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Did anyone else watch the "Ford Bronco chase" live as it happened?

posted 8 months ago by GolfnGuitars (2938)
26 replies | jump to latest

I did...I will never forget it. I was at my parents' house for the weekend (It was a Friday evening/night) and I was looking forward to watching Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and New York Knicks that night on NBC (I was a huge fan of the NBA back then).

I can't remember specifically when the chase started, but I'm thinking it was around 5 or 6 P.M. EST (I'm sure it was before the start of the game). It was surreal watching it... when the game was first starting, NBC kept a tiny little window open on the screen that showed the white Bronco. However, as the game went along, NBC moved the game to the small window and put the chase on the big screen. I remember laying on my parents' couch in the living room, struggling to keep my eyes open, but couldn't go to bed, because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It's one of those events I will probably remember the rest of my life.

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[–] blue1981 (7827) 8 months ago

I did. I thought OJ was going to kill himself. The ESPN 30 for 30 was really good on that day. It was going on at the same time as the NBA and Stanley Cup finals, US Open, and the World Cup.

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[–] GolfnGuitars (2938) 8 months ago

Yes...I did as well (and I believe the media was reporting it as such, because I think Simpson had written what was thought of as a "suicide note" of sorts). I've never seen that "30 for 30" episode... I'll have to make a point of watching it (with this year marking 30 years since the murders).

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[–] blue1981 (7827) 8 months ago

The 30 for 30 episode is called "June 17th, 1994" about the actual day itself. It's a standalone episode and then they did the "OJ Made in America" documentary.

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[–] GolfnGuitars (2938) 8 months ago

Thank you! I'm going to look it up and see if I can find it to watch for tomorrow (I have too much stuff going on today to watch, unfortunately). I know there are so many things about the events that I've forgotten/don't remember. Thanks again for this!

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[–] Corbell (10995) 8 months ago

It would have been better for the country if he had, especially if he left a clear suicide note.

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[–] GolfnGuitars (2938) 8 months ago

In the years since, I've thought about that as well. After he finally surrendered, I don't think anyone could have imagined that he would eventually be acquitted of the murders, or even begin to imagine the trial that followed. But I think the chase and especially the trial that followed afterward made such a huge, huge impact on American society (and we still feel it today).

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[–] AckbarsRevenge (3800) 8 months ago

That narcissistic psychopath of a coward that he was, he would have never off'd himself.

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[–] ebhaynz (3689) 8 months ago

I saw a little of it. I was working swings at an Air Force Communications Center in Panama. I thought he was going to kill himself. I remember saying outloud "Don't do it O.J.!

I lived in Vegas from 2018-2022. I played a lot of tennis at Red Rock country club. O.J.'s house, where he ended up dying, was visable if we looked between two houses..he lived next to the Golf course.

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[–] GolfnGuitars (2938) 8 months ago

I think it's so interesting that you were overseas in Panama when this happened! Yes, it definitely seemed like he was going to kill himself. When he finally turned himself in, it seemed like a relief in some ways...but I don't think anyone knew what was about to come with the trial.

Yes, he spent a lot of time on golf courses looking for the killers! I remember "Sports Illustrated" had an article back in the day where he was showing up at public courses in the LA area after the trial and a lot of people flat refused to play with him.

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[–] AP (5288) 8 months ago

I saw it. My family was on vacation and we watched it in the hotel room.

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[–] GolfnGuitars (2938) 8 months ago

Interesting! That would definitely be a memory of that particular vacation!

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[–] SamNoyoun (5881) 8 months ago

Absolutely! It made for some surreal visual stimulation during band rehearsal...

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[–] GolfnGuitars (2938) 8 months ago

Yes! I bet that was one of your most memorable band rehearsals! 😀 I don't think it's something that any of us will ever forget...not that we remember every single detail of it, but it was like we couldn't believe what we were watching on live TV.

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[–] Bucky (294) 8 months ago

What I remember most is the fact fact that David Hasselhoff was doing a pay per view concert at the same time as the Ford Bronco chase. Yes, the Hof can sing. Hasselhoff got only a handful of viewers - literally - from the US. At that point he gave up trying to break in to the US market.

Here is what you may have missed....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQH-W-yBqvg

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[–] WandererFromYs (2324) 8 months ago

I think everyone that was watching television at that time saw it. They interrupted every channel to show it.

What do I do remember is that this was a small sports story at the time. His wife’s death and the investigation was covered on espns sports center, but the mainstream media hadn’t picked up on it yet. After the Bronco chase everyone was talking about it.

Personally I was in disbelief when the story first broke on espn. But after this I was learning him being guilty.

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[–] EdwardHaskell (145) 8 months ago

It was never a, "small sports story." It was a crime story that got national attention from the beginning. Of course ESPN would cover it because a popular NFL player was a person of interest.

But I did not have cable, let alone ESPN and still I heard about it all week before the Bronco chase. The, "mainstream media," was all over this.

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[–] mtxmind (3296) 8 months ago

Didn't watch it at all. I worked Graveyard & was asleep, & didn't watch any news before I went to work that night. When I got to work that night & asked if he'd been arrested yet, everyone was shocked that I didn't know what happened!!!

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[–] stickman38 (3358) 8 months ago

I saw it, but I really can't remember where I was. Not that it matters anymore, OJ is dead now. But it was a pretty big story back then. I remember when the verdict came in on the trial and all of my co-workers started clapping and cheering when he was found 'not guilty'. I was quite repulsed by it. At that moment, I knew I was working with a bunch of idiots.

I don't care that that damn glove didn't fit, OJ did it. The police had been notified about his violent tendencies towards Nicole Brown years before this incident happened. He was the only suspect.

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