June 17, 1994

[Bubbler]

IIRC, it was a Friday night and my GF at the time was over. We were watching Gm 5 and had ordered Dominos. It was compelling because there was the hint that OJ would do something drastic.

At the time he was more than a minor celebrity, he had been a major star since the 60’s.

I disagree on his celebrity, but we’re likely arguing semantics.

Major star, to me, suggests A-list movie star, star of a long-time TV series, or main studio host or No. 1 announcing TV crew for a sport. OJ was none of those things in 1994. He had filmed a pilot and was part of NBC’s studio show, but not its main attraction. He was known, but not at the top of his fame.

The murder case refired Simpson’s celebrity. In hindsight, we conflate the two things.

Semi-related, was OJ ever tested after he died for CTE? Would make a lot of sense.

 

[Woody Long's Twin Brother]

Sitting in the office in Rocky Mount that evening, taking Little League calls and working on pages with the little black and white TV on. Surreal because the news editor was panicking about having to pull the front page back because it was "sports" only in the sense that O.J. had played sports before he killed two people.

Ah yes, a news editor who thinks that sports is not truly news, or when sports people do things it's sports news that belongs in the sports section. Worked with a few of those...

 

[maumann2]

I disagree on his celebrity, but we’re likely arguing semantics.

Major star, to me, suggests A-list movie star, star of a long-time TV series, or main studio host or No. 1 announcing TV crew for a sport. OJ was none of those things in 1994. He had filmed a pilot and was part of NBC’s studio show, but not its main attraction. He was known, but not at the top of his fame.

The murder case refired Simpson’s celebrity. In hindsight, we conflate the two things.

Semi-related, was OJ ever tested after he died for CTE? Would make a lot of sense.

He was a Hall of Fame football player who was known for running through airports in Hertz commercials and roles in Police Squad! That's why it was hard to figure out where to play the story, to be honest.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Me, my girlfriend at the time and four or five friends were having dinner at a burger joint downtown. They had one TV in the corner on basketball that nobody was paying attention to - until the OJ chase.

The restaurant seated 100 or so. It was so quiet. We paid our tab and literally ran a block to our usual pub - where the owner had turned off the jukebox and turned up the sound on the news coverage. We sat there, in silence, drinking beers until it was over. We got tickled at how some folks walked in expecting a good time, saw what was happening and either silently took a seat or turned and left.

 

[MisterCreosote]

I disagree on his celebrity, but we’re likely arguing semantics.

Major star, to me, suggests A-list movie star, star of a long-time TV series, or main studio host or No. 1 announcing TV crew for a sport. OJ was none of those things in 1994. He had filmed a pilot and was part of NBC’s studio show, but not its main attraction. He was known, but not at the top of his fame.

The murder case refired Simpson’s celebrity. In hindsight, we conflate the two things.

Semi-related, was OJ ever tested after he died for CTE? Would make a lot of sense.

Yeah, I don’t remember him being a major star at that point. To my dad, maybe, but not to my newly-18-year-old self.

I think a reasonable comp for today would be someone like Michael Strahan. Big name, yes, but not some ubiquitous star.

 

[HanSenSE]

Was going to Reno with the local American Legion team (the first 15 minutes of the trip were fine, but after that ...), hearing updates from, of all people, Pete Franklin on KNBR.

 

[BTExpress]

O.J.'s claim to fame was becoming the first Black athlete embraced by corporate America and its consumers. Regardless of how bright his star was in 1994, that makes him stand out against almost all others who came after.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

FWIW, OJ was in a box office topping movie in 1994. His star may not have been at its brightest, but OJ was a major celebrity at that point.

 

[Dyno]

I’m sure I was quite tenses.

 

[Songbird]

Iowa City recording 12 hours of news clips from every possible station. Wish I had access to that VHS tape.

 

[BYH 2: Electric Boogaloo]

FWIW, OJ was in a box office topping movie in 1994. His star may not have been at its brightest, but OJ was a major celebrity at that point.

I reviewed Naked Gun 3 for my school paper just weeks before. A little weird, looking back on it.

 

[Flip Wilson]

IIRC, it was a Friday night and my GF at the time was over. We were watching Gm 5 and had ordered Dominos. It was compelling because there was the hint that OJ would do something drastic.

At the time he was more than a minor celebrity, he had been a major star since the 60’s.

Domino's had a record day in pizza sales that day. That number has been eclipsed since, but that's because Domino's has many more locations. About 95 million Americans were watching the OJ chase, and they had to eat. Domino's it was.

 

[MTM]

I was working on the copy desk at a daily in Orange County. I was doing inside pages so wasn't worried about tearing up A-1.

The game/chase was on the newsroom TVs. Like others on here, we were expecting OJ to kill himself.

 

[Dirk Legume]

Sitting at home with the neighbors, who had come over for a barbecue. The kids were outside playing and wanted to come in, but, since it really was looking like he might do himself in at any time on TV, we made them stay outside. I don't think it occurred to any of us that we could turn the TV off.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

He was a Hall of Fame football player who was known for running through airports in Hertz commercials and roles in Police Squad! That's why it was hard to figure out where to play the story, to be honest.

He was the Michael Jordan of the 70s. Movies, Monday Night Football and the Hertz commercials.
I had finished my Friday shift and went to the Anchor Bar for dinner and to watch the NBA Finals. The whole bar started watching the chase

 

[Jake from State Farm]

O.J.'s claim to fame was becoming the first Black athlete embraced by corporate America and its consumers. Regardless of how bright his star was in 1994, that makes him stand out against almost all others who came after.

Which is why I couldn’t understand why the black community embraced him since he didn’t really embrace it. I later learned it was more of a rebuke of the racist LA cops

 

[HanSenSE]

Which is why I couldn’t understand why the black community embraced him since he didn’t really embrace it. I later learned it was more of a rebuke of the racist LA cops

He really embraced it after the arrest, IIRC from the WWL miniseries.

 

[MileHigh]

Been a while since I saw the 30 for 30 and just watched it. Damn, that brought back a lot of memories. What a day.

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

Watched it in my bedroom. Have a distinct memory of going back and forth between basketball and that. The next night was my senior prom, so I'm sure I had that on my mind.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Domino's had a record day in pizza sales that day. That number has been eclipsed since, but that's because Domino's has many more locations. About 95 million Americans were watching the OJ chase, and they had to eat. Domino's it was.

As mentioned, it was Game 5 of the NBA Finals and the first day of the World Cup, so it was already a huge pizza day even before OJ.