1993 Boise City Pog Champion
If you need something to do this weekend, I dare you to try to explain Pogs to anyone under the age of 12. You could really go as high as 30, but you’ll get the most desirable results with the Tiktokin’, VR gaming, Squishmallow squishing crowd.
Recently, I was listing a bunch of Goosebump and Power Ranger themed Pogs, complete with an “OJ Simpson in the Slammer” slammer on eBay. My 8 year old was up in my business, or at least adjacent to my business looking for a snack.
Me: “Hey little buddy, do you know what these are?”
Clark: “No.” In a less than interested tone.
Me: “These are Pogs. It's a game we used to play when I was your age.”
Clark: “……” Instantly put out, with a glazed over look, thinking about how to get away before I tell him more about the 90s, where he thinks all the roads were cobblestone.
Me: “I bet you are wondering how it’s played. Well, you see, you stack them up and then you hit them with this slammer. Then you get to keep whichever ones land face up.”
Clark: “……” Now looking at me like I just made that up because that couldn’t possibly be a real thing, but with the slightest bit of interest, “Then what?”
Me: “That’s it.”
Clark: He rolls his eyes as he walks away, that’s 20 seconds of his life that he’ll never get back.
Was I offended? No. My soul died a long time ago… And to be fair, I’m not sure playing Pogs was that fun. I think we were bored and that was a time where you didn’t dare tell your parents you were bored or they’d tell you to clean something. Also a time when many of us started collecting/investing/hoarding mass produced shiz. I was a big investor in Beanie Babies, an early lesson in going all in and losing it all… I was also heavily involved in the trading of X-Men cards on the blacktop of Whittier Elementary.
There was a little trading card shop I’d frequented near the corner of 27th and State. It’s not there anymore. Does anyone remember what it was called? I had a pretty sick collection of Lion King and Pocahontas cards from there, purchased one at a time, also a poor investment… But anyways, if anyone remembers the name of it please let me know.
—Heidi
