"But my mom, she sews": Shaquille O'Neal once comically joked his mom, Lucille O'Neal would 'sew' 2 parachutes so he can fulfil skydiving dream
Shaquille O'Neal has been living a great life outside of playing basketball and being a sports analyst. The seven-foot center is known to be willing to try out anything, including skydiving.
In a recent story by People Magazine, Shaq bared that told his mom about his skydiving plans. Known as a mama's boy, the four-time NBA Champion's mom was immediately concerned, but not about falling from the sky, rather due to the durability of the parachutes.
"My only fear is, can the parachute hold me? I went to one little class one time and the lady was like, 'How much do you weigh?' I was like, and at this time I was heavy, I was like, '400 lbs.' She was like, 'I think it goes up to 350. But my mom, she sews. She can sew two together.'"
Shaquille O'Neal jokingly added that he was lucky that his mom was not doing any sewing that day.
"It'll be just my luck that mom didn't feel like sewing that day. And then I'll be all the way up there and then the thing just rips in half. So I want to make sure that everything's in order before I go up there."
Shaquille O'Neal once hosted a show called "Shaq Vs."
The former Lakers big man is known and even documented to try something unique. In 2009-10, the 15-time NBA All-Star once hosted the show "Shaq Vs."
This show was produced by his Phoenix Suns' teammate Steve Nash and featured O'Neal going up against the best athletes in their respective sports and even celebrities in their own professions.
"So, one night I'm watching Michael Phelps swim and I said, 'Damn, that dude is fast,'" O'Neal said on when they conceptualized 'Shaq Vs.'.
"I'm talking to my boys and I said, 'Do you think if Michael Phelps went down and back for one lap and all I had to do was just go down for half a lap, could I beat him? I think I could.' We started laughing, and I said, 'That's it. That's my show, Shaq vs.'"
From that show that ran for two seasons, some memorable episodes were 'Shaq vs. Oscar De La Hoya', 'Shaq vs. Michael Phelps' and 'Shaq vs Justin Bieber'.
Other athletes that were featured in the show were Ben Roethlisberger, Albert Pujols, Misty May, Treanor, Kerry Walsch, Shane Mosley and Dale Earnheart Jr.