Applesauce helped Michael Jordan survive the famous “Flu Game” of 1997

July 10, 2024

Michael Jordan’s famous “Flu Game” during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals was already legendary before Jordan took off his Chicago Bulls jersey after his team’s victory. Jordan shook off possible food poisoning and scored 38 points in the win, putting his Bulls team within 3-2 of a series they would win in Game 6 in Chicago.

After the contest, Jordan gave the shoes he wore during Game 5 to a Utah Jazz ball boy with whom he had developed a relationship earlier in the season, before Utah’s comeback win over Chicago. Preston Truman, now 35, was a lifelong Jazz fan and aided Jordan’s recovery by providing him with applesauce at halftime of the decisive game.

Speaking to Matthew Piper of the Salt Lake City Tribune recently, Truman revealed a few more details about that night and explained why he will be auctioning off the shoes at Gray Flannel Auctions. Here is his retelling of that famous night:

He was one of the first people in the building to know Jordan was playing that night when Bulls coach Phil Jackson called the team together to take the field and Jordan finally got up and put on his jersey. He saw Jordan fight his way back to the bench during timeouts; he brought Jordan a spoon for three small cups of applesauce at halftime; he heard Jordan tell the doctors “hell no” when they advised him to sit out for a while.

Truman’s parents later teased him because the show showed him – a lifelong jazz fan – patting MJ on the shoulder after MJ wrapped him in a towel.

When Jordan made the winning shot and leaned into Pippen’s arms, barely able to stand, Truman estimates he was 5 feet away.

“I thought to myself, ‘I think I’ll see this again and again.'”

After the game, the shoes were left under Jordan’s vanity while Truman went about his work. The ball boy panicked when Charles Barkley walked by – Bryon Russell had asked for MJ’s shoes earlier in the season and Gary Payton had taken flak for doing the same in the 1996 Finals. But Chuck left without them.

Jordan showered and dressed, and when the equipment manager bent down to pick up the shoes and put them away, MJ told him to hold onto them. “Those are his,” he said, pointing at Truman. He later signed both shoes while one of his bodyguards took photos. Then he rubbed Truman’s head and left.

Not only did the Bulls beat Utah at home for the first time in the series and the season, but the win put the Jazz in a 3-2 hole they could not get out of. In addition, Jordan was mistakenly given “Gatorload” during the game instead of his usual Gatorade – a high-calorie drink designed to replenish the sweat of elite athletes during professional competition. Then-Bulls coach Chip Schaefer compared the mistake to giving Jordan “20 baked potatoes” during competition.

So you can imagine that a little applesauce might have acted as a necessary tonic.

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