The sports world seemingly stopped to watch the late O.J. Simpson race across Los Angeles 30 years ago. How would it have unfolded in our era?
The Utah Hockey Club officially invited their fans to their NHL Draft party this morning, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of June 17, 1994.
Chronicled in an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary, the events of that day included, among other things:
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On this, the 30th anniversary of that infamous police chase involving the late O.J. Simpson, it made me wonder:
What would have happened on June 17, 2024?
Surely, social media would be blowing up, especially Twitter, and fans would constantly be on their phones.
ABC would have to split-screen their coverage of the Stanley Cup or NBA Finals.
And can you imagine the eyeballs that would have been glued to the Delta Center's screen if one of Utah's teams were involved?
Imagine 12,000-plus watching as the chase unfolded in front of their eyes, reacting as the Bronco swerved and stopped on the I-5 in Los Angeles.
For sure, the lack of such capabilities is what made June 17, 1994 so unique in sports history.
Yet, with the advances in technology and social media, consider that such an event today would not only have stopped the sports world, but the world at large -- billions of people watching those unbelievable images on their screen, at once, in real time.
And you'd have a huge chunk of them assembled to watch another game for either the Jazz or Utah HC, then realize this isn't another game we're watching.
No, we're witnessing something historic -- something beyond all belief.