 

The toughness, strength, and drive that he displayed during the game still mark it as one of the most impressive sports performances of all time, and it has even spawned a shoe. 

Regardless of what was causing Michael to look like he could collapse at any second that afternoon, Jordan’s testicular fortitude is the main take away from this story. And that it may be a good idea to avoid shady late night pizza deliveries in Salt Lake City.