Meeting Ed O'Bannon in LV

by brand0n on Sep 29, 2008 10:39 PM PDT

This past weekend I had a rather interesting experience meeting Ed O'Bannon, small forward of the 1995 UCLA basketball championship team.

I was with some other Bruins in Las Vegas this past weekend. We were volunteering for the Obama campaign and helping register new voters throughout Las Vegas. Our morning consisted of haranguing people outside of grocery stores, attempting to register new voters. The whole affair was okay, but it was way too hot to be in the sun for so long. The evening voter registration activity was a bit more fun.

In the evening, we were sent by the campaign to register new voters at the UNLV/UNR rivalry football game. It was a pretty positive experience mingling with the tailgating crowds, most people were really friendly and receptive.

But that all is besides the point. As I was walking around the UNLV stadium, a man with a bright red UNLV shirt noticed my UCLA hat and asked if my friends and I were bruins. He shook our hands and introduced himself as Ed O'Bannon.

I immediately geeked out over it--the two ladies I was with had no idea who he was. We, of course, asked him if he was registered to vote and he said he wasn't. He agreed to register, and I had the honor of helping him fill the form out.

We chatted for a little bit, got pictures, and took his voter registration form. I was so excited about the whole affair that I kept bragging to everyone who would listen for the rest of the weekend. It's not often I get to register Bruin legends to vote, but I wouldn't mind making it a habit.

And that is my Ed O'Bannon story.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

Tweet Comment 7 comments | 1 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Ed O'Bannon

What’s he doing these days? Is he involved in the UNLV program?

by Herodotus on Sep 30, 2008 4:56 AM PDT reply actions

it seemed

like he was working with the UNLV athletic department, but I’m not sure.

by brand0n on Sep 30, 2008 8:33 AM PDT reply actions

I love Ed O'Bannon...

Great memories of ‘95. Too bad he never found a good pro fit and now he’s reduced to selling cars. He deserves better than that.

by waters96 on Sep 30, 2008 9:30 AM PDT reply actions

You can't take pictures and not post them!

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

by MexiBruin on Sep 30, 2008 9:48 AM PDT reply actions

Last time I saw him...

he said he was a car salesman in Henderson, NV (this was about 2 years ago) He gave me his card in case I was interested in a new car! Can you imagine walking into a dealership and Ed O’Bannon is your salesperson? SOLD!

GO BRUINS!!!

by uclafan11 on Sep 30, 2008 11:01 AM PDT reply actions

Ed O'Bannon and Jerry Robinson

I am happy that he has adjusted to “life” after all the adulation he received as an athlete, adapted to doing what he can to earn a living (selling cars), and appears to be comfortable in his circumstances. Too many of his contemporaries and ancestors have gone off the deep end, frustrated that life has dealt them a bad deck as adults, and lost control. Glad to hear about Ed.
Another Bruin great who “found himself” is Jerry Robinson the football 3 time AA linebacker, a person I met and socialized with while he was with the L.A. Raiders. Jerry was an All-Pro so did better than Ed professionally, but had to adapt as well. In his case, he did lose it, found it, and decided “you either get it or you are dead”. Jerry “got it”, and is now in Santa Rosa (I believe), and working in a county manager job, and getting along.
Bill

BillSouthBay

by Mensgym on Oct 2, 2008 1:20 PM PDT reply actions