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FARGO 鈥� O.J. Simpson is dead. Cancer got him. Or as the Drudge Report blared: "Cancer Murders O.J."

Har har. My contribution on Twitter was: He has to be buried in a white Bronco, right?

Har har. Another wag's contribution: It's a shame that OJ won't get the chance to find the real killer.

O.J. Simpson was either a brutal murderer or a wrongly accused Black man, depending on your point of view.

The former college and NFL football star who turned into a successful pitchman (Hertz) who turned into a popular actor (Detective Nordberg in "The Naked Gun" was hilarious) who turned into a cultural icon after being charged and tried for murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman was a uniquely American phenomenon.

He was found not guilty, of course, in the Trial of the Previous Century in 1994-95 before embarking on what he claimed was a lifelong quest to find Nicole's real killer, something the world at large LOL'd at because it seemed O.J. was intent on visiting every golf course in the country in his search.

But there's no denying O.J. drew a crowd and headlines wherever he went.

That includes right here in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

It was a quiet summer evening in 2008 when word began to spread that O.J. Simpson was in the now-defunct JT Cigarro bar in southwest Fargo, hanging with his then-girlfriend Christie Prody.

This wasn't before cellphones or social media, but it was before smartphones were common and instant-news platforms like Twitter and Instagram were all-encompassing. And so, largely, O.J.'s presence in Fargo spread the old-fashioned way 鈥� by word of mouth.

Forum file photo

Forum editor Matt Von Pinnon received a phone call from a fellow Forum employee saying The Juice was at JT Cigarro. And like any good reporter, Von Pinnon jumped into his car and drove there. Sure enough, there was O.J. with a blonde who looked eerily similar to his late ex-wife.

That was Prody. She was the sister of one of the bar's co-owners, Barrett Prody.

"The metro area is still abuzz today following a Tuesday visit here from O.J. Simpson," read the first paragraph of Von Pinnon's report, which was published online June 24 and in the next day's print editions.

"The former football great and acquitted murder suspect was spotted at JT Cigarro bar Tuesday night and is believed to be in town this week with longtime girlfriend, Christine Prody, who is from the area," the article continued. "And just after 1 p.m. today, Simpson teed off at Thumper Pond golf course in Ottertail, Minn., according to an employee in the course's pro shop."

In the print edition of the newspaper the next morning, Von Pinnon's story was tucked inside on A7. The updated report read:

"O.J. Simpson spent Tuesday night in Fargo sitting behind a table at JT Cigarro surrounded by interested onlookers and at least one burly bodyguard.

The south Fargo bar, which will lose its ability to allow smoking next Tuesday, was abuzz as word spread throughout town that the celebrity and one-time murder suspect was among them.

Many took cell phone photos with Simpson. Others who couldn鈥檛 get as close simply snapped photos from afar.

Simpson was seated behind a table in the rear corner of the room. Typically he was surrounded by at least 15 people, just soaking in the moment. A massive bodyguard created with chairs a perimeter around the area and stood guard to allow people in or out.

Simpson, donning his trademark white golf visor, seemed to enjoy the spectacle, often smiling, high-fiving people and posing for photos cheek to cheek.

Some in the bar said Simpson arrived around 8 p.m. Though the reason is not perfectly clear as to why he was in Fargo on Tuesday night, one witness said his girlfriend is from the area. It was also unclear who was part of Simpson鈥檚 entourage.

By 11 p.m., word had clearly spread throughout the community that Simpson was here as the bar became more and more busy and media personnel could be seen trying to confirm that it was in fact Simpson. A manager from JT Cigarro refused at least two media people access to Simpson. Later, however, one TV station was able to ask Simpson a few questions.

While the scene was borderline bizarre, some regulars at the bar seemed nonchalant about Simpson being among them."

Von Pinnon remembers entering the crowded bar and trying to get close enough to take a photo of Simpson and perhaps ask a couple questions.

"There were too many people around him. I couldn't get close," Von Pinnon said.

Forum archives

Still, it was the talker of the day.

Simpson, then 60, and Christie Prody, then 33, had been dating on and off for about 13 years. They met when she was a 19-year-old cocktail waitress in Los Angeles. Prody told "Good Morning America" that she was checking out his Brentwood estate when he came outside and introduced himself.

Their relationship became tabloid fodder. They lived together in a $1.1 million mansion in Miami, a home to which police were called numerous times for various alleged misdeeds. Simpson once called 911 because the inhabitant of an apartment he was in had been "doing drugs for two days." It's believed he was referring to Prody, although Simpson denied it.

Later, in an interview with "Good Morning America," Prody said Simpson was abusive, compared her constantly to his dead ex-wife and that she believed Simpson was guilty of the murders.

When Simpson was convicted for kidnapping, robbery and other offenses related to a 2007 hotel confrontation in Las Vegas with sports memorabilia collectors, Prody stood by him.

According to a 2012 Forum story, Prody's brother Barrett created a nonprofit and website to raise money for Simpson to appeal his conviction. Barrett said Christie had nothing to do with the fundraising effort.

Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

Life has been a chore, too, for Christie, who was originally from the Twin Cities area but lived and worked around Fargo-Moorhead and in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.

According to news reports, while dating Simpson, she was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession and animal cruelty after a cat left alone in her apartment starved to death.

In 2012, she was charged in Clay County District Court with stealing prescription pills on two separate occasions after a Moorhead family installed a surveillance camera trained on where the medicine was kept. Prody was working as an in-home nursing assistant.

She was sentenced to 45 days in jail after reaching a plea agreement.

In 2017, "Inside Edition" did a story that profiled Prody as a jobless drug abuser who was renting a home in Fargo. It said Prody's mother was caring for Prody's young daughter.

Prody told the TV show that she habitually used cocaine and meth when she was dating Simpson.

鈥淎 lot of people we knew partied or drank or used,鈥� she said.

For one hot minute, the O.J. Simpson circus made a stop in Fargo.