When Shaquille O’Neal does something, he does it big. There’s no other way to live when you’re a 7-foot NBA legend with such an ebullient personality. Shaq has been the Big Diesel, the Big Cactus and the Big Aristotle. You don’t get an extra-large pepperoni pizza from Papa John’s, you get a Shaq-a-Roni. Shaq is all big, all the time.
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On his fittingly named The Big Podcast with Shaq, the dominant center had a conversation with another athlete who used to intimidate his foes: former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Shaq and Iron Mike touched on a variety of topics over their hour-long chat, flitting from funny anecdotes to candid stories, and nostalgic remembrances to introspective musings.
It was a great chat between two sporting icons, but things got real when the topic of getting older came up.
“Do you not wanna be 60 and 70 and 80?” Shaq asked Mike. “I don’t wanna live that long, no,” Mike responded. “Not ’til 80?” Shaq pressed. “F*** no, I hope not! Listen, I don’t cling to life like that,” Mike said.
Some believed Tyson was looking to go out on his shield when he returned to the ring to fight an almost 30 years younger Jake Paul in November, though no punches of significance actually ended up being thrown.
Shaq doesn’t necessarily want to die young, but he does know that he wants to keep having fun and living large well into his twilight years.
“I have seven summers left to where I’m 60 years old,” Shaq said. “I tell my kids all the time, ‘I don’t want you taking care of me.'”
Shaq has a lot of kids, though the exact number is somewhat of a mystery based on things he’s said in the past. Maybe it’s just the six we know about, maybe there’s a mystery seventh, or maybe his Inside the NBA cohost Charles Barkley was right when he put the number at 17. Regardless, he doesn’t want to be a burden to them as he ages.
As for how he plans on doing that, well, Shaq has an explanation. “The dream scenario, there’s a place in [Florida] called The Villages, you heard of it? The Villages is an old folks home, but they have the highest rate of STDs. I want to be there. I don’t know what that means, but you figure it out.”
The Villages is known as the world’s largest retirement community. It’s the fastest-growing metro area in the U.S., home to over 130,000 residents and has more golf courses than any other community in the world. Shaq seems interested in a different kind of recreation, though.
If the rumors are true, then he may have chosen the right place, as The Villages has been unofficially known as ‘the STD capital of America.’ One rumor states that residents place different colored pool noodles in their golf carts to indicate their bedroom proclivities, while another claims that an upside-down pineapple is the go-to signal.
It’s important to note that none of these rumors have ever been confirmed to be true, but don’t tell Shaq that, because he seems to have big plans for his golden years. His cohost, Adam Lefkoe, however, was happy to paint a pretty picture. “I just imagine you surrounded by 75-year-old women with like a sign-up sheet on the door,” he chimed in.
Shaq agreed, listing all of his potential future partners by name. “Margaret, Gertrude, Alberta, Dolores, here I come. Seven more summers.”
There isn’t much else to say about this one except that the countdown is on.
