What were you able to enjoy in the prime of its existence?

coolhandgopher

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I recently lamented that I wasn't born about 10-15 years younger, because then I would have been able to enjoy the glory years of bands like Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, The Who, etc etc and attend concerts for (relatively) dirt cheap costs. Which got me thinking, what have I been able to enjoy during my lifetime when it was happening?

* Must See TV on NBC Thursday nights. Back in the day, Channel 11 and then Channel 10 from Rochester were the channels with the best signal, so prior to a life of cable, most of my nights were spent watching NBC. This meant watching Cheers, Family Ties, Night Court and Hill Street Blues when they were getting dusted in the rankings and under constant threat of cancellation before The Cosby Show came along and provided a lift which eventually brought the likes of LA Law, Seinfeld, Friends, and ER into the rotation. Do people even watch broadcast shows anymore, much less celebrate a night, like back in these days?

* Smells Like Teen Spirit became a massive hit in the fall of my sophomore year of college and spawned the takeover of MTV by the grunge purveyors such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and the posers like Candlebox. There's a strong argument that the grunge era hasn't aged very well, but in that period of time, along with the offshoots of rock/power pop bands that weren't exactly grunge but were getting MTV play, it seems like the end of an era (or at least an era that's been dormant for some time) of actual bands getting airplay and selling records/CD's.

* In my eyes, college basketball experienced its golden age during the mid '80s to mid '90s. The advent of The Big East, the 64 team NCAA field, players staying around at least until junior year, and wonderfully colorful and talented teams, players, coaches, champions of the sport existed during that time that started to evaporate once KG made the leap from high school to the NBA.

* Drinking pop. Everyone was on a sugar rush back in the day, when you could buy Shasta rip-off brands for 33 cents a can and 12 packs would fly off the shelf, 2 for $5 (I worked at a grocery store in high school). Nowadays, I can't get through a 12 oz. can without my teeth hurting and my stomach churling. I'm quite happy for the days of the 7-11 Big Gulp (or whatever the Kwik Trip equivalent was) to be a distant memory.
 

I recently lamented that I wasn't born about 10-15 years younger, because then I would have been able to enjoy the glory years of bands like Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, The Who, etc etc and attend concerts for (relatively) dirt cheap costs. Which got me thinking, what have I been able to enjoy during my lifetime when it was happening?

* Must See TV on NBC Thursday nights. Back in the day, Channel 11 and then Channel 10 from Rochester were the channels with the best signal, so prior to a life of cable, most of my nights were spent watching NBC. This meant watching Cheers, Family Ties, Night Court and Hill Street Blues when they were getting dusted in the rankings and under constant threat of cancellation before The Cosby Show came along and provided a lift which eventually brought the likes of LA Law, Seinfeld, Friends, and ER into the rotation. Do people even watch broadcast shows anymore, much less celebrate a night, like back in these days?

* Smells Like Teen Spirit became a massive hit in the fall of my sophomore year of college and spawned the takeover of MTV by the grunge purveyors such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and the posers like Candlebox. There's a strong argument that the grunge era hasn't aged very well, but in that period of time, along with the offshoots of rock/power pop bands that weren't exactly grunge but were getting MTV play, it seems like the end of an era (or at least an era that's been dormant for some time) of actual bands getting airplay and selling records/CD's.

* In my eyes, college basketball experienced its golden age during the mid '80s to mid '90s. The advent of The Big East, the 64 team NCAA field, players staying around at least until junior year, and wonderfully colorful and talented teams, players, coaches, champions of the sport existed during that time that started to evaporate once KG made the leap from high school to the NBA.

* Drinking pop. Everyone was on a sugar rush back in the day, when you could buy Shasta rip-off brands for 33 cents a can and 12 packs would fly off the shelf, 2 for $5 (I worked at a grocery store in high school). Nowadays, I can't get through a 12 oz. can without my teeth hurting and my stomach churling. I'm quite happy for the days of the 7-11 Big Gulp (or whatever the Kwik Trip equivalent was) to be a distant memory.
Super America took over all 7-11s in MN.

College basketball was definitely better 25 years ago with older, NBA lottery players on college rosters. They were simply more developed with better quality games.
 

Gopher hockey with back to back national titles.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the CART/IRL split (It's slowly making its way back)

The Indiana High School Basketball Tournament before classification. Although, like a lot of things, somebody always says it was better 10 years previously.
 

