Heidenreich Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I was pissed at OJ Simpson because I wanted to watch the Knicks game. Great documentary, I remember that crazy day well, but at 16 you don't really have all the proper perspective...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 At the bar at Artie's in Fairfax waiting for a table, dumbstruck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hail_Skins Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I was at a golf course club house waiting for our tee time in Charlottesville, VA. On leave from Portsmouth Naval Hospital. Oh those were the days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEREALTOR1 Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I was shooting pool at a local pool hall, Capital Billiards. They had a small tv in the back corner by the last table, and everyone stopped shooting pool and stood around in the back corner watching a white bronco cruise around LA in 2nd gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corcaigh Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Didn't pay much attention to it as I was living in the UK. OJ was that bit-part actor from Naked Gun, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 We traveled up to Philly for a friend's wedding. During the wedding the next day the minister made some stupid comment about it that left us all scratching our heads as to why he would bring that up during a wedding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeesburgSkinFan Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I was at a bar in Morgantown watching this unfold and telling people that OJ couldn't have done it as they had found a Super Bowl ring at the scene of the crime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MassSkinsFan Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I was in Amsterdam and watched the chase with my bandmates (with commentary in Dutch). Strange. Great running back, twisted guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I remember that day all too well. All I can say is crazy, crazy day. The question that the documentary asks...and that few people seem to understand is the question, Why? How did this sad story about a pretty famous former football player immediately transform into this massive story that is still resonating with us today - Greta Van Susteran, CourtTV, and Kim Kardashian all exist because of this. Was this the moment that reality became our favorite form of entertainment? Was this the moment that the news media said, "**** it! Bread and Circuses for everyone!" Tom Brokaw was covering this with the seriousness he used for the Gulf War, juxtaposed with a "psychologist" analyzing the suicide letter. This doc did a great job showing this as a pivot point for our culture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ECU-ALUM Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I was watching the chase with a bunch of friends and some of the highlights of the things that were said: --You know someone at Nintendo is on the phone right now saying, "I have our next video game idea!" --Holes you can drive a truck through. --The producers for "Law & Order" are probably saying, "WOW! We have a whole season's worth of stuff right here!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 The question that the documentary asks...and that few people seem to understand is the question' date=' Why?How did this sad story about a pretty famous former football player immediately transform into this massive story that is still resonating with us today - Greta Van Susteran, CourtTV, and Kim Kardashian all exist because of this. [/quote'] When has a bigger, more beloved, "safe" celebrity been accused of such a horrific crime? That's the primary reason. OJ was all that, plus a Cosbyesque, non-threatening black guy. So race got thrown into the mix too -not to mention that the victims were beautiful white people killed in a tony section of L.A. Toss in a mediagenic slow speed chase in prime time, and the Nation had a made-for-television hit on its hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 When has a bigger, more beloved, "safe" celebrity been accused of such a horrific crime? That's the primary reason. OJ was all that, plus a Cosbyesque, non-threatening black guy. So race got thrown into the mix too -not to mention that the victims were beautiful white people killed in a tony section of L.A. Toss in a mediagenic slow speed chase in prime time, and the Nation had a made-for-television hit on its hands. I think the who was important but the medium was far more important. The Gulf War was the first cable news war, but even that feels like the Dark Ages. You had CNN...and that was it. When OJ started, you were just entering an era of not only a 24-hour news cycle but a multi-headed 24 hour news cycle. You had all these stations with endless time to fill, and here comes this story with a seemingly endless parade of supporting cast members. I remember Charles Grodin's show - which was basically an hour long stream of consciousness monologue on OJ. It would be interesting to see how the Clinton impeachment would have been covered if it had occurred pre OJ. All the techniques seemed to have been created here. And this documentary showed some of them springing to life - fully formed - almost instantaneously during the slow speed chase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbqbfan Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 I know I haven't been on here in agesm but wow, forgot about June 17, 1994. I came back from hanging out at the mall w/friends. I'm pretty sure it was a Friday night because I always hung out at the mall on Fridays back then. Turned on the tv when I got home & saw the white Bronco on the tv. I was glued to the tv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergasun Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 You know, I don't ever remember hearing so much about June 17 until this ESPN movie came out. Sure, I remember it was the day OJ went on his chase; but I don't remember all the other sporting events, save the NBA finals game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praise_gibbs Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 