Dangling a beer over the bar at Lee’s Tomb, O.J. Simpson began to playfully taunt Joe Namath.

The two men were sitting at the former Tuscaloosa bar during the spring of 1980. By that time, Simpson and Namath had accomplished more than most athletes had up to that point. In many ways, both men had made the successful move from athlete to personality, transcending the sport that had brought them fame and national adulation.

Simpson, who had retired from the San Francisco 49ers the previous season, had already cemented himself as one of the all-time leading rushers in football history and had begun a new career in acting, advertising and sports commentary. Likewise, Namath had long been established as both a natural athlete with the New York Jets and had become a media celebrity in his own right.

Despite the legacies and careers each had built up for himself in life after football, both men were still very passionate about their alma maters — Namath from the University of Alabama and Simpson from the University of Southern California.

Such loyalty was on display at Lee’s Tomb, a Tuscaloosa bar where Wilhagan’s now stands. While the men talked, dozens of people gathered around as an NBC film crew captured the conversation.

“Come on, Joe, I mean, you have to be realistic, man. Sometimes I think you have been sacked too many times,” Simpson playfully said as he sipped a beer from the bar. “We’re talking about USC. You know, pride, poise, tradition, size and power. You guys don’t have a chance, man.”

Namath was not shy to dish it back to Simpson.

“Size? Power? Speed? It sounds like you’re talking about Alabama, and that’s what this thing is all about, by the way: speed and quickness,” Namath said.

In an almost sincere way, Simpson asked Namath if he thought he would come all the way to Tuscaloosa just to watch his team lose.

“Well, you’re used to it,” Namath said.

Overhearing the conversation, the bartender walked up in front of the men to discuss what he assumed they had been discussing: football.

“Hey, fellas, the season has been over for four months,” the bartender said. “Nobody is talking about football down here anymore.”

Confused, Simpson stared at the bartender, later revealed to be Don Ohlmeyer, a friend of Simpson’s and a television executive producer who would go on to become a major figure at NBC.

“Football?” Simpson asked.

“We’re not talking about football. We’re talking about chugging,” Namath said.

The next moment, the crowd began to cheer, starting what would be a segment of a pilot television program called “The Sunday Games,” where Simpson and Namath would coach two student teams from Alabama and USC during a beer-drinking competition. The pilot aired on NBC on April 27, 1980, and was hosted by Bruce Jenner, who later became Caitlyn Jenner after transitioning to a woman.

The TV segment captured an unusual connection Simpson had to Tuscaloosa, years before the 1994 murder of his ex-wife and a waiter in Los Angeles and the infamous "trial of the century" that ensued. Nearly 40 years later, the show is one full of memories for the people involved, especially of Simpson, who was released from prison Sunday after spending nearly a decade behind bars.

Making the show

Leading up to the premiere of “The Sunday Games,” a lot of changes had occurred at NBC that led the network to take a gamble on the show. Earlier that year, President Jimmy Carter announced that in response to Soviet-Afghan War, the United States would not be participating in the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow. NBC, the network scheduled to broadcast for the Olympics that year, needed to pivot in order to keep viewership high.

Leading up to “The Sunday Games,” Ohlmeyer was serving as the executive producer for the network’s sports division. Before the Olympics cancellation, NBC had been toying with the idea of hosting a program about normal people competing in unusual games, such as a taxicab demolition derby, a belly-flop contest and a competition featuring the “World’s Toughest Bouncer.” The show’s lasting legacy was Sylvester Stallone watching the show and noticing Lawrence Tureaud. Known as Mr. T., he portrayed Clubber Lang in “Rocky III” and starred in the show “The A-Team.”

Donna de Varona, a former athlete who won the gold medal in swimming during the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo, had previously left her job as a sports reporter at ABC to cover the Olympics for NBC.

“I had little consistent work until I went to NBC,” de Varona said. “When Ohlmeyer called, you answered.”

With no chances of covering the Olympics on the horizon, de Varona was put on duty to cover “The Sunday Games,” reporting on the beer-chugging competition in Tuscaloosa.

“It was a far cry anchoring the night show of Olympic games coverage,” she said. “I really wish I had covered the Olympics.”

After the pilot episode, the show was ordered to a full series and renamed "Games People Play." Despite its unusual subject matter, the show failed to find a substantial audience and was canceled that December.