* In my eyes, college basketball experienced its golden age during the mid '80s to mid '90s. The advent of The Big East, the 64 team NCAA field, players staying around at least until junior year, and wonderfully colorful and talented teams, players, coaches, champions of the sport existed during that time that started to evaporate once KG made the leap from high school to the NBA.
When I saw the thread title, I took a minute to think before clicking and you 100% hit the nail on the head here and I was going to say the same thing.

College basketball during that time, there just simply nothing like it. I played 4 years of college football and still loved watching college hoops way more than CFB. Big Monday on ESPN was the highlight of the week, back-to-back-to-back games of high level college basketball. There were great teams with players that played 3-4 years, you knew the players, the coaches, etc.

The Barn was one of the greatest venues in the country, it's sad that it's not anymore.

That was an easy one for me; the heyday of college basketball was just awesome to live through. In a time where sports outlets were extremely limited, I was still watching 6-8 college basketball games every week.
 

Fun topic.

Agree with ILH on Gopher Hockey. I was in the hockey pep band those years. Best season-long sports atmosphere I've ever experienced.

Craft beer. Love how the scene exploded over the past 15 years. Love drinking local. Seems like it has now plateaued with new breweries leveling off, regional brands staking their claim, and more deviations from the standard types.

Minneapolis hip hop. Groups like Atmosphere, Doomtree, Heiruspecs, et al put the scene on the national map. My cousin grew up and lives in LA and is in to all things hip hop. Even he said at the time that Mpls had the best indy rap scene in the nation.
 


Alternative Music/College music scene. I was able to catch onto REM from the get-go and experienced all of the later 80's into the 90's heyday (it until it died in the early 200's).

Went to First Ave multiple times a week for years and saw every alternative band that came into town. I can't believe my hearing is still good.
 

As an older guy and baseball fan, I appreciate that I was able to watch baseball in the mid-to-late 60's up to the mid-70's. great players - great teams. didn't see them all live, but a lot on TV. in the 60's, Mays, Mantle, Aaron, Koufax- then Killebrew, Oliva and Carew. The 69 Cubs with Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and co. the Big Red Machine Cincy teams. The Orioles of the late 60's and 70's - kept the Twins out of the World Series in 69 and 70. The Red Sox-Reds series - Fisk willing the home run to stay fair. The "We are Family" Pirates - Stargell & Clemente. Damn, I miss those days when Baseball really mattered and the All-Star game was a highlight of the season.

College hoops - watched the Bird-Magic NCAA final game in a bar. it wasn't a great game, but just watching Bird and Magic try to one-up each other. Come to think of it, also saw the Doug Flutie 'Hail Mary' pass for Boston College in a bar. had to wait for the replay because nobody believed what we had just seen.

Music-wise: probably one of the best nights of my life - scalped front-row center tickets for Springsteen at the old St. Paul Civic Center in Nov of '78 on the Darkness tour. 3-1/2 hours of one of the greatest live bands of all time at its peak.
 

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition hit its prime during my teen years. Nowadays everything is digital with easy access. But back then I would wait with eager anticipation for each year's edition to arrive, right around Valentine's Day IIRC. Kathy Ireland, Elle Macpherson, Tyra Banks, Rebecca Romijn, et al. :love:
 

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition hit its prime during my teen years. Nowadays everything is digital with easy access. But back then I would wait with eager anticipation for each year's edition to arrive, right around Valentine's Day IIRC. Kathy Ireland, Elle Macpherson, Tyra Banks, Rebecca Romijn, et al. :love:
Yep.
 



The "We are Family" Pirates - Stargell & Clemente. Damn, I miss those days when Baseball really mattered and the All-Star game was a highlight of the season.
Clemente tragically died years before the 1979 “We Are Family” team. But I too miss the days of the Saturday afternoon NBC Game of the Week and watching This Week in Baseball on the weekends to see highlights (no ESPN in the 1970’s).
 

Idk. There used to be a place (when I was a young kid in the 90s) called 'Leaps and Bounds' that was a massive (by kids standards) indoor play station and indoor jungle gym. The Maple Grove Community Center had/has one that was a fraction of the size. If anything like that still exists.....I doubt it will anymore.
 

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition hit its prime during my teen years. Nowadays everything is digital with easy access. But back then I would wait with eager anticipation for each year's edition to arrive, right around Valentine's Day IIRC. Kathy Ireland, Elle Macpherson, Tyra Banks, Rebecca Romijn, et al. :love:
And then two weeks later I would get the renewal notice. Genius.
 

