Fame and infamy as my fallen idol hits rock bottom (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Fame and infamy as my fallen idol hits rock bottom

9:46am Friday 12th December 2008

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He was my first idol as an impressionable six-year-old just getting into sport.

Living in America at the time, he was the equivalent of today’s David Beckham or Cristiano Ronaldo. This charismatic figure who lit up the game with his outrageous talent.

“The Juice”, as the TV broadcasters loved to call him, was the superstar running back.

The mediocre Buffalo Bills of the early 1970s were the original one-man team; a collection of average players carried along on the broad shoulders of this unstoppable force.

Everybody at school owned a number 32 shirt even if nobody supported them. We were all Simpson fans long before Homer had been drawn up.

OJ Simpson (pictured) is not a superstar anymore. The fact his name is known worldwide has nothing at all to do with his ability to carry an American football.

The sensational double murder trial of 1995 saw to that. And now he is beginning a jail term likely to last the rest of his life for the kidnap and armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers.

But I still remember the dazzling jinks and twists, not to mention the smile, that took the NFL by storm when I was just old enough to start watching.

Seeing the pathetic figure in the court footage last week, it is impossible to think they are the same person.

Never meet your idols – or try to understand them.