July 23: Kerri Strug, Roseanne's anthem, Dream Team throwing bows
Plus Lawler/Kaufman, Ben Stein's Money, and more
The Retro
by 11 Points
Modern perspectives on ‘80s and ‘90s nostalgia
July 23rd, 2021 • Issue 57
This week in nostalgic history
July 23rd
25 years ago, on July 23rd, 1996 - Kerri Strug landed a gold-winning vault with a broken ankle at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
It’s weird that last year I chose to write about a different event on July 23rd, 1996: Freak Nasty’s single Da Dip coming out. I mean, it is important to let people know what to do if they put their hand upon my hip, but still. Seems like July 23rd had a few much more newsworthy events.
With the long-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics starting today (hopefully), it feels like I can’t punt on yet another July 23rd when it comes to talking about Kerri Strug. (Although talking about Color Me Badd’s debut album is tempting me.) Plus this marks the 25th anniversary of the Strug moment, so let’s do it.
America has a quadrennial love affair with women’s gymnastics. This dates back far before I was born. I was such a small child during the ‘84 Olympics that I missed Mary Lou Retton mania, but she was still thriving as a celebrity by the time I got older. The obsession over gymnastics fades post-Olympics — it’s hard to imagine non-Olympic gymnastics pulling in massive primetime ratings — but for about one week every four summers, the U.S. is all in.
Kerri Strug’s moment at the 1996 Olympics might be the most “American” women’s gymnastics highlight of all time. Not just because was the epitome of a clutch performance to clinch the gold medal (over the Russians, no less), but more because when it comes to sports stories, we as a culture love the idea of a person fighting through injury to perform a superhuman feat. It’s why every time an injured NBA player has returned to the court over the past 50 years, the announcers have referenced the “Willis Reed game” in 1970.
So when Kerri Strug stuck the landing on her gold-clinching vault despite having a jacked up ankle (3rd-degree lateral sprain with tendon damage), she cemented her place in the all-time U.S. Olympics lore.
Also on July 23rd: Vanessa Williams forfeited her Miss America crown after Penthouse published unauthorized nude photos of her (1984)… Commodore introduced the Amiga personal computer (1985)… one year after his World Series error, the Red Sox waived Bill Buckner (1987)… Richard Marx’s single Hold on to the Nights hit number one (1988)… Color Me Badd’s album CMB was released (1991)… Poetic Justice hit theaters, as did the Coneheads movie (1993)… the Hale-Bopp comet was discovered (1995)… Freak Nasty’s single Da Dip was released (1996)… the live action Inspector Gadget hit theaters, as did Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)… Tiger Woods became the youngest golfer ever to achieve a career Grand Slam (2000)
July 24th
31 years ago, on July 24th, 1990 - Judas Priest was accused of sending subliminal messages in their music.
As long as kids have been listening to music, parents somewhere have been concerned about the messages their children are absorbing while listening to said music. I’m sure there were even parents in the middle ages who believed the lute was the work of Satan himself.
The escalation of that concern into actual legal action, however, is rare. It happened on this day in 1990, after an 18-year-old and 20-year-old in Sparks, Nev., shot themselves and their families alleged subliminal messages in Judas Priest’s Better by You, Better than Me encouraged them to do it. What were the subliminal messages? Literally the words “do it.” (The families also insisted their sons were heavily into the Christian faith before Judas Priest drove them to godlessness.)
The judge would dismiss the lawsuit in August 1990 after it was determined the subliminal message didn’t exist and was really just a guitar chord.
Also on July 24th: Survivor’s single Eye of the Tiger hit number one (1982)… the George Brett pine tar incident (1983)… Wham!’s single Careless Whisper was released (1984)… Disney’s The Black Cauldron hit theaters (1985)… Summer School hit theaters, as did La Bamba and Superman IV (1987)… Pantera’s debut major label album, Cowboys from Hell, was released (1990)… UB40’s single Can’t Help Falling in Love hit number one (1993)… A Time to Kill hit theaters (1996)… Saving Private Ryan hit theaters, as did Disturbing Behavior (1998)… Will Smith’s single Wild Wild West hit number one (1999)
July 25th
31 years ago, on July 25th, 1990 - Roseanne Barr infamously butchered the national anthem.
