It's very sad.. but it's incredible how life has changed..

Folks, I grew up as a happy kid in the 70's, I can't complain. I played a lot of sports in the parks and grew up watching sports on tv too. But today, things aren't the same anymore. When we grew up as kids, we never once knew what sports gambling was.. Today, it is very sad how society has changed. I swear, I go to my local grocery store, and there are 12 kids in there taking their allowance money and betting lottery tickets for hockey games (in Quebec, there are sports lotteries).. I asked one of the kids why he gambles at such a young age, and his exact answer was.. it makes the games funner. Wow!! that hurt me. In my days, we never had to wager on games to make it funner. We loved sports so much. I watched sports and idolized these players and they were role models to me. Today, 12 year old kids are taking their allowance money and wagering.. very sad..

I see kids playing ball hockey on the road and all you hear them saying is i got this team and this team minus 1.5 goals.. etc.. wow, we kids never even knew what spreads were back then. We watched sports for the love of the game, not to win money. Life was so much better growing up as a kid in the 70's, than today. When my dad gave me 2 bucks, I'd run to the store and buy me an ice cream, and put the rest in the piggy bank for a toy later on, and we appreciated the money. Today, the kids run to the store to gamble. Who knows how these kids will turn out in the future.



Also, what's with all these Playstation games. Boy, has life just ruined these kids or what? Today, just like my nephew, kids stay home all day and play those damn video games, and they become addicted as hell, and they hardly leave the house anymore to exercise.. Kids are fatter today, and are not healthier than in my days. We didn't have this crap back then. Instead of killing 9 hrs playing video games, we were out in the park playing baseball, and at the pool from 830 am, till sunset.. We always got the exercise in. We never thought of staying home, unlike today.

Also, I can't believe what I hear everyday here. Local sports tv back then never mentioned gambling.. Just last week, i heard the tv sports news guy say, big TD for Indianapolis late to cover the point spread. WOW!! This blew my mind, as we never heard this before in my days. And now, unlike the old days, my radio sports show has 1 hr every night where people call in and pick their games of the week against the spread. Wow, this is crazy.. Like I said, I never heard anything like this in my days. It really sounds odd to hear one guy calling in saying.. I love the Rams -7.5 points. It's sickening.. And one of every 6 commercials now is ..Casino xyz, send over 200 and get a 20% bonus. Do you know your sports? Well, if you do, then you can win money now.. How sickening to encourage people to gamble. We never heard this before growing up..

Folks, our world is changing.. it's very sad.. Of course I am not complaining, because if it wasn't for gambling, I'd be working probably as a security guard somewhere, or a cook.. But what about all those 98% of people who gamble today and will end up divorced, suicidal, or miserable. They have no idea what is about to happen to them, as the majority of the world are dummies, when it comes to gambling.

I don't have any kids yet, but I certainly intend on having some one day very soon, but life for kids will never be as good as it was in our days.. It was too good back then, as watching sports had meaning, unlike today, where it's all a dollar value.

I wish society can make it become like the old days again for kids, because I am very fortunate to have grown up in the 70's in every way, instead of today.

Great points Sick Gambler.

Times have changed & not for the best.

Sick - The age of innocence certainly has been over for a LONG time. Good post, thanks!

very true Sick, very true. I used to be naive enough to think that years and years agao, my friend and I were the only one's staying up sometimes all night long gambling on Madden Football.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I see kids playing ball hockey on the road and all you hear them saying is i got this team and this team minus 1.5 goals.. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Sick, what no JUICE?


wil.

Sick,

Good points. The question is...what will these playstation kids be doing when they grow up? If everything is handed to them on a silver platter throughout childhood, they will see no reason to work, so they will just blow all the money their parents worked so hard for. I don't like the long term outlook for the US (and therefore world) economy.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Sick,

Good points. The question is...what will these playstation kids be doing when they grow up? If everything is handed to them on a silver platter throughout childhood, they will see no reason to work, so they will just blow all the money their parents worked so hard for. I don't like the long term outlook for the US (and therefore world) economy<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I'm not sure how you made the conclusion just because the children of the 90's and beyond spend more time playing videogames than in the park, that they have had "everything handed to them on a silver platter".

Good point darryl.. Not only that, they will become lazy and unmotivated from sitting on their asses all their lives and having it so easy. They won't know what hard work is. They will have no imagination at all. They won't be creative. When I was young, we used to go out in the parks and invent games, and use our imaginations. These kids today don't even use their heads. They come home from school and right to the PS2's.. No exercise, NOTHING..


And something else I forgot to mention boys, that has ruined all our lives, even though you might disagree with me.

THE DAMN INTERNET

Worst invention of all time. We all have become less active and more overweight because of it. I wish they never invented this damn internet. People seemed so much happier and healthier back then as people got out of the house more often, unlike today.

Today, if I would have gone to Boston this weekend, it would have been ruined because every 4 hrs, i'd be looking for an internet place so I can check RX, my email, my betting lines.. It's sad, but the net takes a lot of our time in lives. Back in the old days, everybody had a better quality life..

As one of the younger members of this forum this thread disturbs me a little bit.

