It’s been three decades since the most surreal moment in American television history unfolded live in front of our eyes. On June 17, 1994, the most famous car chase ever occurred in Los Angeles, California. Thankfully, for anyone who was bored on that Friday, the entire ordeal was captured on camera and broadcast across the country.At the time, former football star turned B-list actor, O.J. Simpson, was wanted in connection with the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. Simpson, claiming to be suicidal, led police on a low-speed chase throughout Los Angeles in a Ford Bronco… and cameras were there to film the whole thing.Perhaps the most ironic part of the “O.J. Simpson Bronco chase” story is that Simpson wasn’t the driver of said Bronco during the chase. Simpson’s close friend, Al Cowlings, was actually behind the wheel. In fact, it was Cowlings’ Bronco—Simpson had a matching one that had blood in it following the murders, but it’s not the same one from the chase.As for the chase itself, it was slow and uneventful, but somehow impossible to look away from. At one point during the fiasco, Cowlings called 911 to inform them that Simpson was in the back of the car with a gun to his head. He claimed he was suicidal and wanted to be driven to Simpson’s grave site so he could die next to her. That is allegedly why the cops treated Cowlings and Simpson the way that they did—instead of running them off the road or throwing down the spikes.Remembering the O.J. Simpson Bronco Chase 3 Decades LaterThe reason the moment lives on in infamy is because, not only was it broadcast on live TV, but it interrupted a huge, must-see TV event being watched by millions—the 1994 NBA Finals.In the middle of Game 5 between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks, NBC affiliates switched over to coverage of the chase. Basketball fans at home were then forced to watch the game on an awkward split-screen setup, with the other half of the screen showing the chase.Tom Brokaw delivered play-by-play of the chase while Marv Albert called the game. It was completely surreal, and unlike anything we’ve ever seen on television before or after.Eventually, the Bronco made it to Simpson’s Brentwood home without any major incidents. It’s believed that, by then, more than 95 million people were watching the event unfold on TV. Domino’s even claims that they sold more pizza during the chase than they did on Super Bowl Sunday earlier that year.Vinnie Zuffante/Jean-Marc Giboux/Liaison/Getty ImagesRegardless of the numbers, it’s impossible to deny how big of a TV moment this was. Which is why it lives on all these years later, even if the actual chase itself isn’t anything to write home about. Over the past three decades, the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase has been covered in numerous documentaries and TV series. Perhaps the best of the bunch is ESPN’s 30 for 30 episode, appropriately titled June 17, 1994.The episode, directed by Brett Morgen, covers all of the biggest sports stories of the day as if they’re happening live. No talking heads, just footage. That day was especially eventful in the sports world, but none of the stories managed to garner the same level of attention that Simpson did.Regardless, the episode captures what it was like to watch the chase for the first time, live, all the way back in 1994. Over three decades later, O.J. Simpson’s Bronco chase remains one of the most iconic moments in television history. It was also an accurate preview of what the eventual Simpson murder trial—and American television itself—would become: true crime repackaged as entertainment for the masses. Let’s be honest, it’s all been downhill ever since. Coincidence? Probably not. The post On This Day in 1994, O.J. Simpson Made Television History With His Infamous Bronco Chase appeared first on VICE.