Shaquille O'Neal, in statue form, sits in Harvard Square
In case you missed it, Shaquille O'Neal(notes) did pose as a statue for almost an hour Thursday afternoon, in Cambridge, Massachusetts' Harvard Square. This is not an exaggeration, nor is it a test. I realize that I could write just about anything regarding this guy ("Shaq took part in a dune buggy race with Peter Cetera, while wearing a massive red tuxedo, last weekend") and you'd have to believe it. Because the 2000 NBA MVP is just that wacky.
But, no, he actually pulled this off. Check out this photo, from the Boston Globe:
That's pretty much how it went from about 2 p.m. Eastern until a little before 3 p.m. on Thursday. Here's how he explained it, to ESPNBoston's Chris Forsberg:
"I was watching the royal British guards. If you know anything about those guys they have tremendous discipline. The other idea is I always wanted to tell people I went to Harvard."
[Photos: Hoops star Shaquille O'Neal on the court]
So O'Neal tried the same approach, just substituting a fuzzy hat for a black hoodie. The Celtics center also Tweeted about his intentions before making it, in his words, "statue time."
[Another stunt: Ron Artest hits talk show in bearded disguise]
Somehow this gave his followers all the information they needed. It's a day later, and I'm still having trouble glomming on to what he's talking about from that Tweet. However, Boston fans, without ever having the luxury of seeing O'Neal play a single regular-season game in a Celtic uniform, knew exactly what was going down. From Forsberg's recap:
Shellie Dean of Dorchester had received a tweet from a friend notifying her that O'Neal was on his way to Harvard Square. Working at nearby Cambridge Trust Company, she rushed out when his Superman-stamped van pulled up (and a crowd formed) and secured her place at the front of the line.
"When he went into Au Bon Pain, we just kinda followed him," said Dean, who laughed while showing off her photos to those stuck at the back of the line. "I didn't think I'd get to meet him, but we were so close and we were ready."
So the statue went into Au Bon Pain, first, eh? Even works of art have to carbo-load.
[Funny: Shaq crashes strangers' wedding party]
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