The Flu Game

During my mad dash for Supernova in December, I contracted food poisoning.  Considering where I live and what I choose to put in my body, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.  For three months I sampled all of the market food in Thailand that I could find, ultimately feeling invincible until the bacteria finally got me.  I won't go into graphic detail about the next two days but they weren't fun -- intense abdominal cramping and all of the related symptoms that accompany it. 

This morning, I woke up and felt that same stomach pain.  Uh oh.  It's impossible to pinpoint which food source was responsible, but to me that didn't matter much.  All I knew was that for the next 48 hours, I'd be in a fair amount of discomfort. 

Immediately I thought back to the 1997 NBA Finals and Michael Jordan's infamous 'Flu Game.'

Game 5, known as "The Flu Game", was one of Michael Jordan's most memorable. At 2 a.m on Tuesday morning, Jordan called his personal trainer to his hotel room, where he was lying in the fetal position and sweating profusely. He hardly had the strength to sit up in bed and was diagnosed with a stomach virus or food poisoning, likely caused by a pizza ordered the night before. The Bulls' trainers told Jordan that there was no way he could play the next day. The Jazz had just won Games 3 & 4 to tie the series at 2 wins apiece, and a third consecutive win would give them the momentum. The Bulls needed their leader for this critical swing game, and despite his ailments, Jordan got out of bed at 5:50 p.m on Wednesday, just in time for the 7 o'clock tip-off at the Delta Center. 

 

Jordan was visibly weak and pale as he stepped on the court for Game 5. At first, he displayed little energy, and John Stockton, along with reigning MVP Karl Malone, led the Jazz to a 16-point lead (36-20) in the second quarter. But Jordan slowly began to make shots despite lacking his usual explosive speed. He scored 17 points in the quarter as the Bulls ended the half with a large run. While Jordan was fatigued in the third and sitting on the bench, Utah was able to reclaim the lead and stretched it to 8 points (77-69). Jordan shot well again in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points. With 46.5 seconds left and Chicago down 85-84, he was fouled and went to the free throw line. He made the first to tie the game, but missed the second. Toni Kukoc tapped the offensive rebound to Jordan, who dribbled back to allow the offense to set up. He passed the ball to Pippen, who was quickly double-teamed. Pippen then passed the ball back to a now-unguarded Jordan, who made a 3-point shot to give the Bulls an 88-85 lead with 25 seconds remaining in the game. A Greg Ostertag dunk brought the Jazz back within one point, but Luc Longley answered with a dunk of his own, and Chicago held on for a narrow victory when John Stockton missed the first of two free throws in front of the stunned crowd. With only a few seconds remaining and the game's result safely in Chicago's favor, Jordan collapsed into Scottie Pippen's arms, creating an iconic image that has come to symbolize The Flu Game.  - Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Obviously poker and basketball are two entirely different competitions and even if they were comparable, I'm certainly not the Michael Jordan of poker.  But I said to myself, if Jordan, while suffering from food poisoning, can will his team to victory in grueling athletic contest against some of the greatest players of all-time on the biggest stage in the world, surely I can click some buttons in my chair.  

I think the key word in that last sentence is "some."  The volume I put in today isn't on par with my recent output and I can certainly blame that how terrible I felt during the entire day.  I'm sure I missed spots here and there, as it's tough to give 100% focus when you're doubled over in agony.  But I did click "some" buttons, enough to make $300 and put me within a good day's striking distance of my goal ($5k preRB in Hypers).