*** EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of the controversial & subjective nature of the subject featured, comments have been turned off in this post. If you have thoughts, just tweet me to Twitter @DC408Dxtr, but do please be kind to us. :-) ***
BY DC CUEVA
For the past month, ESPN has dedicated what would've been its Sunday night timeslot for Major League Baseball for the 10-part documentary miniseries The Last Dance, chronicling Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls of the 1990's and what led up to its last chapter of the 1998 NBA Finals. The Last Dance has been a critical, ratings and pop culture success as we have gotten a deep dive into one of sports' greatest dynasties - a time for those to dust off those memories of Jordan, Scottie Pippen, coach Phil Jackson and those involved in that magical time.
It has been part of ESPN's successful foray into sports documentaries with its 30 for 30 franchise of films, continuing in a legacy of storytelling rooted in ABC's Wide World of Sports and when it pioneered coverage of the Olympics with its "up close and personal" focus on the athletes. And another defining moment of the '90s that took place in between the Bulls' two three-year reigns as champs saw ESPN and their new siblings FX take viewers into a saga that gripped the world's attention just a few years ago.
And believe it or not, there is a strange link of sorts between this and the beat we cover on a weekly basis in the world of MTV Reality and The Challenge, for which one member of the group pictured to your right in the cast of what some consider its most memorable season ever, Rivals of 2011, had a chance to spend a moment with the person who is considered the most famous serial killer of our generation who now calls the same place home in what will be the new home in the NFL come this fall. That offers some context to the story were looking back at the ordeal surrounding the man who those who saw him play in both college & pro football still call by the nickname, "The Juice."
Five days later, Friday June 17th saw a most memorable day in sports history: the start of the 1994 FIFA World Cup (the event that began the rise of the sport of soccer in the United States), Arnold Palmer's last U.S. Open golf tournament, and a ticker tape parade for the New York Rangers after breaking their 54-year drought of winning the NHL's Stanley Cup. And amidst all this, that afternoon the Los Angeles Police Department announced that former NFL running back & Heisman Trophy winner O.J. Simpson had been arrested on suspicions that he may have been the person who killed both Goldman and Brown, for whom the former was his ex-wife and the ladder was a close friend of hers at their condo.
A few hours later, the network he was employed with as an NFL studio analyst, NBC, interrupted their coverage of Game 5 of the NBA Finals to join the other networks and air live coverage of a police pursuit involving O.J. riding in the back of a white Ford Bronco with friend Al Cowlings at the wheel, just after defense attorney Robert Kardashian read a suicide note given by Simpson at a press conference just hours before. Nearly 100 million viewers stopped what they were doing to watch that ride in the L.A. freeways in the midst of the Friday getaway commute in the always tricky rush hour commute - more than the Cowboys' repeat Super Bowl triumph over the Bills months before. Thousands of onlookers on I-5 where the journey took place paused to become spectators to this car chase, which began the ongoing fascination with those that continues on L.A. local news coverage.
The ordeal continued into the evening when the Bronco went into Simpson's estate in Rockingham near Brentwood where some of the same members of the assembled media who waited for him to arrive at a police station (numbering at more than 1,000) made their way to join several police cars and over 30 policemen outside O.J.'s house who were given an all-points bulletin to arrest him. And after spending time in a car that had a loaded gun, $8,000, clothing and a disguise kit among other items as well as getting a drink of, appropriately enough, orange juice inside, the suspect surrendered to authorities, booked into jail and began thinking about what happened, as a national ordeal with his celebrity status and a murder case involving him eventually becoming "The Trial of the Century."
A series of preliminary hearings began the following week were Simpson entered a not guilty plea, but after a long process authorities decided that his case should go to trial -- one that began in January 1995 and last 134 days as a cable channel that began to come into its own with covering the high-profile Menendez brothers' murder trial months before, Court TV, became the network of record as its cameras offered a daily window on the proceedings for the world, the media and its viewers. This soap opera saw Judge Lance Ito presiding and featured a defense team led by Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran and F. Lee Bailey supporting Simpson, and the prosecution led by District Attorneys Marcia Clark & Christopher Darden and Detective Mark Fuhrman.
