As a sports fan, I love to think of one of my favorite moments in sports history. June 11, 1997 – Game 5 of the NBA Finals where the Chicago Bulls were facing the Utah Jazz. That morning, Michael Jordan wakes up barely able to stand, sick with nausea and exhaustion. Despite his pain, Jordan knows how much his team needs him, so he decides to play. He steps onto the court with the flu and proceeds to drop 38 points, hitting a clutch 3-pointer in the last 30 seconds to seal the win. The Bulls take a 3–2 series lead and go on to win the championship. This game went on to be known as “The Flu Game.”

Ray Allen described it by saying, “That’s the greatest performance ever because he had no business even being out there.” I now realize Jordan wasn’t playing for himself. He was playing for Chicago. He understood the name “Jordan” on the back of his jersey was smaller than the Bulls logo on the front.

In one of my favorite songs, Macklemore’s “Can’t Hold Us”, he says, “My city’s right behind me, if I fall, they got me.” That’s exactly what Jordan embodied, and it’s what we all should embody, too. Our case looks a little different, though. On our FFA jackets, our names are on the front, but what’s on the back is so much bigger. When we wear that jacket, we represent our chapter, our state and ultimately the entirety of FFA.

Jordan’s flu game is remembered not just for the stats, but for what it meant. The same is true for us. Whether it’s FFA, school, sports or life, we should always remember that the name on the back is bigger than the name on the front.