OnTheRocks Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 I was listening to a talking head on the radio this afternoon talk about what a great guy Wayn Gretzky was....and all he has done for the communities he has worked in through his illustrious career. he went on to say that he hopes Gretz gets cleared of any potential wrong doing in this NHL gambling deal because he would hate to see his image tarnished. This all got me thinking....I was only 9 in 1973. Do any of you old timers remember what kind of connection Simpson had with the community of Buffalo back in the early to mid 70's? Was he known to be a "giver to the community"? And does anyone have any personal memories of Simpson doing any Community work?
kasper13 Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 There was nothing like the community stuff and charities like there are today in the NFL. Not many players, if any, did stuff like that back in the day. OJ was always for OJ and that is all. He always wanted more money, wanted to be traded or held out. All he wanted to do was make commercials & movies The big secret back then was that OJ partied big time at bars & clubs in WNY. Cocaine was the drug of choice among other Bills & Sabres- that was commonplace back in the 70's. No such thing as drug tests in the NFL back then. He beat his first wife. He also had a kid that drowned in the back yard swimming pool. He was never happy in Buffalo. (Was he ever anywhere? Maybe he will enjoy hell) All anyone remembers is the 2,000 yard season in 1973. OJ was a scumbag back then just like he is today. If the internet was around back then, OJ would not have been a fan favorite. He was really all the Bills had back then so the fans hung on to him. He had 3 great seasons and 2 other 1,000+ yard seasons and one playoff game to show for his 9 seasons in Buffalo.
Guest BackInDaDay Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 There was nothing like the community stuff and charities like there are today in the NFL. Not many players, if any, did stuff like that back in the day. OJ was always for OJ and that is all. He always wanted more money, wanted to be traded or held out. All he wanted to do was make commercials & movies The big secret back then was that OJ partied big time at bars & clubs in WNY. Cocaine was the drug of choice among other Bills & Sabres- that was commonplace back in the 70's. No such thing as drug tests in the NFL back then. He beat his first wife. He also had a kid that drowned in the back yard swimming pool. He was never happy in Buffalo. (Was he ever anywhere? Maybe he will enjoy hell) All anyone remembers is the 2,000 yard season in 1973. OJ was a scumbag back then just like he is today. If the internet was around back then, OJ would not have been a fan favorite. He was really all the Bills had back then so the fans hung on to him. He had 3 great seasons and 2 other 1,000+ yard seasons and one playoff game to show for his 9 seasons in Buffalo. 600713[/snapback] Oh baby! They gotta get you to deliver the eulogy! "He was never happy in Buffalo. (Was he ever anywhere? Maybe he will enjoy hell)" - great stuff.
DevilsAlum Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 When I was 10 (in 1976) we moved in to the Chapel Woods subdivision in Williamsville. OJ lived around the corner from us and as any self respecting 10 year old bills fan; I made it my point to keep a lookout for OJ A couple of memories. OJ was always great to the neighborhood kids. We were forever looking in to his den window and I seem to recall the Heisman (sp?) Trophy in his den although at 40 my memory could be slipping One Halloween, OJ answered the door and handed out the candy. What I remember was that it was a Sunday and that the Bills had played earlier in the day and he had a bandage on his face. In addition, we were playing football one afternoon in his neighbor’s yard and OJ came out and threw the ball around with us for a while. The guy was genuinely a nice guy and it was heartbreaking for me when it became obvious he killed his wife
Toledo Bill Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 There was nothing like the community stuff and charities like there are today in the NFL. Not many players, if any, did stuff like that back in the day. OJ was always for OJ and that is all. He always wanted more money, wanted to be traded or held out. All he wanted to do was make commercials & movies The big secret back then was that OJ partied big time at bars & clubs in WNY. Cocaine was the drug of choice among other Bills & Sabres- that was commonplace back in the 70's. No such thing as drug tests in the NFL back then. He beat his first wife. He also had a kid that drowned in the back yard swimming pool. He was never happy in Buffalo. (Was he ever anywhere? Maybe he will enjoy hell) All anyone remembers is the 2,000 yard season in 1973. OJ was a scumbag back then just like he is today. If the internet was around back then, OJ would not have been a fan favorite. He was really all the Bills had back then so the fans hung on to him. He had 3 great seasons and 2 other 1,000+ yard seasons and one playoff game to show for his 9 seasons in Buffalo. 600713[/snapback] I remember all that and more. He used to leave the bars with a minimum of one hot babe each night he was out there. One night (this according to my neighbor, who was a bartender) he actually got punched out due to trying to pick up the wrong guys wife. OJ was a pretty big guy, but I guess he encountered a rather tough individual and had a humiliating experience. If I remember right, very few of his escspades were publicized, he basically owned the city and had very positive PR, for the most part. His buddy, Reggie McKenzie was another hard partier, but I heard very few negative stories about him.
