The film begins with a common trope of 80s teen dramas: the move to a new city. Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his mother, Lucille, are westbound from New Jersey to the “dream destination” of Los Angeles. Dream destination for Lucille because she has a hot new career; more of a nightmare for Daniel as he’s leaving the familiar Italian American East Coast culture for a world of blonds, beaches, and bullying. (It may be surprising to youths today, but there was a time when California was imagined as a new world, almost separate from the rest of the U.S., instead of an off-putting land that people are escaping from to return to their roots.). By drawing the attention of dream girl Ali (Elizabeth Shue) at the beach, he invites the wrath of her ex-boyfriend Johnny (William Zabka) and his gang of fellow karate students, who are trained by the no-chill Cobra Kai dojo owner Kreese (Martin Kove). Daniel knows some karate, but not enough to make a difference. Fortunately, after multiple instances of violence against him, a friendly maintenance worker, Mr. Nariyoshi Miyagi (Pat Morita), who has gotten to know Daniel and his mother, intervenes, and thus starts a journey where not only does Daniel develop his skills to defend himself, but he grows in qualities that are important even if he loses interest in karate.

What makes this film interesting is less because of the action and more because of the characters’ personalities and relationships between the characters. The director John G. Avildsen doesn’t direct sports films. You may be saying to yourself, “Hey, didn’t he direct Rocky?” Yes, he did, but Rocky is not a sports film. Yes, the MacGuffin is Rocky’s boxing career and his shot at the Heavyweight title, but the meat of that film is Rocky’s relationship with Adrian, Paulie, Mickey, and himself. We even find out more about Rocky and Apollo outside of the ring during their pre-fight interactions than we do when they’re pummeling each other through the rounds. Similarly, while the fight sequences are competent (I prefer the two action sequences where Daniel is targeted by the bullies to the end tournament; there’s only so much you can do to make points-based, contact-limited martial arts tournaments exciting), the heart is in the dramatic scenes. We see Daniel as a sure, street-smart kid on first arrival to California, but it’s hard to forget his humiliated look following his first takedown by Johnny, when he’s been abandoned by his new friends and is left to be diminished, as he sees it, in the eyes of Ali. Another emotional scene involves Daniel’s trashing of his bike after another beatdown: it’s short, but it conveys all that Daniel hates concerning his situation—he’s a stranger in a strange and privileged land, and there seems to be nothing that he can do about it.

Ralph Macchio is not the only one that gets to give a good performance. In fact, one might say that Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi often steals the spotlight. Being a film featuring martial arts, Mr. Miyagi could’ve been portrayed as an unworldly, mystic master, especially since such archetypes were predominant up to that point. However, while Mr. Miyagi is wise, he’s also human. His relationship with Daniel is often more like that of a father and son than sensei and student. It’s not through specific karate skills that he teaches Daniel self-discipline but through household chores. Only later does Daniel see how such mundane activities contribute to his martial arts training. Obviously, the centerpiece scene is Mr. Miyagi’s drunken breakdown due to his reflection on a tragic (personally and nationally) event from decades before. A son would usually not want to see his father in such a state, and a father, especially one known for self-discipline, would not want to put on such a display. However, Daniel and Mr. Miyagi have both opened up to each other at this point. Mr. Miyagi is no longer just the firm teacher or provider of quips but is a person of vulnerability just like Daniel.

Even the antagonists have depth that a lesser movie might skip in exploring. Yes, the Cobra Kai are relentless in the tormenting of Daniel. However, we come to see that this aggression is fomented by the teaching of Kreese. (Daniel also doesn’t help himself by his cocky attitude at times). Why might Kreese have been so angry? Did his military experience in Vietnam inform him? (I haven’t watched Cobra Kai, but apparently, it goes more into detail about his past, and my speculation is confirmed). We see levels of compassion in Johnny’s fellow Cobra Kai when Johnny escalates matters, and by the end, he no longer has complete faith in Kreese’s teachings.

