No, I was in Ireland at the time. A month later, I was in Munich, Germany, and on German television, there were all manner of documentaries and shows commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing -- not even a German achievement (well, not directly at least, Wernher von Braun and other German rocket scientists were heavily involved in the program), but one with incredible historical significance for all mankind, so no wonder they wanted to celebrate it. I called my mother back in the U.S. and asked idly if there was much on U.S. television marking the anniversary, and she said (in a rather exasperated tone of voice) "no, it's all O.J. Simpson. O.J., O.J., O.J., morning noon and night. That's all that's on television right now."
That was the first I heard of the whole thing.
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GolfnGuitars (3098)
7 days ago
Another very interesting perspective! Your account really goes to show how the OJ saga was such an "American-centered story" (Overseas, he was pretty much known as the actor in "The Naked Gun'" movies..."American Football" was pretty much limited to North America back then, so people overseas didn't know or care about his football background like I did). I can understand your mom's reaction to it all...it really became a circus in a hurry! 😃 And that is fascinating to me that you didn't find out about it until about a month after the murders!
Thinking again about your mom's reaction to the news coverage... I've always felt that the OJ Simpson coverage and trial forever changed the way our American media covered news events (and, overall, not in a good way, unfortunately). It wasn't enough to cover a story and to get all the facts correct. It was about "breaking news" and being first to break the story. It was unreal and there was no getting away from it...it really was 24/7 coverage for so long (Even after the trial ended, it was still covered by the media afterward... analysis of the verdict, the jury, the trial, etc.).
Thanks for responding!
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