Jared Max: The New Black Friday Motto: Bearing A Gift Beyond Price, Almost Free
By Jared Max
» More Columns
Now that you've digested all the decadence from what was hopefully in "improbable" Thanksgiving, for this Black Friday I want to encourage you to think out of the box before wasting money unnecessarily. After all, the best things in life are free. Well, almost free.
Sometimes, big things come in small packages — like packs of football cards. Among my most memorable holiday gifts, my father gave my brother and I packs of football cards each night of Chanukah. We'd light the candles and then get our gifts. While we must have received some big-ticket items, what I recall best is the nightly distribution of "cello" packs of Topps football cards. They were maybe 30 cents per pack, back then.
A few nights into Chanukah, my brother and I discovered the source of the cards. We found an entire box hidden inside my father's nightstand. Even though we ruined our surprise, it was thrilling to still receive the cards each night.
A silver lining in our parents divorce, my brother and I benefited from their second marriages outside our religion. Double the gifts each December!
When I was around 8 or 9, my brother and I were given an Atari 2600 for Christmas It must have cost a couple hundred dollars. Over the years, we got several new Atari games. Each game cost about $30. Again, this was in the early 1980s.
On Tuesday, I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond (with my 20 percent off coupon, of course) and paid $32 for a virtual replication of the same Atari system — with 92 games installed.
Back in the day, this console and package of game cartridges would have cost approximately $3,000. Walking out of the store with my gift to myself in hand, I felt like I was inside the lyric of my favorite Rush song, "bearing a gift beyond price, almost free."
Space Invaders. Asteroids. Missile Command. All the old staples are here. And, there are a few surprises, too, that inspired this purchase.
While I have played some old Atari games on a phone or tablet, I had never seen the resurfacing of two particular games that consumed days of my youth. Like a favorite candy that I enjoyed as a child but have been unable to relocate — online or in a retro sweet shop — I had ruled out the chance of playing these two games again. But, this changed this week when I read the Bed and Bath mailer.
Because it was Sunday night and I live in Bergen "Blue Law" County, the store was closed. On Monday, I was less concerned with my drinking a first cup of coffee than I was about going to the store. Rest assured, it was not sold out of Ataris. I took note of how excited I was. Recognizing this feeling that happens less frequently as we age, I didn't bother telling myself to get a grip.
I was going to be a kid again. While I knew there wouldn't be something wrapped under a tree Monday morning, I had a plan like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story": Wake up, go to the store, buy my present.
When I got home from the store, I ripped open the box and connected the console to my living room TV. After installing AAA batteries to the wireless joysticks, I hit the power button.
"Where are they? Football? No, that's not it. What's this one? Challenge Football? OMG!!! OMG!!!! OMG!!!! OMG!!!! This is it! OMG!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! It's M-Network Football!!"
My brother and I played this game hundreds of times. We got our friends across the street into it. Friends down the block. It was what we did every day after school. M-Network Football and M-Network Baseball.
Each game had its quirks. One of the goofiest concepts in the football game allowed defenders in pursuit of runners to exit through one side of the screen, come out the other side, facing the offensive player head-on. I shot this video so you can see.
While the M-Network Football and Baseball were simple to navigate, they were challenging and fun to play. These are my types of video games — much like I choose to play songs by Tom Petty on my guitar. I am not overwhelmed or crippled by countless cords. The joy is in the mixing of simple ingredients. Same goes for these M-Network sports games. Easy to play. Challenging. While the Madden games are surreal, they are catered to a generation whose brains are wired for MP3, not 8-track or cassette.
Also unique by today's standards is that these football and baseball video games cannot be played against a computer. An actual human opponent in the same room is required. Wow! Imagine that! Even back in the 1980s we had to spend time with others to get lost in video games. Now, most play alone. Now, I need to get my brother to fly to New Jersey so he can come over and play me again.
My holiday wish is that the other game systems I played as a child will be reproduced as well as this Atari. Do you remember the Magnavox Odyssey? Their football game was more archaic than M-Network's, but, it was equally challenging and fun to play. We also had ColecoVision. I loved their sports games.
While many tend to spend money on items in attempt to recapture our past, sometimes a coveted product gets purchased but does not get used. This is fine. It's like writing a letter that needs to be written more than to be delivered. The comfort is provided by acquiring our long lost "memory."
Sometimes, we are treated to nostalgia as well as a new experience. This has been true for my new Atari game.
As it is officially time to begin buying holiday gifts, think about what you can buy for yourself and others that will conjure your youth — or another golden moment. And, remember, it's not about the big-ticket item. The challenge of this quest is to find a gift that bears no price, almost free.
Please follow Jared on Twitter at @Jared_Max
You May Also Be Interested In These Stories
