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Commentary: An excellent ESPN 30 for 30 documentary will refresh your memory. It’s called June 17, 1994.
Liz Kocan has spent the last 20 years covering television, entertainment and working behind the scenes in digital production. On VH1.com, she won a Webby Award and was nominated for a Shorty Award as a producer. She has also contributed writing to USA Today, Decider, Vulture, and numerous other publications, and has seen every episode of 30 Rock more times than her mind can remember.
Live sports remains one of the last unifying forces in the American zeitgeist, one of the only things for which friends and families gather around the television and form a community around. Even if streaming services and YouTube have fractured audiences and changed our habits. For the most part, people continue to watch events like the World Cup and NBA Finals live on a large network.
THE World Cup It feels unavoidable this year, on a larger scale than ever – more teams, more media coverage – but it reminds me of the last time the United States hosted the tournament, in 1994. Not because of what happened on the field, but because of what happened on the day the tournament started, as we all gathered around the television to watch TV.
June 17 was the day of the opening ceremony for the 1994 World Cup. President Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, arguably two of the most famous people in the world in 1994, were in attendance. It was also the night of Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks (I hate to remind you, but the Knicks lost in seven). That day, Ken Griffey Jr. also tied one of Babe Ruth’s home run records when the Seattle Mariners faced the Kansas City Royals. And Arnold Palmer played his final round at the US Open.
I don’t remember most of this, except that one of my favorite documentaries in ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, simply titled June 17, 1994, is an incredible reminder of the importance of that day in sports history…and how it was all overshadowed by the OJ Simpson car chase that interrupted all of that programming so we could watch one of the most fascinating moments in pop culture unfold under our eyes.
The infamous white Bronco car chase made history.
Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesI know you know this, but as a reminder, Simpson’s wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman had been found murdered five days earlier, and OJ Simpson had become a prime suspect. He was due to surrender to the police on June 17. Simpson did not show up and for several hours he remained missing and was declared a fugitive.
Then, later that evening, he led police on a low-speed chase around Los Angeles for about two hours in a white Ford Bronco driven by his friend Al Cowlings. During much of the chase, Simpson threatened suicide and held a gun to his head, before eventually returning home and surrendering. The New York Times reported that 95 million people, or 67 percent of all American households, watched the chase. It aired on ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN, outpacing all fan-followed sports coverage.
For those of us who were alive at the time, we probably all have a question “Where were you during the OJ chase?” story, even if it’s not something that comes up often in conversations these days. And in fact, if it weren’t for the title of this documentary, I probably wouldn’t even remember the date this happened. But I can’t help but remember it all so vividly now that the World Cup is back in the United States and the Knicks are back in the NBA Finals.
June 17, 1994 is impeccably directed by director Brett Morgen, blending all of the television sports coverage of that day with media coverage of the Simpson affair, which culminated in one of the most tense moments ever filmed on live television. What otherwise would have been an already incredible day in sports history, and one that certainly would have taken on a more celebratory tone, was entirely overshadowed by another athlete’s off-field drama.
The film’s detailed chronological narrative allows the tension of sporting events and Simpson’s actions to unfold in real time. Most of us remember the chase, but what led up to it, as the film reminds us, involved many hours of uncertainty and a growing sense of fear that it could end in even more tragedy. All the current excitement around the big sporting events happening this week and month is exhilarating, but it’s almost as if it’s triggered a sensory memory, taking me back to that day 32 years ago.
Whether or not you’re alive to witness this day, the film is a must-see, told almost entirely through live television and newsreel footage, and perfectly captures the many emotions and moods of this moment.
June 17, 1994, is currently available on ESPN Unlimited and on Netflixbut ironically, it’s leaving Netflix on June 16.
Liz Kocan has spent the last 20 years covering television, entertainment and working behind the scenes in digital production. On VH1.com, she won a Webby Award and was nominated for a Shorty Award as a producer. She has also contributed writing to USA Today, Decider, Vulture, and numerous other publications, and has seen every episode of 30 Rock more times than her mind can remember. See full bio
