Bill Simmons on OJ

The Sports Guy wrote an opus on the OJ trial. This piece is classic Simmons - thousands and thousands of words, thoughtfully done and humorously entertaining. The piece hopefully signifies that the Sports Guy is truly back!

As far as the piece is concerned - I must admit that I was never one to follow the OJ trial much. I remember stopping off from work with a friend to have a beer when I first learned of the murders. I asked my friend if he thought OJ did it and my friend replied, "In these cases it's always the husband."

I remember vaguely going to a pre-nup dinner when the Bronco chase started. After dinner we went back to the home of the parents of the groom and the chase was still going on. The guys weren't too interested in a low speed chase so we went out back to drink and throw some horseshoes.

I have vivid memories of the Challenger disaster and of 9/11 but of the OJ trial - just vague recollections. The whole thing didn't engross me the way I guess it did for Simmons. (And I don't think I'm alone there - most of my friends didn't watch or read much about it.)

Where was I when the verdict was announced? Couldn't tell you because I can't remember. It just wasn't that big a deal to me.

When I read Simmons piece - I was left wondering why there was no mention of Klaus Von Bulow (who was the murder trial of the century before OJ). Why no mention of Edward Bennett Williams who was the Michael Jordan of defense attorneys (and a Holy Cross grad just like Simmons)? Why no mention of the birth of Court TV and the change from basic to digital cable with 150+ channels?

Don't get me wrong - it was a great piece of work by Simmons but great pieces are supposed to make you think and ask questions.