Sunday Rerun: The Other Simpsons

More than 95 million American television viewers, and over three dozen Canadians, were watching live coverage on Friday, June 17, 1994, as a former football hero led Los Angeles police on a merry freeway chase before finally surrendering at his home. That day had started with LAPD calling Simpson's lawyer and telling him to have OJ surrender to face charges in the murder of his wife and her guy friend.  And after an eight-hour chase, it ended with Simpson surrendering, after which he was allowed to a) use the bathroom in his home  b) call his mother and c) drink a glass of OJ.


Really.  They do things differently out west.

A.C. drove O.J. around L.A. in this

A.C. drove O.J. around L.A. in this

Readers who are new to this entire saga - and no matter how amateurishly the police investigation and prosecution were conducted, please don't forget that Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered - may be surprised to find the name Kardashian involved. The pre-pneumatic version of Kim Kardashian was 13 at the time as her father, lawyer and "longtime Simpson friend" Robert Kardashian, made his way in front of the cameras to read a statement from the disgraced running back that said, "Don't feel sorry for me. I've had a great life, great friends. Please think of the real O.J. and not this lost person. Thanks for making my life special. I hope I helped yours. Peace and love. O.J."


They do things differently out west.


When O.J. finally surrendered, the police found his passport, a change of underwear, and a fake mustache and beard in the car.


The car (California tags 3DHY503) was not his. It belonged to his buddy A.C. Cowlings, who sold it to a consortium of sports memorabilia exhibitors.  Persons interested in seeing a car used in the commission of a crime have been able to gawk at the Bronco at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. where it "appeared" along with the 1999 Women's World Cup trophy and Marcus Allen's 1981 Heisman trophy. Also, it was on display at the Brant Foundation Arts Center in Greenwich, Connecticut.


Simpson's agent, one Mike Gilbert, continues his work even as his client cools his heels at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada following his 2008 conviction in Nevada for robbery and kidnapping. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in October of this year.


You do the math.


And there are plans afoot to lend the escape vehicle to the Alcatraz East Crime Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.


Between the time of O.J.'s apprehension and the trial, there was a deal struck to  sell the car to another entity. "But we found out that the company was going to rent the vehicle to a company in L.A. called Grave Line Tours, that visited famous graves," Gilbert told ESPN. "They were going to re-enact the chase with the Bronco and then take people to Nicole's grave. (emphasis mine.) The trial hadn't taken place yet, and we didn't want people thinking anyone associated with O.J. did this."


They really do things differently out there.