Saying goodbye to Shaq
Victor Reklaitis
vreklaitis@newsadvance.com
August 10, 2005
Basketball star Shaquille O’Neal ended his visit to the region Tuesday, but the impression he made on new and longtime fans is likely to linger for a while.
One Bedford teen is treasuring a stylish gift from the Miami Heat center: his Gucci sunglasses.
“He just told me to try them on, and then he said, ‘They’re yours,’” said 14-year-old Jonathan Hayden. “I was surprised that he gave them to me.”
Hayden said the gift means a lot to him, and he doesn’t plan to wear the designer frames. The teen met Shaq a couple of times this week through his father, Lt. Timothy Hayden of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office.
Shaq spent about three days in Bedford, Lynchburg and Roanoke in order to train with Blue Ridge Thunder, a sheriff’s office task force that fights Internet crimes against children.
He also recorded public service announcements as the national spokesman for the Bedford-based Safe Surfin’ Foundation, which supports Blue Ridge Thunder’s educational programs.
During the visit, fans spotted the basketball star at restaurants such as Charley’s in Lynchburg and Olde Liberty Station in Bedford. But it was a home-cooked meal that Shaq had at the Bedford courthouse Sunday that left the Hayden family with another memory.
Phoebe Hayden, the lieutenant’s wife, and five other women connected to the sheriff’s office prepared more than a dozen Southern dishes such as fried chicken, sweet potato casserole and banana pudding.
“He was sitting there almost licking his lips for that banana pudding, but his trainer would not let him touch it,” Phoebe Hayden said with a laugh. “(The trainer) had to get up and move it. That’s how bad he wanted that banana pudding.”
Shaq, a 12-time NBA All-Star, stuck to a training regimen during his visit, working out each day at Liberty University’s LaHaye Student Center.He also cruised around the region in a 2000 Ford Expedition that was modified to accommodate his 7-foot, 1-inch and 325-pound frame. The SUV’s seat was moved back and reinforced at no charge by Lynchburg’s Revis Body Shop.
Kennith Revis, the body shop’s owner, said doing the work was fun, and he now feels a connection to the basketball star. “I didn’t know the gentleman, and I never met him, but I’ll start watching his career now, because I like what he does,” Revis said.
Shaq’s visit ended one day earlier than expected.
It was shortened because of “business and family matters” that Shaq had to address, said Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown.
The big man’s SUV pulled away from the sheriff’s headquarters about 2 p.m. Tuesday as about 10 spectators waved. One of his last events was a lunch with deputies and their families that was closed to the public.
The sheriff said he wished more fans had seen Shaq.
“We would have loved to have taken him throughout the county (to shake) hands with everybody in the county,” Brown said. “We had a very, very close schedule we had to keep up with.”
Shaq will visit again, Brown said, though he declined to give a date. Next time, there will be a public event and a longer stay, the sheriff said.
On Monday, Shaq told reporters that he was “look(ing) forward to purchasing a lot of acres in Bedford County.” Brown said Tuesday that he thinks the superstar will buy some property in the county.
“He asked me some questions about real estate,” the sheriff said. Brown also said, “He was very impressed with this area.”
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