It evokes images of the people in the 50's (my GRANDparents) who couldn't understand what was "with kids today" and all that "rock and roll" music.

Darryl Parsons,

I think the western civilization will eliminate themselves before we have to worry. Another sad thing.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
"THE GOOD OLD DAYS"
I was talking to my Dad about current events the other night.
I asked him what he thought about the shootings at schools, our immoral President, the computer age and just things in general.

He replied:
"Gee, let me think a minute...........
I was born before television, penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, frisbees and the pill.
There weren't things like radar,credit cards,
laser beams or ball-point pens.
Man had not invented pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners and he hadn't walked on the moon."
"Your Mom and I got married first then lived together. Every family had a father and a mother, and every kid over 14 had a rifle that his dad taught him how to use and respect. Until I was 25, I called every man older than me 'sir'."
"Sunday was set aside for going to church as a family, helping those in need, and just visiting with your neighbors."
"We were before gay-rights, computer dating, dual careers, day-care centers, and group therapy. Our lives were governed by the
Ten Commandments, good judgment and common sense.We were taught to know the difference between right and wrong, and to stand up and take responsibility for our actions. Serving your country was a privilege, living here was a bigger privilege."
"We thought fast food was what you ate during Lent. Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with your cousins. Draft dodgers were people who closed their front doors when the evening breeze started. And time sharing meant time the family spent together -not condominiums-."
"We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, CD's, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt or guys wearing ear rings.We listened to the 'big bands', Jack Benny and the President's speeches on the radio. I don't ever remember any kid blowing his brains out listening to Tommy Dorsey."
"If you saw anything with 'Made in Japan' on it, it was junk! The term 'making out' referred to how you did on your school exam. Pizza's, McDonald's and instant coffee were unheard of."
"We had 5 and 10 cent stores where you could actually buy things for 5 and 10 cents. Ice cream cones, phone calls, rides on a street car, and a cola were all a nickel. And if you didn't want to 'splurge,' you could spend your nickel on enough stamps to mail a letter and two postcards."
"You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600, but who could afford one. Too bad, because gas was only 11 cents!"
"In my day 'grass' was mowed, 'coke' was a cold drink, 'pot' was something your mother cooked in, and 'rock music' was your grandmother's lullaby. 'Aids' were helpers in the Principal's office, a 'chip' meant a piece of wood, 'hardware' was found in a hardware store and software wasn't even a word."
"We were not before the difference between the sexes was discovered, but we were surely before:
the sex change, And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby. No wonder people today call us old and confused, there is such a generation gap......
and I'm ONLY 53!"
"Did you get all that Son?" <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


Original story here

And what about this one?
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>When I was a kid adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year 'round blizzards, carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full time after school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But....

Now that I've reached the ripe old age of twenty nine, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet --if we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damned library and look it up ourselves! And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter -- with a pen! --and then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

And there were no MP3s or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ's usually talk over the beginning and f@@k it all up! You want to hear about hardship? You couldn't just download porn! You had to bribe some homeless dude to buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11! Those were your options!

We didn't have fancy sh%t like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was it could be your boss, your mom, a collections agent, your drug dealer, you didn't know!!! You just had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

And we didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked @ss! Your guy was a little square! You had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win, the game just kept getting harder and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater; there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were screwed! And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no on screen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning...D'ya hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK, you spoiled little bastards!

That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled, I swear to God! You guys wouldn't lasted five minutes back in 1984!
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I agree SG. I too was a 70's kid and life back then was so innocent and untainted with some of today's problems. I can still remember playing baseball with a stick and a tennis ball with the neighborhood kids on our cul de sac. It was sort of crazy because if someone hit a deep fly ball, it meant you had to sometimes run out into a busy, oncoming traffic street to catch the ball(sometimes we used a real baseball and would accidently bust out car windows that were parked.) We were just happy to play the game. I don't even see kids playing on the streets anymore. With all the violence and child abductions you see on TV, a kid can't even enjoy a neighborhood game of baseball anymore. Yes, life has changed SG.

no worse is betting someone on a playstation game and they can do the onsides kick to perfection and when you go to do it youre just giving good field position.

By the way, Lady Passed....great post. Hilarious!

Things have changed, values have changed as well, and as far as playstation and the kids being inside the house all the time ,it used to be safer and now both parents work.

Well that is no good...

you could start by telling him to go back to school and start using more fun than funner

[This message was edited by Angelle on October 14, 2003 at 10:43 PM.]

Originally posted by Angelle:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> you could start by telling him to go back and start using more fun than funner <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
EEemmmmmm... didn't you mean FUNNIER by any chance?

Every generation says the same thing about the previous generation. They always have and always will.

What do you think the parents of 1970 were saying, how proud they were of the upcoming generation? Long hair, massive amounts of drugs, draft dodging, little respect for authority, etc. Every generation sings the same old song.

Big Lou

P.S. - Does anyone remember Jimmy The Greek on the CBS pre-game show talking about gambling in the 1970's? It wasn't as innocent as you think sick gambler.

No I meant funner but I did mean to add... to tell him to go back to school and start using more fun instead of funner

as posted in sg's post
"it makes the games funner"