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by Randy Gardner
This is one of fun time of the year to be a sports fan as the Cardinals are in full swing and the Stanley Cup playoffs are very intriguing. Usually if the Blues are not part of the playoffs, I could kind of care less, but since the Las Vegas Golden Knights are in the Finals in a very Cinderella story.
I am watching very intently. It is so cool to see the underdogs have a chance. If you don’t know the story, the expansion franchise Las Vegas basically got a bunch of average players that were very young and through determination and fight, they have prevailed to make it to the Stanley Cup finals.
Depending on when you read this column, the series could be tied or one team up by one but either way, its been a lot of fun to watch the Golden Knights destroy all of these other franchises. They have one player that the NHL respects as well as being a former Blue, in Ryan Reaves. He is a big tough guy that occasionally can score a goal. He was a fan favorite here in St. Louis and the Knights fans also love him.
Remembering Woodsy’s at Flower Valley
I am going to throw out a place that as a youngster I used to frequent, for some of you, you will have no idea what the heck I am talking about but others will remember it fondly. I am talking about Woodsy’s in the Flower Valley Shopping Center at New Halls Ferry and Lindbergh. For me it was a destination of two things, those candy canes that were root beer flavored and the Donkey Kong machine.
I would save all week to go up there and play that video game and get a candy cane. I can remember it so vividly, even today as a 49 year old man. Who would have ever thought that those would be the smells and images that would be the Good Ole Days in my mind.
I bring this all up because for me it was 1 to 5 minutes if I was lucky of playing a video game and then my quarter was gone and I was done. I walked back home and was content to wait till next week. Compare that to now where kids play video games between 2 and 10 hours a day. They have no idea what physical exercise is and have no desire to interact with each other. Who would of thought that you could get a college degree in video gaming and kids are making millions playing video games while other watch them play. What a crazy world we live in.
What are the images and sights and sounds that our kids will remember 40 years from now. I can’t even start to put a finger on what they will be.
What will video games be like in the coming years? I think that the kids will actually be physically in the games. I know it is going on now but I think virtual reality will be an everyday occurrence.
I know it has been a few weeks since I have written a column, It has been a crazy few months, but I want to say Thank you for reading my crazy weekly thoughts. I want to say thanks to Bob Lindsey, editor and publisher of The Independent News for giving this opportunity over the past 20 years.
