For some Americans who are old enough to remember when O.J. Simpson played professional football, the Simpson Saga has been quite the journey. Many young boys during the 1970s played football in the street pretending to be the “Juice” as Simpson was affectionately known. True fans followed him from Buffalo to San Francisco and into the world of Broadcasting. Who does not remember O.J. Running through airports in Hertz commercials? Then, it all came crashing down in the 1990s as word spread that his ex-wife Nicole and her friend, Ron Goldman has been viciously murdered.
The Simpson Saga would be one of the most polarizing ordeals in modern U.S. History. Although Simpson avoided prison through an acquittal on the criminal charge of murder, he would be found guilty of causing the wrongful death of Nicole and Ron in civil court.
Finally, it seemed that those who believed that he really did it got their wish when Simpson was convicted of kidnapping and robbery in 2008 and sentenced to 33 years in Prison. While many thought O.J. would die in prison he emerged a free man just days and go, and it has not taken long for the Juice to find a way to make headlines. First, there are photos circulating of him schmoozing women in Vegas Casinos, and even more surprising is the fact that his newly signed helmets are selling like pancakes.
According to Steiner Sports, which is one of the largest memorabilia brokers in the world, the signed helmets are selling for $400 and up. According to the dealer, the helmets are actually signed by Simpson himself. Some of the helmets only have the signature and others have the signature and the year “85” which is the year Simpson was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
What is surprising, and even appalling, to some is the fact that people would want his memorabilia after what he was accused of and found guilty of in civil court. What must be understood is that the force that drives the need to own a piece of history is rarely guided by a moral compass. It is even possible that people purchasing these helmets may not be fans, but Simply want to own something connected to someone so infamous.
For Steiner Sports’ role in facilitating the sale of Simpson memorabilia, a representative suggests that their efforts are to provide fans who wish to celebrate Simpson’s accomplishments on the field with a piece of history. There were no references to Simpson off-the-field behavior in the statement issued by Steiner Sports.
One thing is certain when it comes to O.J. Simpson and that is the fact that he has a thirst for the limelight, and he has not yet proven that he can manage many of the evil forces that exist in the world of fame. For those who were hoping that prison would break Simpson and leave him as a shell of his former self, they may have to wait a little while longer because “the Juice is loose” once again.
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