North San Antonio News

Let’s talk Christmas sports toys.

Christmas morning … the opening of the toys. Is that the best feeling a kid can have? OK, some adults, too. But a kid, knowing this package has socks, that one a shirt, and oh, no … pajamas. OK, a book, maybe a poster … wait a minute, this one could be a toy. Rip the paper and the kid’s eyes light up as he sees it … a toy. A sports toy.

Or better yet, back in the day, a new baseball glove. First thing you do is see whose name was on the glove. Was it a hero, or an enemy or just a fringe player? Next, you would try the glove on your hand, then pound it with the fist of your throwing arm. Then … you would bring it up to your nose and smell the leather. Mmmmm, nothing like baseball glove leather, except maybe old-time baseball cards and that stick of pink stale gum … mmmm.

OK, that’s the old days. Today, sports toys have grown more sophisticated and higher tech. In simpler times, simple toys had merit. A bat. A bike. A baseball game with a spinner – I had “Mickey Mantle Big League Baseball” with a spinner and a die shaker. And there was a game with a marble and a bat on a hinge, and card games that had players and plays on them. Electric games by Tudor had players with Scotch tape runners on the bottom, and the vibrating board made them move … I always had a football player that ran around in circles, one that didn’t move at all and a backward-running guy. Bas-Ket, by Cadaco, had a lever device that shot a ping pong ball, and if you missed, the ball would roll into an open slot so you or your buddy could shoot next. A real interactive game was “Pitchback,” a net that was angled and would propel a ball back at you after you threw it at the target. A hockey stick? A football? Golf clubs or a tennis racket? Carroms board? Nerf basketball? A Wiffle ball set? A Frisbee? Paddle ball – that small rubber ball attached to a paddle with a rubber band. A Hacky sack? All were met with joy. Of course, we wanted lawn darts, too, but that’s another story.

Simple games and simpler times.

Starting with “Pong,” computer games replaced the oldies and have gotten more sophisticated with joysticks replaced by tap buttons or devices that the player moves within the real-life action screen. And holograms have brought the player into the action with their own real-life movements.

This year, there are lots of Nerf-ammo shooting games, WWE action figures, games you download on your phone, or the big boys, including "Madden 22" for football gameplay, strategizing like an NFL coach. There are "NBA2K22" for your PC and "Out of the Park Baseball 22," and "NHL2020" and scores of PC-driven sports games in which your hand-eye and finger skills and strategy determine your outcome. And all of the Playstation games … up to PS5 now?

I am not listing the myriad battle games, survival and superhero and create-your-own-environment games, and I'm limiting this talk to traditional sports, but you can add drones and remote-controlled racecars to the list.

Today’s realistic imaging on screen puts you in the action, and in the old days, you WERE the action. The advances are amazing, fascinating, creative and remarkable, and the feel is real … you ARE in the game. There is something to be said for the sophistication, and today’s kids want that as much as we wanted that glove.

What we loved and brought us Christmas morning joy as kids was just as real as the joy electronic and computer games give the kids today. It is the same, just different. I wouldn’t trade the old, simpler sports-related presents for anything, but neither would today’s tech-savvy kids.

So when you are shopping, keep the kids’ smiles in your mind. Forget the socks and pajamas … get your kid a toy.

What do you think? What was your favorite toy-gift when you were a child? What do you miss and what are you buying your kid or grandkid today? Give me an email at mike.blake@advantageinformatics.com and let’s talk sports.

See you next time.