Following Up on '80s Crushes

My Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest experience was so much fun that it merits a follow up. Connecting with other bloggers is always rewarding. I appreciate all of the feedback on my post and have likewise enjoyed learning about everyone else's youthful yearnings.


Image via Amazon.com

First, I must address a question posed by both Suze and Jennifer Lane regarding WarGames. Prior to 1985's The Breakfast Club, Ally Sheedy's biggest role was Jennifer Katherine Mack, love interest of David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) in the 1983 cyber-terrorism thriller. As I commented on the original post, WarGames was a serendipitous discovery for our family. We only went to see it because we arrived at the theater too late for our first choice (no idea what it was). All worked out fine as we all enjoyed the film.

Truth be told, it's been years since I've watched WarGames and I don't remember much about the love interest aspect of the story. It is possible that I was a little too young to appreciate it. The Pentagon hacking angle was far more intriguing to my 10-year-old mind. But I also think it says something for Matthew Broderick's talent that even in his earliest roles, he managed to be the screen presence in his films. Broderick was occasionally touted as a Brat Packer by association but let's be honest. As an actor, he was and is in a higher class than most of his teen idol contemporaries.

I haven't seen St. Elmo's Fire in a long time either and, in fact, have little desire to watch it. In her Tumble 4 Ya post, Julie Flanders cited the film as cringe-worthy and I have a sneaking suspicion that I also would find it unbearable now. I wanted to post the following clip in my original post but our Internet connection wasn't very cooperative that day. In trying to play it, I just got the first line over and over again: "Alec was the first love of my life...Alec was the first love of my life...Alec was the first love of my life..." Painful!

It Is Tomorrow
St. Elmo's Fire at MOVIECLIPS.com

On the other hand, I'd happily watch Some Kind of Wonderful anytime. I was tempted to give Watts top billing for my crush post but Ally Sheedy came to mind first so it seemed only fair. But I consider SKoW to be the great, under-appreciated work of the John Hughes opus. With justification, it has been called a recycled Pretty in Pink, albeit with the sex roles reversed. However, I've always felt that version 2.0 is superior to the original. Role by role, I think all of the actors are stronger:

- Eric Stoltz over Molly Ringwald - Both are redheads - interesting.

- Mary Stuart Masterson over Jon Cryer - Sorry, Ducky fans. I like him, too. But Watts is my girl.

- Lea Thompson over Andrew McCarthy - The closest call of the bunch, though I think the extra wrinkle with Thompson's character - girl from the wrong side of the tracks hanging with the rich crowd - pushes her over the top

- Craig Sheffer over James Spader - Sheffer's a great heavy, especially interesting in light of the completely opposite role he plays in A River Runs Through It.

- Elias Koteas over Annie Potts - That one's a slam dunk.

Also, this is a great screen kiss:



The Armchair Squid began as a sports blog and as such, it seemed only appropriate to feature an athlete. My crush on Katarina Witt was quite genuine and she would have made an excellent top choice. Recent photos would suggest that she is still one of the most beautiful women in the world.


Photo via SportsFeatures.com

Much was made of a "rivalry" between Witt and American Debi Thomas in 1988, especially when they chose the same piece of music for their long programs. But was there ever really any doubt? Here is Witt's gold medal-winning "Carmen":



In perusing the other blogs in the hop, I have learned much about the women of my generation. I always knew that Top Gun was a big deal for the Cruise and Kilmer crushers but I had no idea that the beach volleyball scene was the main draw. I am most definitely not too proud to pander so here you are, ladies (I think this is an Italian dub but come on, you're not really in it for the sparkling dialogue, are you?):



Finally, a little gift for Annalisa Crawford, though really for all of you. Ms. Crawford chose Morten Harket, A-Ha's dreamy lead singer, as her '80s crush. I must credit My Sister for this wonderful find. Enjoy:

My '80s Crush: Leslie Hunter

For me, the '80s were the heart of adolescence. Crushes were like pimples, popping up all over the place. For the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest, the hard part was coming up with just one. Leslie Hunter, Ally Sheedy's character in St. Elmo's Fire, came to mind first so she wins top billing.


Photo via Tee Shirt Soup

My choice of the character rather than the actress is deliberate. At the time, I would have said that my crush was on Sheedy but thinking back now, she never did much for me in her other films. I tried. The Breakfast Club is outstanding, of course, and she deserves a lot of credit for creating a believable character. I knew girls like that in high school, the ones who worked a little too hard at being invisible. But Allison Reynolds wasn't exactly crush-worthy. Stephanie Speck in Short Circuit? The whole film was a bit too precious and Sheedy's character especially.