Roseanne Barr was one of the top TV stars in the country in 1990 on the strength of her acerbic, blue collar suburban queen persona. And part of her character’s appeal was a I-don’t-care-what-you-think crassness paired with an air of being above it all despite not being part of high society. All that is to say: At some point, some comedian was going to try to turn the singing of the national anthem into a joke, and it fit the Roseanne character at the time to be that comedian.
So when Roseanne Barr came out to sing the anthem in San Diego, in between the games of a Padres-Cincinnati Reds doubleheader, she screeched and shout-screamed the entire song off-key. And as she wrapped up and the crowd booed, she spat and scratched her crotch.
But was this really a misguided attempt at comedy, or was it, as she would claim in a press conference two days later, an unfortunate confluence of factors? She told the world she was merely a bad singer who became even worse due to an audio delay. The spitting and crotch scratching were her attempt to humorously mix baseball player behavior into her appearance. And above all, she intended no disrespect and just got very unlucky. While all signs pointed (and still point) to it being a comedy bit gone wrong, she’s never come out and admitted that to this day.
The story of Roseanne’s anthem went 1990 viral, which is to say, it got about as big as a story could get in the pre-web days. And as we’ve seen in the past few years, this would not be the last time there would be a controversy over the national anthem before American sporting events. (Although based on how Roseanne has evolved politically, it’s safe to say she’s on the stone casting side of the ledger this go round.)
Also on July 25th: AC/DC’s album Back in Black was released (1980)… Caddyshack hit theaters (1980)… Air Supply’s single The One That You Love hit number one (1981)… Metallica’s debut album Kill ‘Em All was released (1983)… Microsoft became the first software company with $1 billion in sales in a year (1990)… the summer Olympics opened in Barcelona, Spain (1992)… Bone Thugs N Harmony’s single E. 1999 Eternal was released (1995)… Good Burger hit theaters, as did Air Force One (1997)… the series finale aired of the Weird Science TV spinoff (1998)… Woodstock 99 ended disastrously (1999)… Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France (1999)
July 26th
29 years ago, on July 26th, 1992 - The Dream Team had their Olympics debut, which included Charles Barkley elbowing a player from Angola in the chest
It’s hard to sum up just how pumped I was (and so many others were) for the Dream Team at the ‘92 Summer Olympics. It wasn’t just the first time the Olympics would feature NBA players — those NBA players were virtually all bona fide living legends, teaming up for one time only. This was better than any All-Star Game or (future) Golden State Warriors ringer mercenary squad. The NBA was red hot in 1992, and the Dream Team somehow made pro basketball even hotter.
But it turned out the Dream Team was maybe, just maybe, too much of a good thing. The team was so dominant they steamrolled the Olympic competition with no resistance at all; famously, they never called a time out during the entire tournament en route to their gold medal.
With no drama on the court, the drama turned off the court. We focused on how the NBA players weren’t staying in the Olympic Village with other athletes. We focused on how some Nike-endorsing players rebelled against the official Reebok U.S. Olympics gear and crafted a plan to hide the logo during the medal ceremonies. (Draping American flags over their shoulders to cover the rival corporation’s logo, which is perhaps more complex symbolism than intended.)
And we talked about a moment in the Dream Team’s first game against Angola when Charles Barkley decided to elbow one of the Angola players in the chest. It was considered an “ugly American” incident from a player with an already spotty reputation — and also considered totally gratuitous, as the Dream Team was dominating Angola at the time and would win the game 116-48. That’s right. 116-48.
So why did Barkley do it? He said afterward the Angolan team played dirty so he warned them retribution was coming and then delivered that retribution. But really, I suspect he was bored and realized something needed to happen to spice up the blowout ennui.
As excited as I was for the Dream Team going into the Olympics and as much as I watched (and VHS taped to rewatch) their games, sitting here today, that elbow is literally the only in-game moment I can remember from the Dream Team’s entire run.