No film is perfect, even “perfect films.” I did find it convenient that every activity that Daniel was interested in, Johnny and the Cobra Kai were involved in. Daniel meets up with them during soccer tryouts; he’s already had some karate training while they’re all members of Kreese’s dojo; he rides a regular bike while they roar through the scenes on motorbikes; and Johnny just broke up with Ali, and she is ready to be on the rebound with Daniel at first sight. It’s understandable that there need to be scenes for conflict, but it makes Daniel seem more than fated to walk into trouble no matter where he goes in Reseda. Speaking of Ali, Shue gave a decent performance with the material given. However, there’s not much there. It’s hard to see what she sees in Daniel at first besides his being the opposite of Johnny in almost every way. People were surprised when she didn’t return for the sequel. Given the nature of high school relationships and the love-at-first-sight attraction between the two, I was not.

I’ve not said much about the music and don’t have much to say except that it’s adequate for the film’s aspirational nature; the pan flutes are a nice touch and don’t overwhelm the atmosphere, unlike a lot of Asian-themed movies. Most people remember Joe Esposito’s “You’re the Best,” but I believe that Bananarama’s “Cruel Summer” best epitomized the L.A. culture. Too bad it wasn’t included on the soundtrack album.

Today, moviegoers can watch all types of martial arts styling. It’s often included in typical action and comic book movie fare. What you don’t get is a story where karate is not an end, but a means for self-development. There are a lot more exciting tournament movies that you can watch. Here, the tournament is the dessert, the logical conclusion of a journey that begins when Daniel arrives unwillingly in Reseda. The meat and potatoes is the growth of Daniel under the paternal guidance of unassuming Mr. Miyagi, and this is still relatable years later.

Hey folks! I know we’re video game nerds one and all, but here’s a little secret about me: I love baseball. I’ve enjoyed watching the Cubs this season, and I’m a perennial Dodgers fan through thick and thin. I even played little league when I was a kid, and had a pretty good time doing it. There was a span of time in my youth, in fact, when I was obsessed with the sport. I was always bothered about how there didn’t seem to be any really good baseball video games… until I got RBI ’94 for my Genesis.

The RBI series was well established by the time this title came around, and ’94 was like the final casting of a design that got better each time. To touch on the series as a whole, it was a joint effort between Atari and Namco, which began in 1986 on the NES/Famicom as a Japanese title called “Family Stadium.” Since the Japanese love baseball as much as we do, it was a big hit there, which earned it a release in the USA. The series has been published here in the USA by Atari’s subsidiary Tengen, who are probably more infamous for the black-cartridge copy of Gauntlet almost every NES enthusiast has.

RBI ’94 was the last entry released for the Sega Genesis, and arguably the best one all-around. A lot of the basics were left unchanged from RBI 93 the year before, but things were cleaned up and the game was given a graphical once-over. New sound and music was also added, taking full advantage of the Genesis’s killer sound suite (I know you guys grind your teeth every time I praise it, but come on, it’s great). The entire MLB roster, as usual, is represented, as well as a few iconic historical teams from years previous. Players can engage in a good old fashioned game of 9 innings, try for the home run derby trophy, do some quick-play scenarios called “game breakers,” or even build their own teams from the rosters represented. (If you want to have some fun, throw a team together from the heavy hitters on the American and National teams from 1990.) My personal favorite is the home run derby, which I usually go after with Cecil Fielder circa 1990. That was always the cool thing about RBI‘s games for me; the game would take yearly and career stats into account when determining a player’s capabilities.

One place the 1994 edition really shined was the new sound and music. The soundtrack is groovy as hell, and revisiting it through a nice low-end heavy set of speakers was really something else. When one takes the time to look, the graphics are really improved as well. Even the stadiums are more faithfully represented.

Embedded below are two videos I made myself. The first one is normal gameplay, while the second is me taking a crack at the home run derby as 1900’s Cecil Fielder and doing okay.

Tengen and Namco released RBI titles for the SNES and 32X in 1995, and I was pleased to learn that modern consoles are seeing a run of RBI titles directly oversen by the MLB. This most recent run started in 2014, and the 2016 edition for Xbox One is supposed to be really good.

Thanks for taking this trip to the stadium with me, folks! We’ll be delivering more videos and articles in June, so stay tuned!

So long, suckers!

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On January 23^rd, 1984, Hulk Hogan pinned the Iron
Sheik to win the WWF (know called WWE) World Championship. This began a
phenomenon lovingly referred to as “Hulkamania.” It also set off one of the
more interesting periods in professional wrestling, and in pop music, which
came to be known as the Rock & Wrestling Connection.

