Bills Mafia Welcomed Back One of Their All Time Greats: OJ Simpson
Sure, "OJ Simpson" and "Halloween" might go together like the set up of a Norm MacDonald bit:
But that was the 1990s. This is the 2020s. Tragically, Norm is no longer with us. But The Juice still is. And like so many legends of so many games, he took a well-earned victory lap around the city and the stadium where he made football history.
And because the Bills Mafia are among the most dedicated, loyal and devoted fan bases in all of sports, they embraced their long time Ring of Honor enshrinee, figuratively and literally. Even though most of them weren't even born when he was traded to San Francisco in 1977.
Advertisement
And it wasn't just inside The Ralph (or whatever they're trying to call it now) that OJ was celebrated. It seems the entire city of Buffalo clutched him to its figurative bosom:
Advertisement
It just makes you feel good inside. His is a true redemption story. F. Scott Fitzgerald often gets misquoted for saying "I used to think there were no second acts in American life" as if he meant that once you've done wrong, there's no coming back from it. But that's wrong. He was referring to the structure of a three-act play, where in the middle you have all the bad stuff happen and then the protagonist rallies in the final act. So he meant he feels like we as a people prefer to skip the difficulties and fast forward to the happy ending. And old F. Scott would've truly appreciated Orenthal James' personal journey.
This morally questionable football and legal system superstar should serve as an inspiration for us all. He's living proof that you can come back from anything. Lose a wrongful death lawsuit. Serve time for stealing back your own memorabilia at gun point when you're on probation. Even accidentally have the blood of your ex wife and her friend who you most definitely did not brutally stab to death all over your car and your clothes and then write a book hypothetically talking about how you would've murdered them if you weren't so busy not murdering them. But that doesn't have to be the end of your story. If you could once carry a football, be a legendary product pitchman and star in the greatest comedy movie trilogy of all time, then by golly, glory days can be yours once again. Only in America.
P.S. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I once watched OJ run for over 200 yards against the Patriots when the field was a sheet of ice. And I'm convinced he could have gotten those gloves on his hands if his heart was really in it.