SHAQUILLE O'NEAL - C Magazine / columbusmag.com

Key
Witness
Interview: Jason E. Ohlson | Intro: Annie Beecham
Photography: Eric Wagner
There are some things that everybody knows
about Shaq. For starters, he is a seven-foot-oneinch,
325-pound giant, a fact that has greatly
contributed to him becoming one of the greatest
basketball players of all time. He is funny,
recognized as a notoriously quote-worthy celebrity and loves
the limelight. He also likes winning—national championships
mostly—and is therefore very confident. He speaks his mind
unabashedly to anyone anywhere. And he reached the elevated
status of being referred to by only the first four letters of his
first name a long time ago. Yes, these things we know.
But his larger-than-life poise is a sharp dichotomy to the
insecure city where he has now taken up home. It’s no secret
that Cleveland’s economy is shaky, hinging on the success of its
basketball team. More precisely, Cleveland’s economic future is
hinging on the security that an NBA championship would give
to the likelihood of LeBron staying planted in the zip code after
his contract expires next year. And with the Cavs’ acquisition
of its new celebrity player, the morale of Clevelanders and Cavs
fans alike—and the elephant in the room: keeping the city’s
flailing economy afloat—are resting on the hulking shoulders
of a confident Shaq. Hopes are that he’ll gel with the team
successfully, and they can achieve this season’s one and only
goal: Win the King a ring.
28 C The Columbus magazine Holiday Columbusmag.com