In the book "Real People and the Rise of Reality Television," author Michael McKenna noted that while "Games People Play" was not a highly influential program when it came to future reality show programming, it was a predecessor of many contemporary reality shows in its use of celebrities.

"In the first decade of the 21st century, celebrities, many of them on the downside of their careers, or limited in talent, found themselves featured in reality shows that were hugely popular (e.g. "The Apprentice," "The Surreal Life")," McKenna wrote. "'Games People Play' was one of the few 1980s reality shows to feature prominent celebrities from sports, TV, and films."

The chug-off

The idea for the drinking competition came from Ohlmeyer and the producers, who focused on trying to get students from Alabama and USC to participate. Before the show aired, both schools’ football programs were considered among the best in the country.

At the end of the 1979 season, Alabama was selected as the best team in the nation in the polls, with USC second. The year before, the AP Poll listed Alabama as the No. 1 team while USC made first place in the coaches' poll.

“NBC had an idea to put O.J. and Joe Namath in a bar and have them decide who was No. 1 over a beer competition,” said Gary Sawyer, who represented USC in the contest.

The plan for the pilot show was to have two teams from each school compete against each other. Each team had four men and one woman, competing to see who could go through three rounds of beer-drinking the fastest.

Jay Noonan, then a sophomore at USC, was on the university’s fraternity council and a member of Phi Gamma Delta when NBC producers began scouting for students to take part in the competition. After producers approached Noonan and the council about the show, Noonan began assembling a group from other fraternities and sororities on campus.

Across the country, sophomore Jim Ransom had been signed up by UA’s Phi Gamma Delta chapter to compete. For Ransom, what went on behind the scenes at Lee’s Tomb during a two- to three-day television shoot still sticks out in his memory.

“I remember what I remember, but I was pretty hammered most of that week,” Ransom said.

The first day of shooting took place before Alabama’s spring break. However, the shoot was already becoming a difficult endeavor because of television policy at the time to not show real beer being drunk on camera.

“At the time, the network didn’t know if we would be drinking beer, milk or apple juice,” Sawyer said.

Ultimately, Ohlmeyer challenged the network, saying the teams would drink real beer or he would not be part of the project.

In the edited version of the competition, both Simpson and Namath are seen talking to the teams, building them up through pep talks.

“I’m proud of you,” Simpson told the USC students. “No matter what you do, I’m proud of you. I’ve never had a group of people I’ve enjoyed more.

“Just remember one thing: It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, until you lose.”

In contrast, Namath took the opportunity to have fun with the group and use Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, whose picture adorned a wall in the former bar, as the target of his snark.

“General Lee used to come here, right to this very spot, right here where we’re standing,” Namath said. “He used to come right here and sip the finest Southern whiskey we had. You got to remember: Let’s go out and win one for the Sipper.”

The program featured each student introduced just like sports programs feature individual athletes, citing their full name and their class level. In a twist, the program also featured each player’s best drinking record. For example, Ransom’s fastest time to swallow 16 ounces of beer was 4.2 seconds.

The day of the shoot, the network gave the students passes so that their friends could attend the taping. The crowd seen on film may be due in large part to Ransom, whose friend mimeographed the passes and gave those out to bring in more people.

Simpson and Namath were not the only celebrities at Lee’s Tomb during the shoot. Making sure that the crew turned off their cameras, football coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant stopped by to see the set.

“I remember him walking over to Simpson and Namath and saying, ‘I hear we have a couple of new recruits with us today,’ ” said Johnny Mack Hutt, co-owner of Lee’s Tomb, who served as referee.

Toward the end of the segment, the students began the competition. Although momentarily keeping up, Alabama lost to USC, which was awarded a silver beer mug on a wooden plaque.

“It’s not the MacArthur Bowl, but I think it’s some students from two fine universities who had a good time here,” Simpson told de Varona during the broadcast. “I just hope it encourages the school to schedule one another in football. I’m a football enthusiast and in recent years, the two schools have had a great rivalry.”

Not wanting to be outdone, Namath had the final word.

“In the famous words of General Lee to General Grant at Appomattox: How about two out of three?” Namath said.

Looking back, de Varona said a competition like that would probably not be aired on a major network today.

