37. Peak at the Right Time (Repost)

It was right before game 5 of the 1997 NBA finals. The Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz were locked at 2 games apiece in the best of 7 championship series, but nobody knew if Michael Jordan was going to play in the go ahead match. He had the flu. Some say it was a virus, others say it was food poisoning. Whatever the case, the legendary superstar was visibly weak in the hours leading up to tip-off. Many assumed he wouldn’t play, but that’s not what happened.

That night, Michael Jordan put up 38 points (if you don’t know basketball, that’s really good), including a final minute 3 pointer that sealed the win for the Bulls. In true GOAT fashion, MJ23 brought another championship to Chicago a few days later and picked up finals MVP along the way. Game 5 of the 1997 finals has since been known as “The Flue Game”, always noted as one of the top finals moments in NBA history. The headlines were prompted by the time before and after the buzzer, but what’s memorable isn’t how good or bad Michael Jordan felt on the sideline. What’s remembered is his peak performance at the right time.

Significant moments are defined by the outcome, not the lead up. A whole sequence of events occurs before a defining moment, so our focus can easily be placed on the lead up rather than the desired outcome. The point of telling you about “The Flu Game” is to say that the desired outcome of our defining moments can happen even when the events leading up to the crescendo seem to be suboptimal. The key is to be able to peak at the right time.