seq004 Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 I met him in Lewiston while playing little league football. He was extremely nice to me so when he killed his wife it was really sad to see what he had become.
Surfmeister Posted February 11, 2006 Posted February 11, 2006 I'm old enough to remember that time. I saw OJ play at the Rockpile downtown and I also saw him at Rich Stadium. Once at Rich I saw him run for a 90 something yard TD. At the time he was the bright light of optimism for the team. He set rushing records with a losing team. As fans we wondered how great he could have become playing for a better team while all the time being grateful to have him as a part of the Bills. As far as community work I know of none. He was living live in the fast lane in Buffalo New York. That wasn't real fast at the time. What happened to OJ once he got out of football is a shame. He wanted to be a part of the Hollywood crowd. He moved back to LA where he was a local superstar from his days at USC. Then things get difficult. At the present time MOST people only accept the most basic of stories as true. Add a degree of complexity and MOST people call b*llsh*t on it. So the simple accpetable story is OJ kiilled those people himself. Gretzky had a very simple story going until about two weeks ago. Very simple for people to buy. He was a hockey hero a clean living guy with a happy marriage. It's what we wanted to believe. But now that story is much different.
Orton's Arm Posted February 12, 2006 Posted February 12, 2006 At the present time MOST people only accept the most basic of stories as true. Add a degree of complexity and MOST people call b*llsh*t on it. So the simple accpetable story is OJ kiilled those people himself. 601008[/snapback] I know you're grateful to OJ for what he did for the franchise, but there's no doubt about what he did to Nicole and Ron.
gmac17 Posted February 12, 2006 Posted February 12, 2006 If I remember right, very few of his escspades were publicized, he basically owned the city and had very positive PR, for the most part. His buddy, Reggie McKenzie was another hard partier, but I heard very few negative stories about him. Sounds like a former quarterback of ours...
meazza Posted February 12, 2006 Posted February 12, 2006 Gretzky had a very simple story going until about two weeks ago. Very simple for people to buy. He was a hockey hero a clean living guy with a happy marriage. It's what we wanted to believe. But now that story is much different. 601008[/snapback] the guy has more assists than the #2 all time has points, that should deserve a pass in my opinion
Fla Bills Fan Posted February 12, 2006 Posted February 12, 2006 I do not think anyone in Buffalo was sad to see him traded to the 49ers.
The_Philster Posted February 12, 2006 Posted February 12, 2006 At the present time MOST people only accept the most basic of stories as true. Add a degree of complexity and MOST people call b*llsh*t on it. So the simple accpetable story is OJ kiilled those people himself. If he hadn't perjured himself on the stand in the civil trial by saying he never hit Nicole, I might still have doubts about his guilt...but he lied about that fact that couldn't be disputed...stood to reason he was lying about the murders
Orton's Arm Posted February 12, 2006 Posted February 12, 2006 If he hadn't perjured himself on the stand in the civil trial by saying he never hit Nicole, I might still have doubts about his guilt...but he lied about that fact that couldn't be disputed...stood to reason he was lying about the murders 601360[/snapback] There's that, and then there's a quote of his that I read in Newsweek. He said (not an exact quote), "Before I go any further, I want you to understand I didn't kill Nicole. But if I did kill her, it was because I loved her too much." Earlier, at her burial (or around that time), a sad OJ said, "I loved her too much."
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