Clemente tragically died years before the 1979 “We Are Family” team. But I too miss the days of the Saturday afternoon NBC Game of the Week and watching This Week in Baseball on the weekends to see highlights (no ESPN in the 1970’s).

There would be a few Saturday's that NBC would have both a Noon and the 3 pm game. I thought those days were akin to a national holiday to me.

I will also add Monday Night Football, late 70s. It never mattered who was playing, it was the focal point of the week including the Halftime Highlights (again pre-ESPN).
 



There would be a few Saturday's that NBC would have both a Noon and the 3 pm game. I thought those days were akin to a national holiday to me.

I will also add Monday Night Football, late 70s. It never mattered who was playing, it was the focal point of the week including the Halftime Highlights (again pre-ESPN).
Does anything come close to NFL Primetime or SportsCenter back in the 90's? Phenomenal shows that the internet killed.
 

Clemente tragically died years before the 1979 “We Are Family” team. But I too miss the days of the Saturday afternoon NBC Game of the Week and watching This Week in Baseball on the weekends to see highlights (no ESPN in the 1970’s).
Mel Allen correct?
 


The NFL Today, with Brent Musburger, Irv Cross, Phyllis George and of course, Jimmy "the Greek" Snyder! All had different personalities, but made the show great. What a great way to start off your Sunday afternoon of football
 

Craft beer. Love how the scene exploded over the past 15 years. Love drinking local. Seems like it has now plateaued with new breweries leveling off, regional brands staking their claim, and more deviations from the standard types.

Feels like Seltzer has derailed the Craft Beer movement craze somewhat. Not for me though. Bleh.
 

Feels like Seltzer has derailed the Craft Beer movement craze somewhat. Not for me though. Bleh.

There's still way more craft beer than you could ever possibly need to drink.
 




A man without a plan is not a man... and a donut with no holes is a danish
I thought it was a "A flute without holes is not not a flute, a donut with no holes is a danish."

Thank you very little.
 

* Must See TV on NBC Thursday nights. Back in the day, Channel 11 and then Channel 10 from Rochester were the channels with the best signal, so prior to a life of cable, most of my nights were spent watching NBC. This meant watching Cheers, Family Ties, Night Court and Hill Street Blues when they were getting dusted in the rankings and under constant threat of cancellation before The Cosby Show came along and provided a lift which eventually brought the likes of LA Law, Seinfeld, Friends, and ER into the rotation. Do people even watch broadcast shows anymore, much less celebrate a night, like back in these days?

As good as that NBC/Thursday line-ups were, probably better was CBS/Saturdays in the early to mid-70s. In 1973 the line-up was All in the Family, MASH, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart and Carol Burnett. That's like a 1927 Yankees roster.

Even very young, I do remember how weekend plans could completely revolve around those shows, though mostly I enjoyed them in reruns. Still do today for some of them. By the mid-70s with the Jefferson's and Alice being mixed in, it was still pretty good stuff, by that time I was old enough to experience and remember it.

Grant Tinker had a lot to do with both the CBS/Saturday and NBC/Thursday juggernauts.
 
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A lot of us are old enough to remember when boxing, especially the Heavyweight division, was one of the hottest tickets going. You didn't miss a big fight on tv during those years. Some really great fights and some really great rivalries/matchups
 

A lot of us are old enough to remember when boxing, especially the Heavyweight division, was one of the hottest tickets going. You didn't miss a big fight on tv during those years. Some really great fights and some really great rivalries/matchups
I still remember watching the Ali - Ernie Shavers fight on the big screen at the Five Corners Saloon - with Leinie's on tap.....Shavers hit Ali with a hook that would have knocked out a Rhino. Ali shook it off and came back to win the fight.
 

Super America took over all 7-11s in MN.

College basketball was definitely better 25 years ago with older, NBA lottery players on college rosters. They were simply more developed with better quality games.
The irony is the company that owns 7-11 bought all the Speedways from Marathon and they will once again all become 7-11's again
 

A lot of us are old enough to remember when boxing, especially the Heavyweight division, was one of the hottest tickets going. You didn't miss a big fight on tv during those years. Some really great fights and some really great rivalries/matchups
Being old enough to go to a bar and watch the Hitman fight Hagler, etc. was awesome!
 

Being old enough to go to a bar and watch the Hitman fight Hagler, etc. was awesome!
Let's be real; during that era, up in the more northern parts of MN, being old enough to be in the bar meant being 12 or 14 years old
 





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