Also on July 26th: National Lampoon’s European Vacation hit theaters (1985)… Peter Gabriel’s song Sledgehammer hit number one (1986)… Alannah Myles’s single Black Velvet was released (1989)… the Americans with Disabilities Act became a law (1990)… Paul “Pee-Wee Herman” Reubens was arrested for self-fornication in an adult movie theater (1991)… Boyz II Men’s single I’ll Make Love to You was released (1994)… Kingpin hit theaters (1996)… OMC’s How Bizarre peaked at number 4 and Shawn Colvin’s Sunny Came Home peaked at number 7 (1997)… MTV’s serial soap Undressed premiered (1999)
July 27th
30 years ago, on July 27th, 1991 - Bryan Adams’s single (Everything I Do) I Do It For You hit number one.
I remember the first time I heard (Everything I Do) I Do It For You. I was in the car with my parents on a family road trip. (I believe it was to Washington, D.C., but I’m not positive.) When the song played, then the DJ came on afterward to say it was from the new movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, I have a clear memory of my mom saying, “Oh, this is the big song then.” (With my mom’s measured and hyperbole-free personality, that was essentially her declaring the song to be the second coming of Hey Jude.)
That random back and forth exchange always stuck with me, as random snippets of childhood conversations sometimes do, because I remember finding it so intriguing in the moment. I was voraciously listening to the radio at any available moment in 1991, but this was the first time I’d heard a song where, upon first listen, it was clear the song had no potential destiny other than “massive hit.” And one on this day in 1991, a little over a month after (Everything I Do) I Do It For You was released, it took its rightful crown as the top song in the country.
I’ve only encountered a few other songs in the 30 years that followed which hit the “Oh, this is the big song then” threshold; I distinctly remember when Adele’s Hello came out, I thought back to the Bryan Adams chat with my mom. Also happened with Gold Digger. Party in the U.S.A. And finally, maybe most randomly of all, Ludacris’s What’s Your Fantasy. I was at a bar in Iowa City for a college football game, the song came on at the bar (right after it was released; the first time I’d ever heard it), and the entire place went insane. What’s Your Fantasy was never a number one hit, but I’m pretty sure (Everything I Do) I Do It For You never received that kind of pop.
Also on July 27th: Stevie Nicks’s first solo album, Bella Donna, was released (1981)… Madonna’s self-titled debut album was released (1983)… Purple Rain hit theaters (1984)… Metallica’s Ride the Lightning was released (1984)… Paul Young’s single Everytime You Go Away hit number one (1985)… Dr. Mario was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (1990)… Problem Child hit theaters (1990)… Mariah Carey’s single Dreamlover was released (1993)… Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis suddenly died on the court (1993)… a bomb exploded outside the Olympics in Atlanta (1996)… the Butthole Surfers’ only hit, Pepper, peaked at number 26 (1996)… Destiny’s Child’s album The Writing’s on the Wall was released (1999)
July 28th
24 years ago, on July 28th, 1997 - Win Ben Stein’s Money premiered on Comedy Central.
There are really two things Win Ben Stein’s Money is notable for, and neither of them is Ben Stein’s droll brainiac character hitting its peak.
The first was the show’s co-host next to Ben Stein — a young Los Angeles radio DJ named Jimmy Kimmel making his TV hosting debut. (Stein and Kimmel even won a Daytime Emmy, sharing Best Game Show Host.)
The second was Comedy Central trying (but failing) to change the expectations on game show winnings by setting a new floor. The maximum amount a contestant could win in the show was $5,000 — and with three players (and Stein) competing over that meager pool, and Stein regularly outperforming the players, most winners would leave with around $1,000.
Fortunately, those low stakes did not become precedent. While I’m not saying Win Ben Stein’s Money was responsible for game shows feeling the need to up the ante, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and several other primetime game shows with seven-figure prizes would come out shortly after — and Jeopardy would double its dollar amounts within four years.
Also on July 28th: Animal House hit theaters (1978)… IBM released its first desktop computer (1981)… the summer Olympics kicked off in Los Angeles (1984)… Turner and Hooch hit theaters (1989)… Gloria Estefan’s debut solo album, Cuts Both Ways, was released (1989)… Bobby Brown’s single Humpin’ Around was released (1992)… the album Gordon by Barenaked Ladies was released (1992)… Mary J. Blige’s debut album, What’s the 411?, was released (1992)… Robin Hood: Men in Tights hit theaters (1993)… Waterworld hit theaters, as did The Net and Operation: Dumbo Drop (1995)… Barry Sanders retired from the NFL (1999)… Kathie Lee Gifford left Live with Regis and Kathie Lee (2000)
July 29th
39 years ago, on July 29th, 1982 - Jerry “The King” Lawler slapped Andy Kaufman on Late Night with David Letterman.