Having inherited the WWF from his ailing father in the early
80s, Vincent K. McMahon was setting out to make wrestling history in a variety
of ways. For those unfamiliar with early pro wrestling, the sport was
controlled and promoted on a regional level prior to the rise of the WWF. These
regions were called “territories.” McMahon’s power base in NYC and his
substantial financial clout enabled him to poach talent from these territories,
eventually eclipsing and subsuming them into his own.

After inheriting his father’s wrestling promotion, McMahon would go on to turn it into a multi-million dollar enterprise.

One critical weapon in this conflict was the insertion of
the WWF into 80s pop culture. Men like Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage became
household names, and this was done in part by making pro wrestling “cool.” By
tying it in with popular music and other cultural fixtures, McMahon made the
WWF name a drawing point in itself, a sum of the colorful characters and
bigger-than-life storylines.

In 1985, Hulk Hogan began hanging around with 80s pop
sensation Cyndi Lauper on televised wrestling. Dave Wolff, Cyndi’s boyfriend
and manager at that time, was a huge fan of pro wrestling growing up, and
helped to engineer the deal with McMahon and the WWF. Prior to this, Wolff had
recruited WWF personality “Captain” Lou Albano to star in Lauper’s video for
“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Things were about to heat up, however, and Cyndi’s
involvement in sports entertainment was about to deepen.

Wendi Richter, posing with her manager Cyndi Lauper

For the buildup of the inaugural Wrestlemania event, Lauper
declared that she was managing WWF Women’s Championship contender Wendi
Richter.  At Wrestlemania, Richter
marched to ringside as “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” blared over Madison Square’s
sound system, and beat Fabulous Moolah for the Women’s Title. In addition, she
began “feuding” (the term used within wrestling for a staged, extended rivalry
or conflict) with both Albano and infamous WWF bad guy “Rowdy” Roddy Piper.  A match was even hyped and shown on MTV,
called “The War To Settle The Score,” which also involved Piper’s fellow heels
(wrestling bad guys) Bob Orton Jr. and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, as well
as TV celeb Mr. T coming to the aid of Hogan. In his autobiography, Piper
recalls being tempted to hurt Cyndi Lauper for real; it was suggested by an
unnamed WWF employee that “the end of Lauper’s career could be the beginning of
yours.” Piper, however, went easy on Lauper but developed some real-life heat
with Mr. T. The two went on to have an (allegedly) semi-legitimate boxing match
at Wrestlemania II, in which Piper claims (in his autobiography) that his hands
were purposefully misplaced in his gloves so as to handicap him.

Hogan and Mr. T prepare to battle Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Also pictured is WWF Superstar Jimmy Snuka.

Cyndi Lauper was not the only 80s rocker to make appearances
at WWF events and get involved; the subsequent two ‘Manias had cameos from
famous rock icons as well. At Wrestlemania II, The British Bulldogs, a popular
tag team consisting of Davey Boy Smith and the Dynamite Kid, were joined by not
only Lou Albano but the infamous Ozzy Osbourne. While he refrained from biting
the heads off any small animals, Osbourne did stay ringside with Albano as the
Bulldogs took the Tag Team Titles from the duo of Greg “Hammer” Valentine and
Brutus Beefcake. At the third Wrestlemania, dark rocker Alice Cooper
accompanied Jake “The Snake” Roberts to the ring to confront the Honky Tonk Man
and try (unsuccessfully) to unseat the Elvis-gimmick villain as
Intercontinental Champion.

“BRITISH BULLDOGS FOREVAAAAAAAAAH!!!”

Jake and Alice, pictured with Damian the snake.

Celebrity cameos and involvement at major WWF events would
continue well into the 90s and the modern era, but nothing could hold a candle
to the craziness that was the Rock & Wrestling Connection.  While the WWE is currently very popular, not
to mention a very lucrative company, it owes its initial launch into mainstream
entertainment to the brilliant mix of pop culture and sports entertainment that
took place in the mid to late 80s. It was a formula that made people take
notice, and that put, in wrestling slang, “an ass every eighteen inches.” That
is to say, the tickets sold out and the plan was a success.

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