College and NFL football are in full swing. If you were lucky enough to find yourself in West Texas Saturday afternoon, you could have caught our man Shaq at a pregame show before the Texas Tech game.
They call Lubbock the “Hub City” (not sure why, to be honest), and O’Neal was back there to DJ a pregame EDM show (electronic dance music, don’t ya know?) before the Texas Tech Red Raiders took on the Sun Devils of Arizona State University. For those keeping score at home, the Red Raiders beat ASU, 30-22, improving their record to 3-2 for the season so far (as of this writing / posting).
Lubbock Texas is also the home of one of Shaq’s very own Big Chicken fast-casual restaurants. In fact, it’s believed that this particular dining spot – close to the Texas Tech campus – is the best-performing outlet in the entire Big Chicken chain. Hungry young people in the area, we’re sure.
Performing under his stage name DJ Diesel, Shaq laid down the music and bantered with the crowd in what they call “Raider Alley” a few hours before the game. Talking to local reporters before the onstage appearance, Shaq talked about his enjoyment of the music and DJ scene, saying, “I only do this because I really love it.”
The BIG Podcast with SHAQ
Of course the whole “Diesel” thing started during the big man’s NBA career. Back then is was all about his dominance and power in the game. Now it’s more about his music, and a great DJ moniker. O’Neal has been making and playing music for more than three decades, His 1993 disc titled “Shaq Diesel” was a platinum-selling hip-hop album released in his NBA rookie season back in 1993.
Needless to say, the Raider Alley show was totally jam-packed just before the game at Jones AT&T Stadium. Shaq even flashed a “guns up” at the crowd, to the delight of Tech fans who had gathered to hear his set.
After the show and once the game got started, Shaq made his way to his new Big Chicken restaurant in southwest Lubbock — as we said, probably the top-performing franchise in the company. This particular outlet has only been open since last month, but is already winning over the local community. The franchise is owned by Lubbock native Coby Jones, who’s been in the restaurant business since 1989.
Of course the big man doesn’t just show up at any particular location without being noticed, especially his own Big Chicken shop. While there, he took photos with fans, signed autographs and ate lunch. Word is that more Big Chicken outlets are in the works for West Texas and the Lubbock area. With the success of the current one, why not add to the winning recipe?