I was also at a bar... Ok, I was 9 and remember watching the chase from my living room thinking it was a live version of Cops. Yeah, I was that dumb lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 The question that the documentary asks...and that few people seem to understand is the question' date=' Why?How did this sad story about a pretty famous former football player immediately transform into this massive story that is still resonating with us today - Greta Van Susteran, CourtTV, and Kim Kardashian all exist because of this. Was this the moment that reality became our favorite form of entertainment? Was this the moment that the news media said, "**** it! Bread and Circuses for everyone!" Tom Brokaw was covering this with the seriousness he used for the Gulf War, juxtaposed with a "psychologist" analyzing the suicide letter. This doc did a great job showing this as a pivot point for our culture.[/quote'] You make some great points. This really might have been the jumping off point for our country's obsession with celebrities and reality TV. I know that people cared about celebrities before, but shortly after this it seemed like we had to know EVERYTHING about them. Not just who they were dating, but if they were pregnant, where they vacation, etc. I realize it was a big news story, but the fact that they were interrupting coverage of the NBA Finals for updates to a double-murder is fascinating. Edit: Also, completely off-topic, I had completely forgotten that Griffey had 30 HRs mid-way through June!!!! Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lombardi's_kid_brother Posted June 18, 2010 Share Posted June 18, 2010 You make some great points. This really might have been the jumping off point for our country's obsession with celebrities and reality TV. I know that people cared about celebrities before, but shortly after this it seemed like we had to know EVERYTHING about them. Not just who they were dating, but if they were pregnant, where they vacation, etc. I realize it was a big news story, but the fact that they were interrupting coverage of the NBA Finals for updates to a double-murder is fascinating. Edit: Also, completely off-topic, I had completely forgotten that Griffey had 30 HRs mid-way through June!!!! Wow. The OJ case was interesting in that we thought we knew everything about OJ. He had been one of the most famous people in America for nearly 30 years at that point and had never NOT been on tv. And we found out that we knew nothing. Everyone forgets exactly how kiss-ass celebrity journalism was until maybe the mid 80s. Entertainment Tonight basically did nothing but hagiographies of stars. The only dirty was in the tabloids. That had changed a little bit by this point with A Current Affair and a few other syndicated shows. But after OJ, the idea was that celebrities were there to be poked with a stick. And a lot of celebrities discovered that there was a lot of money to be made in being poked. (Insert sex tape joke here). There were always people who were famous just for being famous (George Hamilton, Charo, etc). But they were c-list celebrities. At this point, the biggest stars in our culture (Paris, The Kardashians, Lindsay at this point) are famous for being famous. I think this all started with OJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEREALTOR1 Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Just a heads up, this is re-airing right now on ESPN2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsBry Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I went to the PX to pick something up before settling in to watch World Cup. The white Bronco was on every TV, I watched it for a while but remember thinking, "They better not cut into World Cup for this ****." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 I just watched it today. Best documentary of the 30 for 30 series. I was only 8 at the time so it didn't seem like a big deal to me then. But after watching it, its hard to believe something like that was the biggest story of the day with all those other things going on just in the world of sports. Its also crazy that so many people were supporting him even as he was on the chase. Pretty crazy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ixcuincle Posted June 19, 2010 Author Share Posted June 19, 2010 I have no clue what I was doing that day, was in elementary school at the time I do remember when OJ was acquitted though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WALEOVECHKIN Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 Amazing doc. I was in stitches when the KC announcer said "Hey Dan did you hear? OJ is already two under at the US Open today." That takes some stones lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaceman Spiff Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 What do you guys think was more surreal? That day or 9-11? I realize that they don't even compare on a tragic level, but it seems like the two biggest spectacles of sheer surreal-ness were that day with OJ and waking up to see planes flying into the WTC. I don't think anything in the past 20 years or so had people glued to their tv's or anything as these two events. Everything just stopped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sticksboi05 Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 What do you guys think was more surreal? That day or 9-11?I don't think anything in the past 20 years or so had people glued to their tv's or anything as these two events. Everything just stopped. Maybe Columbine? I think it's 9/11 without question. The lasting image of OJ being chased or seeing the World Trade Centers completely crumble and a giant section of the Pentagon in ruins wondering if anyone you knew was in there. Yeah people were shocked at OJ but the sheer chaos on 9/11/01 might never be matched again (let's hope not). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gracelander Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 I will always remember June 17th 1994, that was the day that Garfield pushed Jon's face in a birthday cake in the comic strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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