Pro wrestling is often at its best when it blurs the line between reality and performance. The most successful wrestlers, from Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and The Rock, are the ones whose wrestling personas are their real personalities cranked up to max volume. (I was going to say “their real personalities on steroids” but that might hit a little close to home for one of the aforementioned gentlemen.) The moment that kicked off professional wrestling’s most successful era was the “Montreal screwjob” in 1997, when Vince McMahon had a referee secretly go off script, unbeknownst to at least one of the wrestlers in the match, and call the match early to take the WWF championship from Bret “Hitman” Hart. And wrestling fans to this day are always — always — mesmerized by the concept of a “shoot” (a moment when a wrestler goes rogue and gets real, either physically or verbally).
Andy Kaufman’s foray into pro wrestling was one of the all-time great examples of the “is this real?” allure. In 1982, he feuded with Jerry “The King” Lawler, an iconic wrestler and the unquestioned hero of the thriving Memphis wrestling territory. Kaufman was always committed to making audiences question what they were watching. In his wrestling gambit, that part of his comic style worked to perfection.
So when Kaufman and Lawler appeared on David Letterman’s late night NBC show in 1982, and Kaufman repeatedly needled and poked at Lawler, Lawler eventually reared back and slapped him. And no one really knew: Was it all part of a pro wrestling angle, or had Kaufman actually gone too far?
The truth was it was all a “work,” to use the wrestling/carny parlance for something planned and staged. Lawler and Kaufman were both in on it (though Letterman was not), but both Lawler and Kaufman were playing their parts so well fans couldn’t tell the difference. It’s a major reason why Kaufman’s pro wrestling stint went so well (at least until it kinda overstayed its welcome and he wound up teaming with Lawler, double crossing him, and getting into more traditional wrestling angles).
The Lawler-Kaufman incident on Letterman is still one of the gold standards of wrestling blurring the line to this day. And since it would be nearly impossible to replicate — today’s fans are so much savvier and, of course, there’s the internet now — its gilded status just keeps on growing.
Also on July 29th: Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married (1981)… Ben & Jerry’s reached a deal with Jerry Garcia to create the Cherry Garcia ice cream flavor (1987)… Cocktail hit theaters (1988)… Metallica’s single Enter Sandman was released (1991)… Captain Hollywood Project’s single More and More was released (1992)… Toni Braxton’s debut single, Another Sad Love Song, was released (1993)… The Mask hit theaters, as did It Could Happen to You (1994)… Models Inc. premiered on FOX (1994)… Carl Lewis won gold in the fourth straight Olympics (1996)… 98 Degrees’ self-titled debut album was released (1997)… The Negotiator hit theaters (1998)… BBMak’s one hit, Back Here, peaked at number 13 (2000)… NSYNC’s single It’s Gonna Be Me hit number one (2000)… Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston got married (2000)
Everything old is new again
A look at the reboots, revivals, throwbacks, retro insights, and nostalgia in the news.
Vinyl sales were up 108% in the first half of 2021, outselling CDs once again.
Microsoft is bringing back Clippy as an emoji.
Also, a game show based on the board game Mouse Trap is coming to FOX.
Clerks III is scheduled to start filming next month in New Jersey.
A prequel for Grease called Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is set for a 10-episode season at Paramount+.
The director of the original Space Jam says he hated the new reboot and “LeBron ain’t Michael.”
A few weeks after false rumors swirled about his death, Biz Markie passed away last Friday at age 57.
Throwbacks and recommendations
Here’s Buzzfeed’s list of movie stars who were snubbed for Oscar nominations (often in the ‘90s) and then never nominated in the future.
There’s a new trailer for the Dune reboot that comes out in October.
The trailer is out for Jackass Forever, which comes out in October, more than 20 years after the TV show debuted.
Mental Floss wrote up a brief history of MAD magazine.
Thanks for reading!
-Sam