So, why Leslie Hunter? Well, she was darn cute for starters. The eyes, the hair and the impish smile just made you want to gather her up in a blanket for the evening. I suppose, too, the protector within me wanted to save her from her womanizing boyfriend, Alec (Judd Nelson). In fact, I suspect that my crush on Leslie may have had its roots in my sympathy for Kevin, Andrew McCarthy's character. He was her trusted confidant, secretly in love with her. That's a role I knew well at that age.

There are many others worthy of honorable mention. Watts, Mary Stuart Masterson's character in Some Kind of Wonderful, was a big one.


Photo via Trespass Magazine

Masterson was also great in Heaven Help Us, another Andrew McCarthy picture and an under-appreciated film if you've never seen it.

Among athletes, East German figure skater Katarnia Witt was without equal, on the ice or in my heart.


Photo via Nick Verreos

I had a Sports Illustrated subscription for most of that decade and the arrival of the swimsuit issue was a deeply spiritual annual event. Now, I recognize that the issue is completely gratuitous, though far from the most objectifying rag on the newsstand. But at the time, pictures of scantily-clad supermodels delivered to my mailbox were like manna from heaven. I believe Ric Ocasek when he says he's the luckiest man alive for being married to Paulina Porizkova (cover model in '84 and '85). My favorite SI model, though, was Kathy Ireland ('89, '92 and '94).


Photo via My Fashion


Curious about other '80s crushes? Take a stroll through the participating blogs listed below.

My Favorite Athlete: Snowplow Level 2

Our Girl finished her second session of ice skating lessons this past week. She passed Snowplow Level 2 just fine but it seems she has lost interest in further lessons. I think a few issues are at play here. First, it made for a long day for her on Wednesdays. We'd get home afterward with barely enough time to feed her some dinner and get her to bed. Secondly, while she passed the requirements for the level, I don't think she was progressing as much as she herself would have liked. She expressed frustration one day that she can't go very fast, for instance, and gets nervous when asked to skate on just one foot. Finally, as she noted on the last day, she didn't have any friends in the class this time. Last year, she made a friend. That didn't work out so well this time.

Oh well. At least she has the basics now. She can get out on the ice, move around and not fall down. There's no point in continuing with lessons if she doesn't enjoy them. As a parent, I will only insist on a few things where activities are concerned. She has to do her homework. She has to take swim lessons in the summer. When the time for school band and orchestra comes in the fifth grade, she has to TRY playing an instrument but she doesn't have to stick with it if she doesn't like it. I owe my profession that much. If she takes lessons on the instrument, she has to practice. Beyond those things, everything else is up for discussion, as far as I'm concerned.

I do believe in winter hobbies. I think they help to keep people sane in the Great White North. My Wife and I would have to get better on the ice ourselves for skating to become a family endeavor. Snowshoeing is probably a better bet. We've got plenty of snow and we're getting more as I write. Perhaps we'll get out on the trails sometime this weekend.

My Favorite Athlete: Skating

I am the proud father of a Snowplow Level 1 ice skater. Our Girl finished her first skating class and is more than a little disappointed that she's going to have to wait so long to go again.

Our attempts to expose our daughter to athletic endeavors have met with mixed results. We tried soccer and tennis camps when she was younger but neither really took. The one thing that we have absolutely insisted that she must do is learn to swim and we're working on that. This is not to say that she does not have interests in physical activity. Dancing is already a very big part of her life and I expect it will be for many years to come. Organized sports haven't taken hold with her in the same way.

While I won't be disappointed if she never becomes a jock, I do think it's important for everyone in the Great White North to have a winter sport. Winters are long and intimidating in Vermont and if you don't get out and enjoy it, it's easy to feel trapped. We snowshoe and we've tried cross-country skiing and sledding but nothing was quite as exciting for her as when she went skating with her grandparents in November. She was nervous at first but once she got ahold of a couple milk crates, she could not be stopped. Grandma, the best skater in the family, could barely keep up with her. "This is the best thing ever!," Our Girl could be heard to say. It seemed we had found a winner.

And so, I lobbied for skating lessons as a Christmas gift and she got them. We're starting a bit late. Our Girl is already 6 and I think most, if not all, of the kids in her class are younger. She, however, is not troubled by this. She usually flourishes in a setting where she's the oldest kid and skating has been no exception. She needed a lot of help in the first lesson but by the seventh and final week, was getting around pretty well. I don't think I saw her fall once last night - no small accomplishment with all of the equally inexperienced boys flying around and crashing on purpose.

I don't know where this will ultimately take us. She has said that she has no interest in hockey and I'm a bit surprised that she's not more interested in figures, though as I've written before, she does have another outlet for her artistic side. That lack of interest will be much easier on the family budget. Instead, she seems fascinated by the speed. Will I be driving long hours so she can skate on ovals someday? I kind of doubt it but she's a very determined little girl. Anything's possible.