Practically everything related in some way to the case known officially in public records as the "People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson" was covered during the 9-month trial. From the cases of domestic violence that led to the murder and DNA evidence, to hair, fiber and shoe evidence and the now infamous bloody glove, the trial gripped viewers and housewives who turned from soap operas and talk shows to watch this real-life daytime drama unfold. Not to mention, there was also Cochran's famous quote, "If it didn't quit, he must've quit," and a slew of witnesses taking the witness stand including Kato Kaelyn to contribute to this real life version of The People's Court, as the media circus surrounded this unprecedented case the same way they're surrounding a similar situation with our President.
As the jury was deliberating their decision as the calendar turned to October 1995, Los Angeles was still stinging from the riots that accompanied the acquittal three years earlier of the four policemen involved in the Rodney King beating. And fears grew that race riots would once again erupt both in the Southland and elsewhere in the country if the "guilty" verdict was handed down - so much the case that the LAPD placed everyone in their almost 10,000-strong force on extended duty on foot and on horseback outside the courthouse. And with over 100 million TV viewers watching in homes, schools (including this blogger), offices and everyone else watching that Tuesday, this was the result.
When the Not Guilty verdict was handed down by the jury - which included a former member of the Black Panther Party giving the same "Black Power" salute that Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave at the 1968 Olympics after the decision was read, the reaction was immediate in everyone rejoicing that OJ was acquitted just as he & his defense team were breathing sighs of relief. And was the impact which was so immense that it is still felt a quarter-century later of how Simpson could get away with murder - even with a small-profile civil case that found him liable for the killings, as well the various TV programs that has featured The Trial of the Century including FX's American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson and ESPN's O.J.: Made in America, both coming in 2016.
The man who was found not guilty did not totally disappear from public view: in mid-September 2007 while in town to be best man at a friend's wedding day, Simpson led a group of men to break into a room at the Palace Station hotel off the Las Vegas Strip to steal sports memorabilia at gunpoint, and he was arrested and held without bail three days after the incident after he admitted to taking the items but denied entering the room or that he and his entourage carried weapons. On the thirteen-year anniversary of his acquittal, on October 3, 2008 O.J. was found guilty on all twelve charges - including kidnapping along with armed robbery & assault with a deadly weapon - and sentenced to 33 years in jail, but given the option of be eligible for parole after nine years... and in summer & fall of 2017, he became a free man once again.
All of what's happened in the past quarter-century had unfortunately overshadowed a brilliant career on the gridiron, one that saw him win the Heisman Trophy in 1968 and record 3,423 yards for the Trojans, followed by an 11-year NFL career. And he forged a successful media career in several acting roles including The Naked Gun trilogy with Leslie Nielsen and the landmark miniseries Roots, a commercial spokesman gig for Hertz, and as a commentator on ABC's Monday Night Football, NBC's NFL coverage, three Super Bowls and the sprinting events of track & field at three Summer Olympics including four of Carl Lewis' gold medals.
Last Sunday, rare broadcast footage emerged on YouTube of the game where O.J. Simpson became the first rusher in NFL history to surpass the 2,000 yard mark in a single season. It occurred in the 1973 season when, in the season's last game against the New York Jets, a 7-yard run in garbage time of a 34-14 rout at Shea Stadium saw him reach 2,003 yards, and rushed for 200 yards even in breaking the single season rushing mark of 1,863 held for several years by the legendary Jim Brown.
Practically everything related in some way to the case known officially in public records as the "People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson" was covered during the 9-month trial. From the cases of domestic violence that led to the murder and DNA evidence, to hair, fiber and shoe evidence and the now infamous bloody glove, the trial gripped viewers and housewives who turned from soap operas and talk shows to watch this real-life daytime drama unfold. Not to mention, there was also Cochran's famous quote, "If it didn't quit, he must've quit," and a slew of witnesses taking the witness stand including Kato Kaelyn to contribute to this real life version of The People's Court, as the media circus surrounded this unprecedented case the same way they're surrounding a similar situation with our President.
As the jury was deliberating their decision as the calendar turned to October 1995, Los Angeles was still stinging from the riots that accompanied the acquittal three years earlier of the four policemen involved in the Rodney King beating. And fears grew that race riots would once again erupt both in the Southland and elsewhere in the country if the "guilty" verdict was handed down - so much the case that the LAPD placed everyone in their almost 10,000-strong force on extended duty on foot and on horseback outside the courthouse. And with over 100 million TV viewers watching in homes, schools (including this blogger), offices and everyone else watching that Tuesday, this was the result.
