Some of Shaquille O’Neal’s beefs over the years have been just hilarious, alongside being head-scratchers as well. Well, at least his so-called beef with Dwight Howard makes the list and still seems to be a sensitive topic to this day. Recently, Shaq had NFL legend Cam Newton as a guest on The Big Podcast with Shaq. The two talked about their glory days and things that happened behind the scenes over the years.
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The two shared the moniker ‘Superman’ during their time in their respective leagues. Co-host Adam Lefkoe asked both former athletes to share the story of how they got that nickname while playing. While answering the question, Cam Newton seemed to have stepped on some shoes.
After Shaquille O’Neal shared the entire story of how he got the nickname, the former NFL MVP took the floor to share his side, “When I got to the league, they just said Superman, ‘cause he does a lot. Then I was like, ‘What about Dwight Howard? You know what I’m saying. What about Shaq?”
As soon as Newton brought up Howard’s name, Shaq had to take a moment as he immediately interrupted Cam and said, “Who?” Even co-host Adam Lefkoe had his hand on his forehead when he said, “God, why would you say that? This interview was going so well.”
Newton could not help but smirk at the camera in the end and play it off while saying, “Oh, there’s beef?”
Just to bring everyone up to speed, Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard had once beefed upon the moniker ‘Superman’ that was originally given to the Los Angeles Lakers legend during his playing days. Things took a turn downhill when Dwight Howard adopted that moniker in the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest, triggering the beef between him and Shaq on who the real Superman in the NBA was. But eventually, the two sorted things out, and Shaq eased his stance on Howard.
Shaquille O’Neal’s fascination with Superman
Before Cam Newton shared the entire incident of how he got the nickname ‘Superman,’ Shaquille O’Neal also shared his origin story of how he fell in love with that nickname during his early high school days.
“So, when the movie first came out, first time in the movie theater, I’d seen him run faster than the train. That’s the only thing I remember. In Jersey, I lived by the train yard. So, one day when that train was coming, and I took off. I was probably way ahead of the train but I took off and it wouldn’t catch up and then I crossed that. I was like, ‘Oh, I’m Superman’.”
Shaquille O’Neal was an avid Superman fan growing up back in the day. His love for the fictional movie character is evident with Shaq even donning a tattoo of Superman’s symbol on his bicep. His love for the DC character is so strong that the death of Superman in the comic books actually took a toll on the seven-footer.
So, it was understandable for Shaq to fight for that moniker when someone else tried to steal that from him. Luckily, the beef between Shaq and Howard pacified over time and the Big Aristotle even went so far as to share his nickname with Giannis Antetokounmpo a few years ago as an act of respect and appreciation for his game.
