Here’s a good friday story for you.
Although the celtics may be out of the playoffs. The LSU Tiger Alumni still felt it neccessary to give the big deisel a statue for his efforts while in college.
From the cbs college basketball blog and website.
The Big Bronzasaurus.
Doesn’t sound that great, I know, but you can potentially add it to the list of Shaquille O’Neal nicknames because the Big Aristotle is getting a statue dedicated in his honor at Louisiana State University, his alma mater. This information comes according to reporting done by SPORTSbyBROOKS, which was then confirmed by the Associated Press.
Yes, that’s a photo of the presumed statue, which has already been built and should be erected in front of LSU’s basketball practice facility — name after LSU hoop great Pete Maravich, who is also getting a statue in due time — at some point in the near future. At this point, it’s all a matter of organizing schedules and setting a date in, ahem, stone.
According to Brooks’ report, O’Neal originally resisted at the idea of any sort of tribute to him. He’s donated millions to his alma mater over the years but has specificaly requested to not have anything on campus named after him. Apparently he budged when a simplistic sign was made at the “Shaquille O’Neal Family Pool,” but that’s it. Until now.
O’Neal is reportedly one of six bronzed figures that will be put on the LSU campus. All are former athletes, many of them basketball stars. But O’Neal is getting the inaugural treatment due to his continued economic support of the university. Makes sense. Plus, he’s alive to see it.
Speaking of that being-alive-to-see-yourself-in-stat
ue-form thing, everyone’s going statue-crazy these days. It used to be you got the bronzing treatment after you had passed. But that’s no longer the case. Colleges, in particular, have gotten into this craze of physically idolizing athletes as soon as possible. If only all the dead people who got statues built for them in prior decades were alive to lament such a trend.
Best part of the statue: it’s believed to be life-sized, though I’m guessing it weighs at least 2,000 pounds. In other words: twice as much as Shaq these days. (I kid!)
