O.J. BUZZ ALMOST CRIMINAL
By Bob Confer

You’d swear it was 1973 all over again.

With the nearly the same vigor and glee that was directed him in the glory days of the Electric Company, OJ Simpson has been met with open arms by many people on the Niagara Frontier. All outlets of the Western New York media have reported of star-struck crowds who were impressed and downright giddy with their recent sightings of, and close encounters with, the Juice. Perhaps these happy folks are on some sort of juice themselves, forgetting that he is no longer the area’s Golden Child, but rather a dark cloud that hangs not only over Western New York, but the US as a whole.

OJ should not be put upon a pedestal as these misguided souls would like to believe. The days of his hero mantle are long gone. He has become a poor excuse for a role model and an even poorer excuse for a man. Some may claim I err in passing such a judgment as his innocence in the Brown-Simpson/Goldman murders was proclaimed by a jury of his peers. Yes, he may have been acquitted in his criminal accusations after a very questionable and dubious trial, but he was ultimately found liable in the ensuing civil trial, which does proclaim some amount of guilt. He also has a proven history of violence against women, as he suffers from the same delusional beliefs of sexual and power entitlements common to so many high-profile athletes.

None of OJ’s actions and behaviors warrant hero worship. As a matter of fact, he is not worthy of any sort of worship. But, we cannot escape the fact that he is a celebrity nonetheless. In this case, one can believe that America’s morbid fascination with the sports and entertainment lifestyle tends to corrupt the last vestiges of good taste and common sense. Perhaps those who find themselves in close proximity to Simpson are blinded by the brightness of this star and can’t believe they are in the presence of someone so famous. This temporary loss of mental faculties could explain why Buffalonians far and wide find themselves enamored with the former superstar. They are guilty of promoting him only through the follies of their own human nature and not through purposeful disposal of good taste. 

Upon further analysis, a big question mark surrounds these recurring sightings. No doubt the sudden appearance of Simpson makes many wonder why one of his stature would associate himself amongst us “commoners”. The reason for his continued presence may be a sly slap in the face to Western New Yorkers. Anecdotal news reports of recent memory indicate that he has a hard time maintaining some semblance of freedom and privacy on the West Coast due to his notoriety, as he gets accosted and bothered on a regular basis. One can assume that he has returned to the area because we knew him as a hero and will always know him as a hero. Perhaps in some twisted Hollywood way, he believes our blue-collar people are backwoods and ignorant and will ultimately forgive or never recall his checkered past. Such is the vanity of the Celebrity Ego. 

In a matter of a scant few weeks, OJ has become a major curiosity in Western New York. He’s a veritable conversation piece that at once offends many people and delights many others. The latter breed, who are the autograph hounds, the picture-takers, and the hand-shakers, are perhaps just innocent star-struck individuals who are unknowingly feeding the insatiable ego of a man with unspeakable transgressions against society. 

We can only hope that when the high subsides those who have reveled in his presence realize that he is not worthy of such praise. He is no longer the man who once put Buffalo on the map through stunning athletic exploits. He is now universally famous only because of a damning notoriety and not out of the qualities that make a hero.