June 17, 1994 – Sports fans were anticipating a great night of TV as the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets were set to square off in a pivotal Game 5 of the NBA Finals. With the series tied at two games a piece, this was the game that was presumably the most important. Instead, the entire nation was treated to the best and worst episode of Cops ever recorded, as police accompanied O.J. Simpson's white Ford Bronco down the San Diego Freeway.
Simpson, of course, was a suspect at the time in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole, and her friend, Ron Goldman. So he did what any sane person would do in his situation: he called a friend (former teammate Al Cowlings) and asked him to drive him away from the madness.
The lunacy was compounded by people along his painstakingly documented route waving "Go, O.J., Go!" signs from the overpasses.
O.J. eventually ended up at his home in Brentwood, and was arrested without anyone getting hurt – but the entire expereince was something never seen before in sports. The NBA Finals were put on hold so that America could watch the former Heisman Trophy winner get chased by police down a Los Angeles freeway.
But yes, in case you were wondering, the Knicks won the game 91-84 behind Patrick Ewing's 25 points and 12 rebounds.
