It may have been the biggest sporting event that never happened. Here’s what went down.
The year was 1995, and the Houston Rockets took on the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals. The Rockets were looking to repeat as champs, and the Magic were considered the team of the future. The Magic had a young center, Shaquille O’Neal, and another young star, Penny Hardaway. But the Rockets had the experience in a lineup with Olajuwon, Drexler, Smith, and Horry.
In the end, experience trumped potential, and the Rockets swept the Magic in 4 games. But that wasn’t the end of the story.
A kid at the time, I remember waking up one morning getting ready to go to school. I saw in the Houston Chronicle that Shaq, who was not at all happy about how the series turned out, challenged Olajuwon to a one-on-one matchup. Olajuwon said yes, and before long, we had what was billed as The Taco Bell One-On-One Championship for $1,000,000.
The contest would be ten rounds over two minutes. The venue was the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, and the tagline was “The most fabulous event Atlantic City has ever seen.” To be played on September 30, the game could be seen around the country on Pay-Per-View via Time Warner.
But (drum roll) … it never happened! Olajuwon called if off due to injury.
I still remember seeing those neon color soft drink cups promoting the event. It would have been fun to see.
