Despite a time change, a very rainy and windy Atlanta on Tuesday, National Oreo Day with retired NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal went off quite nicely!

Shaquille O’Neal was in Atlanta with a pop-up “Snack Shaq” giving away the new Oreo candy bar with mint while celebrating both Oreo’s 106th birthday and his own 46th! There were several media and social media influencers on site as well as many Atlantans out in the heavy drizzle and wind waiting for a candy bar from Shaq!

I was given a few minutes to talk with him and I asked about his partnership with Oreo as he has long been a spokesman for this yummy snack.

Like so many of us, Shaq said he was introduced to Oreo as a kid by his momma with old fashioned cookies and milk, so this iconic snack has been a favorite his entire life!  He has actually been in a “fabulous relationship” with Oreo for the last 10 years and tries to stay involved with them on many levels.  Shaq mentioned that it was “important to him to be involved and have a personal connection with a product that he was familiar.”  Over the years Oreo has expanded from the original cookie, lemon and birthday cake being two of his favorites, as well as ventured out into candy bars.

I had intended to ask about upcoming March Madness, as my own university (Lipscomb U) has made the dance for the first time EVER, and am I ever the fan of an undrdog! But, someone beat me to it.  Shaq said he wasn’t really keeping up with it, so I left that on the table!

{Maybe we’ll have the opportunity to talk basketball another day.}

I have always heard stories about how kind Shaquille O’Neal is and y’all he was so sweet despite this inexperienced interviewer asking questions.  I had let Bradley skip school to go with me as my photographer and upon introducing them Shaq asked what his plans were.  With the mention of boot camp and the Marine Corp, his whole professional demeanor changed and he thanked Bradley and told him to stay safe.  He was very kindhearted and so sincere.  It totally explains why he has such a loyal fanbase!

During our interview Shaq was talking about all of the candy bars they were giving away and said, “If you’re having a party, I’ll send you a hundred!”

Well, he sent two boxes of bars to my Madeline’s Point University Lacrosse team which they were able to enjoy and celebrate National Oreo Day after a victory over Berry College in Rome that afternoon!

For National Oreo Day,  Shaquille O’Neal was giving out over 1,000,000 Oreo candy bars both in person and online through OreoBirthdayGiveaway.com .  You can register online for a coupon through March 12, or until all of the coupons are given away.