When it comes to the best athletes of all time, not many names will come up to mind. But it would be safe to say that Tom Brady and Michael Jordan will forever have their spots in that list. Both have cemented a legacyin the NFL andNBA, respectively, as the leaders of two of the most important dynasties in sports.
Bradyhas won it all with the New England Patriots before he led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to another Super Bowl triumph, while MJ has been the face of the bestChicago Bulls of all time. Each of them is considered the GOAT in their respective sports. And there’s yet another thing these two legends have in common.
Any sports fan will probably remember Michael Jordan’s famous appearancein Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals as the ‘flu game’, despite MJ revealed many years later in ‘The Last Dance’ESPN‘s series that it was food poisoning and not a flu what he played through on that occasion. Well, TB12 says he had his own ‘flu game’, which was also his favorite game aside from his Super Bowl victories.
Tom Brady reveals he played through flu in favorite non-Super Bowlgame in New England
It’s not a coincidence that both Michael Jordan and Tom Brady went on to become arguably the best of all time in their sports. Besides having an incredible talent, both of them had an incredible work ethic, leadership skills, and an unmatchedwinning mentality. And they were willing to go the extra mile to succeed.
Just like MJ had a fantastic night despite how bad he felt on that famous occasion, Tom Brady revealed he hasalso played through flu in what he considers his most satisfying non-Super Bowl win with the Patriots.
That game came in the 2004 AFC Championship when his side took on Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.“Guys were like quarantined in theirroom because we had a lot of guys that were sick,” Brady saidin his ‘Man in the Arena’documentary. “I actually had the flu pretty bad the night before the game. I was in slow motion, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to play.”
The atmosphere made the outlook even worse, as the Steelers hadpreviously beaten them that season and were now welcoming them to an extremely cold weather in Pittsburgh. However, the Patriots overcame all the obstacles to get the upper hand in what Brady recalls as the best game his teamhas ever played.
“If I would say there was a perfect game of football played at the highest level, I’d say that would be the game,” he added. “If we could replicate that, we would never lose a game.“ But that wasn’t all, as he said that remains his favorite win that wasn’t in a Super Bowl. “It was the most satisfying win, non-Super Bowl, that I had in 19 years of playing football.”
And it’s not like he didn’t liveother memorable moments in his career. Even without taking into account every Super Bowl triumph, Brady had countless games he could be proud of. Yet, that occasion in which he battled through flu in a tough atmosphere will live long in his memory.
