1994 World Cup — OJ Simpson chase same day
On the same day as the 1994 World Cup opening match between Bolivia and Germany, the LAPD broadcast a televised pursuit of OJ Simpson.
Snapshot · Fin vs History
Hanging Out The Blatter it | The History of The World Cup (Part 4/4)
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Jun 18, 2026
Where this was said
GOAL!
At 19:28 · chapter starts 18:07
As the story arrives at USA '94, Fin frames the tournament as FIFA's first major attempt to crack the American market — and its resounding failure. The domestic audience viewed football as third world sport, one newspaper article describing it as 'the biggest sport in Cameroon, Uruguay, Madagascar'. On the very day of the opening match between Bolivia and Germany, the LAPD began their televised pursuit of OJ Simpson — live GTA, as Fin puts it — and no sport could compete. The hosts then turn to the tournament's most tragic storyline: Colombian defender Andrés Escobar scores an own goal against the USA, flies home, and is shot six times, with his killers reportedly shouting 'Gol!' after each shot. The hosts debate whether South American commentary sounds silly to Europeans and agree that for a Colombian, it would have felt moving and real. The segment closes with Maradona — his airgun attack on journalists before the tournament, his iconic goal against Greece, and his positive test for ephedrine, captured in the haunting image of him being led away by a nurse, skipping.
The 1994 World Cup vs The OJ Simpson Chase
On the very same day as the 1994 World Cup opening match, the LAPD broadcast a live televised pursuit of OJ Simpson. No sport could compete with that news cycle — and the hosts argue it explains why America has never fully embraced football.
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