Menu
The Shaqground Story
For a quarter-century, Shaquille O'Neal, or Shaq, has risen to become one of today's most popular characters and cultural icons, among the likes of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, and Gandhi. Shaq has graced many of today's mediums such as film, television, rap music, erotic novels, and video games. He is best known to be a prominent mascot for the NBA and is commonly associated with the sport of basketball in general. Among the common public, Shaq is seen as simply a fun character within pop culture, but we believe there is much more to Shaq than just a fictional being, Unlike his fellow fictional counterparts, Shaq is not a one trick pony and is used in a much more versatile manner. The complexity of Shaq's character paired with real-world sightings of mysterious figures that share many similarities with his description has led us to ask the question: Is Shaq Real?
Shaq Origins
Although it is a disputed issue within the International Coalition of Shaq Truthers, the origin of Shaq seems to stem from 14th century Irish folklore. Stories told of Shaquille the Great, a charismatic giant who would serve as a guardian to many of Ireland's towns and villages. Many of these tales described Shaquille as a man of charm and humor who was well-liked by those he met. However, when in the face of enemies, Shaquille would replace his likable demeanor with one of a ruthless warrior. Wielded with nothing but a stone orb, Shaquille would use his size and dominance to shatter his enemies and dunk them into the ground. The legend of Shaquille was passed down from generation to generation, and even picked up the last name of O'Neal along the way. While he is most known to be an Irish legend, mostly because of the known existence of written tales, reports of eerily similar stories have come out areas all over the globe, such as from the Himalayas, Polynesia, and multiple Native American tribes.
Modern Shaq
For reasons unknown, Shaq had a sudden rise in prominence beginning in the year of 1992. The Orlando Magic deemed Shaq as their official mascot and went on to become a dominant force in the Eastern Conference. Businesses began to realize the marketing potential of Shaq and began expose him to audiences outside the realm of basketball. Shaq was used as the main character of the hit 1994 video game, Shaq Fu. He was later interpreted in through state-of-the-art CGI in the hit, Academy Award-winning film, Kazaam. As soon as the Los Angeles Lakers chose to use Shaq as their mascot in 1996, Shaq began to surpass Mickey Mouse as the world's most popular fictional being. Since then, Shaq has been used as a mascot for the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics, as well as for General Auto Insurance and Gold Bond.
Shaq Origins
Although it is a disputed issue within the International Coalition of Shaq Truthers, the origin of Shaq seems to stem from 14th century Irish folklore. Stories told of Shaquille the Great, a charismatic giant who would serve as a guardian to many of Ireland's towns and villages. Many of these tales described Shaquille as a man of charm and humor who was well-liked by those he met. However, when in the face of enemies, Shaquille would replace his likable demeanor with one of a ruthless warrior. Wielded with nothing but a stone orb, Shaquille would use his size and dominance to shatter his enemies and dunk them into the ground. The legend of Shaquille was passed down from generation to generation, and even picked up the last name of O'Neal along the way. While he is most known to be an Irish legend, mostly because of the known existence of written tales, reports of eerily similar stories have come out areas all over the globe, such as from the Himalayas, Polynesia, and multiple Native American tribes.
Modern Shaq
For reasons unknown, Shaq had a sudden rise in prominence beginning in the year of 1992. The Orlando Magic deemed Shaq as their official mascot and went on to become a dominant force in the Eastern Conference. Businesses began to realize the marketing potential of Shaq and began expose him to audiences outside the realm of basketball. Shaq was used as the main character of the hit 1994 video game, Shaq Fu. He was later interpreted in through state-of-the-art CGI in the hit, Academy Award-winning film, Kazaam. As soon as the Los Angeles Lakers chose to use Shaq as their mascot in 1996, Shaq began to surpass Mickey Mouse as the world's most popular fictional being. Since then, Shaq has been used as a mascot for the Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics, as well as for General Auto Insurance and Gold Bond.