When the Not Guilty verdict was handed down by the jury - which included a former member of the Black Panther Party giving the same "Black Power" salute that Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave at the 1968 Olympics after the decision was read, the reaction was immediate in everyone rejoicing that OJ was acquitted just as he & his defense team were breathing sighs of relief. And was the impact which was so immense that it is still felt a quarter-century later of how Simpson could get away with murder - even with a small-profile civil case that found him liable for the killings, as well the various TV programs that has featured The Trial of the Century including FX's American Crime Story: The People v. OJ Simpson and ESPN's O.J.: Made in America, both coming in 2016.
All of what's happened in the past quarter-century had unfortunately overshadowed a brilliant career on the gridiron, one that saw him win the Heisman Trophy in 1968 and record 3,423 yards for the Trojans, followed by an 11-year NFL career. And he forged a successful media career in several acting roles including The Naked Gun trilogy with Leslie Nielsen and the landmark miniseries Roots, a commercial spokesman gig for Hertz, and as a commentator on ABC's Monday Night Football, NBC's NFL coverage, three Super Bowls and the sprinting events of track & field at three Summer Olympics including four of Carl Lewis' gold medals.
Last Sunday, rare broadcast footage emerged on YouTube of the game where O.J. Simpson became the first rusher in NFL history to surpass the 2,000 yard mark in a single season. It occurred in the 1973 season when, in the season's last game against the New York Jets, a 7-yard run in garbage time of a 34-14 rout at Shea Stadium saw him reach 2,003 yards, and rushed for 200 yards even in breaking the single season rushing mark of 1,863 held for several years by the legendary Jim Brown.
Commentators: Jim Simpson, Kyle Rote & Tim Ryan (NBC Sports)
And then, there's the one reason why in the world are we getting to feature this man... Ten years ago, MTV's The Challenge got to welcome a much-needed dose of new players into their draft pool when Fresh Meat II took place in Vancouver, Canada. And in the same part of our neighbors to the north that a few months earlier welcomed the world's best winter athletes for a memorable XXI Olympic Winter Games, the rivalry of Wes Bergmann and his ultimate vendetta Kenny Santucci was the overarching story arc for a season that introduced us to a wave of Challenge newbies who have forged quite a legacy since then.For Cara Maria Sorbello, she had a young girl from Boston who loved riding her beloved horse, but she & four-time champion Darrell Taylor suffered the ultimate shortcomings for any rookie: first ones eliminated... and she would ultimately become a multiple Challenge titlist herself and they would avenge that in winning the first leg of the Champs vs. Pros/Stars trilogy. For Laurel Stucky, she was paired with Kenny and they would ultimately go on to place second in the final behind all-time beast Landon Leuck & future "local girl" Carley Johnson, and Laurel herself would become a beast in elimination (and being Cara's frenemy in the process). And we were also introduced to Theresa Gonzalez, Mandi Moyer and Vinny Foti - who would also do multiple challenges with the former two cashing in finals.
Now married and being a dad along with doing DJ work (and hosting a Challenge podcast in the early years before long-form audio became mainstream), Brandon has called Las Vegas home during his time on and after The Challenge, which now has the Raiders joining in on the fun after they moved from Oakland before & after their dozen-year stint in the Los Angeles Coliseum. Vegas has also become home for O.J. Simpson, which now sees him in a life outside of the media's view there while still on parole as he tries to evade the aura of what happened twenty-six years ago next month. And last month while this blogger browsed through the various stories on Instagram and SnapChat involving those in the MTV Reality community, Brandon shared a photo he had with O.J. with a simple caption, "Why not?" That's how small our world has become.
 |
| IG Stories @BrandonDNelson |
🏈 🏈 🏈
Like what you've read above? Bookmark us and like, comment & share our posts on the social media platforms of your choice, and include the hashtags #DCBLOG & #SeeForYourself in your posts to @DC408Dxtr, and make sure to tell a friend about us so that they, and more of your fellow MTV Reality fans, can be introduced to the outstanding content we offer... and thanks for reading.
- I AM DC
#DCBLOG
