Growing up with two older sisters, I spent my young childhood amidst a constant struggle for gender superiority. Whether it was me being dragged to a New Kids on the Block concert as our group Chanukah present in 1988 or my parents getting my sisters back with a shared Sega Genesis the following winter, there were cataclysmic results whenever our two worlds collided. They had their things, I had mine and little was shared between the two. We fought for everything from cereal choice to radio stations. Nothing however, was a bigger struggle than the ever-elusive remote control. We both wanted to pick what we watched at all times and refused to back down. I wanted Thundercats; they wanted Punky Brewster.

So imagine my shock and dismay, the first time I ever heard the loud aggressive screams of my older sisters watching wrestling…

By the time the late 80’s rolled around, skateboarding, surfing and other “alternative” lifestyle activities had had a few years to thrive in Southern California cities and were beginning to permeate the suburbs and mainstream culture. By 1988, Nintendo (like in all other aspects of tweenlife) had a big hand in this – and the following three NES games are great examples…

The Holy Grail for all football video games, Tecmo Super Bowl forever changed the way the sport is played on sticks. Its predecessor, Tecmo Bowl was almost there – it laid the groundwork for a lot of the playcalling functionality and the NFL licensing, but TSB took everything to a different level. The Super version had something for everyone – from the stat geeks who wanted to master every nuance of each team’s offense, to button-mashing little brothers who just wanted to air it out with Warren Moon every play. Whether you were looking to commit to an entire 16 game season, or just trying to pummel your best friend in an exhibition game, the first major decision of any player was what team would best display your offensive and defensive prowess. Here is our dedication to the top 10 teams of Tecmo Super Bowl…