Far more importantly, from first week to last, Our Girl could be found rushing to offer a hand to a younger skater who had fallen down. Those are the moments that make my eyes well up. I love that she's that kid.

Proud father? Every single day.

Davis Cup 2010: Isner as Stand-In

Mike Bryan was a victim of food poisoning so John Isner had to take his place in the doubles match today. Bob Bryan and Isner got the job done, keeping the tie alive for the Americans. The pressure is still on Isner, though, as he must topple Djokovic in tomorrow's first singles match. Good luck to him. He'll need it.

Our Girl watched the first set with me. I seriously doubt that she'll ever become an avid sports fan but she enjoys sitting with me, which is sweet. I'll enjoy that while it lasts. She did ask if we could watch speed skating and was genuinely disappointed to hear that the Olympics were over. It's funny, I fully expected her to be more interested in figure skating as she is an enthusiastic dancer but no, she likes to watch them race. I suppose it makes sense when I look at it another way: dancing provides her an artistic outlet so she seeks a different sort of thrill in learning to skate. I admire that.

The Winter Olympics: A Family History

Growing up, we almost never watched TV at the dinner table. Mealtime was sacred - not to be interrupted by phone calls or anyone reading anything (apart from the newspaper over breakfast). Television would be almost unthinkable. Almost.

Occasional exceptions were made. Most of them pertained to politics: party conventions, debates and so forth. And every four years, the rest of my nuclear family would temporarily join me in my sports fanaticism. Mother, father and sister all found my interest puzzling but none of them could resist the lure of Olympic figure skating.

The first Olympics which we all watched avidly together were the 1984 Games in pre-war Sarajevo. The star of the ice that year was Katerina Witt of East Germany. Elegant and beautiful, she was my first athlete crush - and a Communist, at that! Scott Hamilton (USA) won gold that year as did the incomparable Torvill & Dean (UK) in ice dancing.

Through the '80s and '90s, skating was always a bonding topic for the four of us. We loved both Brians: Boitano (USA) and Orser (Canada). We were all crushed when Sergei Grinkov (USSR/Russia) died at 28, leaving his beautiful wife and skating partner, Ekaterina Gordeeva, to skate alone. We were all charmed by Midori Ito (Japan) and Michelle Kwan (USA). The sport has changed over the last dozen years or so and the current stars are not familiar to me. But I will always have very fond memories of sharing that time with my family.

My earliest memory of the Olympics, however, is from the 1980 Games four years before. Sadly, I missed the great hockey game against the Soviets but heard the story from my father the next morning. I was six years old and asleep in bed. Now, it's astonishing to think that my father willingly watched a hockey game without me. We did watch the final game against Finland together. It is, in fact, my earliest memory of watching a sporting event on television at all. I also remember hearing Eric Heiden's name a lot as he won all five golds in men's speed skating.

The 1998 Games also hold personal meaning for me. I was in Yokohama teaching English from 1996 to 1998. In early spring of '97, my parents came to visit. My parents were in Japan from 1969 to 1976 while my father was in the diplomatic service and they are both very comfortable in the country. As a result, we were able to get off the beaten path and spend some time in Nagano prefecture during that visit. We stayed mostly in Matsumoto but drove past some of the Olympic facilities during our explorations: the ski jump, most memorably. It is a beautiful part of the world, far from the endless concrete jungle of the Tokyo megalopolis. We got to see snow monkeys and everything!

And, of course, I was there for the Games themselves, though I watched from the comfort of my apartment. The simultaneous, worldwide performance of the "Ode to Joy" during the opening ceremony is one of the great television moments of my life.

I think Americans are a bit jaded about winning medals - expecting it and therefore not really appreciating it. For the Japanese, every medal won during those Games in particular was a huge deal. Their first gold was won by Hiroyasu Shimizu in men's speed skating, 500 meters. On the medal stand, his vanquished Canadian rivals towered over him, but he was all smiles knowing he'd smoked them on the ice. He was on the talk show circuit for a week afterward. Japan won five golds in all and each one was cause for national celebration.

The 2006 Games were my first to watch with my daughter. She was only two years old so I would not have expected them to make much of an impression. But upon seeing a hockey game on the TV, she suddenly jumped up saying, "My turn! My turn!" She ran into her bedroom to find anything approximating a hockey stick and started whacking a ball around the living room. I haven't been able to expand that into a larger interest in hockey but she does love to skate and is finally in lessons four years later. Appropriately, the lessons are a gift from her grandparents.