“It was a different time,” de Varona said. “We know so much more about binge drinking and alcoholism than we did then.”

Nonetheless, Noonan still holds warm memories of the time he left home to be on television, drinking beer and hanging out with other college students.

“I still have a beer mug signed by both Simpson and Namath,” Noonan said.

Other students remember the competition as being another chapter of their lives.

“Now I look back and it’s part of my college experience,” Sawyer said.

Just a man

People involved with the show distinctly remember how meeting Simpson was an honor, but reflected on how their views on him had changed over the years.

With the exception of the morning leading up to the shoot, both teams fully took advantage of NBC’s accommodations, paying for USC students’ trip to Tuscaloosa, in addition to paying for everyone’s meals and drinks. Even Namath and Simpson kept up with the students.

“They were right in the crowd with us for two or three nights,” Ransom said.

For Ransom, meeting someone of Simpson’s stature was an experience he would always remember. As a boy, Ransom watched Simpson during his college football days, as well as his time with the Buffalo Bills and the 49ers.

“He was very friendly to me, and we had a good time,” Ransom said. “We all got pretty intoxicated together.”

Hutt said what struck him most about Simpson was who was at his side for most of the shoot — his girlfriend, Nicole Brown, who would later become his wife.

“I thought that was a little odd,” Hutt said. “You didn’t see many black men with white women in those days.”

Randy Branch of the band Oakley Hill, which played at the bar after filming, remembered Brown being by Simpson's side.

"She looked like she could have been one of the co-eds because of how young she was," Branch said.

Years later, Simpson would be at the center of suspicion and scrutiny after the 1994 killing of Brown and Ron Goldman at her home in Brentwood, California, a suburb on the west side of Los Angeles. Simpson was arrested and tried on charges of killing them. Public opinion was polarized regarding whether Simpson was involved in the murders, but a jury ultimately acquitted him of all charges. In 1997, a jury in a civil lawsuit trial found Simpson liable for their deaths.

In 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with trying to rob someone in a hotel room who he believed had been in possession of personal memorabilia that had been stolen from him. On Oct. 3, 2008, which coincidentally was the 13th anniversary of his acquittal in his ex-wife’s death, a jury found Simpson guilty and a judge sentenced him to up to 33 years in jail with a possibility of parole after nine years.

On July 20, Simpson was granted parole and is scheduled to be released by Monday at the earliest.

De Varona, who worked with Simpson at ABC Sports and knew him as a friend in those days, said it was sad seeing him lose everything he had and everyone he loved over the years. She pointed to how difficult it can be for some athletes when they are no longer playing sports.

“I don’t know what part the life in Hollywood played in his downfall, but it was sad,” de Varona said.

Specifically, de Varona recalled how she had dinner with Simpson once in 1985 to help him with his career. At that time, he was part of the broadcasting team on “Monday Night Football” for ABC, along with Namath. According to de Varona, Simpson had been on thin ice with the network because he was taking his job for granted and “doing what he wanted.”

“I told him, ‘You have to start ramping up your game and you have to articulate more,’ ” she said.

By 1986, ABC had removed both Simpson and Namath from “Monday Night Football.” Simpson later picked up sports reporting work for NBC and was involved in other business ventures. While not speaking about Simpson’s innocence or guilt, de Varona said she believes that his diminished media exposure following his ouster from ABC, in addition to being away from football, were part of many things that ultimately led to his downfall.

“When his whole identity started to fragment, he began to fragment,” she said.

Noonan said that, unfortunately, Simpson’s story is a common one.

“I think we hear about it too much,” he said. “There are a lot of stories of people making tons of money and fame and systematically peeing it away.”

Sawyer said he believes Simpson killed Brown and Goldman, adding that his fall was tragic.

“Like any politicians, I’m sure they did a lot of great work and they are known for those other issues,” Sawyer said. “It doesn’t matter what it is; it just takes one thing to wreck your reputation.”

Although Simpson is now a free man, de Varona said she feels Simpson will never be truly free from scorn and suspicion. Ultimately, she called Simpson’s life over the last 30 years an American tragedy.

“Before he was sent to prison, he was in America’s prison,” she said. “He’ll continue to stay in America’s prison.”

Reach Drew Taylor at drew.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 2015-722-0204.