This is one of a couple of recent articles that have been written about some changes at the Wham-O company and some attempts to get products such as Frisbees and Hacky Sacks going back out the door.
\nThe first thing that came to mind is that these articles came out almost exactly when the World Championships were happening, surely there were opportunities to connect the two topics together.
\nLife was once an easy summer breeze for Wham-O. The Southern California toy outfit, founded in a South Pasadena garage shortly after World War II, churned out Frisbees like pancakes and Super Balls like gumballs.
\nIts Boogie Board (devised in 1971 by Orange County-bred Bahai surfer Tom Morey) stood sentinel in suburban garages. Only squares didn\u2019t own a Hula Hoop (introduced in 1957; 100 million units sold within three years).
\nIn Wham-O\u2019s television ads, its iconic starburst logo dropped into living rooms like a Super Ball off a third-story balcony.
\nTimes sure have changed.
\nOf the many entertainment-centric outfits disrupted by the digital era, few have been upended like Wham-O. Its toys, once symbols of an endless summer, are now relics of a bygone season.\u200e Even the notion of a firm devoted to plastic playthings feels like an anachronism. Why kick around a beanbag when there’s FIFA Mobile Soccer?
\n\n", "content_text": "This is one of a couple of recent articles that have been written about some changes at the Wham-O company and some attempts to get products such as Frisbees and Hacky Sacks going back out the door.\nThe first thing that came to mind is that these articles came out almost exactly when the World Championships were happening, surely there were opportunities to connect the two topics together.\nLife was once an easy summer breeze for Wham-O. The Southern California toy outfit, founded in a South Pasadena garage shortly after World War II, churned out Frisbees like pancakes and Super Balls like gumballs.\nIts Boogie Board (devised in 1971 by Orange County-bred Bahai surfer Tom Morey) stood sentinel in suburban garages. Only squares didn\u2019t own a Hula Hoop (introduced in 1957; 100 million units sold within three years).\nIn Wham-O\u2019s television ads, its iconic starburst logo dropped into living rooms like a Super Ball off a third-story balcony.\nTimes sure have changed.\nOf the many entertainment-centric outfits disrupted by the digital era, few have been upended like Wham-O. Its toys, once symbols of an endless summer, are now relics of a bygone season.\u200e Even the notion of a firm devoted to plastic playthings feels like an anachronism. Why kick around a beanbag when there’s FIFA Mobile Soccer?", "date_published": "2017-08-09T05:40:14+00:00", "date_modified": "2017-08-26T05:51:36+00:00", "author": { "name": "boyle", "url": "https://modified.in/footbagnews/author/boyle/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6f586ab72292c336cdaca834bbc7c660?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "tags": [ "business", "hacky sack brand", "LA Times", "Wham-O", "Newspaper" ] }, { "id": "https://modified.in/footbagnews/1995/09/22/la-times-the-power-of-hacky-sack-1995/", "url": "https://modified.in/footbagnews/1995/09/22/la-times-the-power-of-hacky-sack-1995/", "title": "LA Times \u2013 The Power of Hacky Sack (1995)", "content_html": "This is actually a short letter to the editor, but considering the role Poland has had in the sport in recent years, it’s worth putting in the collection.
\nThanks for Michael Colton’s interesting story about Hacky Sack, “The Goodwill Game” (Sept. 18).
\nI was first introduced to the game in the fall of 1988 when I accompanied 30 University of Redlands students to our Salzburg campus for a semester of study together. We played Hacky Sack all over Europe.
\nI remember one spirited game in the plaza in front of St. Peters, Rome. A too-swift kick resulted in the footbag landing on top of a Polish tour bus. It was lost for good, and we figured it might have made its way back to Poland. One year later Poland was free.
\nNever underestimate the power of Hacky Sack!
\nJAMES KEAYS
\nRedlands
\nFrom LA Times.
\n\n", "content_text": "This is actually a short letter to the editor, but considering the role Poland has had in the sport in recent years, it’s worth putting in the collection.\nThanks for Michael Colton’s interesting story about Hacky Sack, “The Goodwill Game” (Sept. 18).\nI was first introduced to the game in the fall of 1988 when I accompanied 30 University of Redlands students to our Salzburg campus for a semester of study together. We played Hacky Sack all over Europe.\nI remember one spirited game in the plaza in front of St. Peters, Rome. A too-swift kick resulted in the footbag landing on top of a Polish tour bus. It was lost for good, and we figured it might have made its way back to Poland. One year later Poland was free.\nNever underestimate the power of Hacky Sack!\nJAMES KEAYS\nRedlands\nFrom LA Times.", "date_published": "1995-09-22T11:01:37+00:00", "date_modified": "2017-08-18T11:04:37+00:00", "author": { "name": "boyle", "url": "https://modified.in/footbagnews/author/boyle/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6f586ab72292c336cdaca834bbc7c660?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "tags": [ "LA Times", "letters", "Poland", "USA", "Newspaper" ] }, { "id": "https://modified.in/footbagnews/1995/09/18/la-times-the-goodwill-game-1995/", "url": "https://modified.in/footbagnews/1995/09/18/la-times-the-goodwill-game-1995/", "title": "LA Times \u2013 The Goodwill Game (1995)", "content_html": "The full title of this probably wouldn’t fit in the title bar, which is The Goodwill Game: You Can’t Win at Hacky Sack – And That’s The Point. The Ultimate Neo-Hippie Sport.
\nThere is often antagonism within the freestyle footbag scene to be associated with the hippy imagery, which might be blamed on articles like this…
\nOn a hot, crowded Saturday at Venice Beach, Pat King, 19, spots two guys kicking around a Hacky Sack. Hoping to play, too, he whispers the secret password recognized at hack circles around the world: “Mind if I join in?”
\nThe Olympics claim to promote peace and unity, but any hacker will tell you the true goodwill game is Hacky Sack. It has kept warrior guards awake in ancient China, warmed up the legs of soccer players, and helped treat sports injuries by stretching muscles and tendons. In its latest incarnation, though, it’s the ultimate neo-hippie sport–the athletic equivalent of tie-dyed clothing or listening to the Grateful Dead.
\nRead the full article here.
\nInterestingly enough this is all about the circle kicking style, but Worlds were there in San Francisco the year before.
\n\n", "content_text": "The full title of this probably wouldn’t fit in the title bar, which is The Goodwill Game: You Can’t Win at Hacky Sack – And That’s The Point. The Ultimate Neo-Hippie Sport.\nThere is often antagonism within the freestyle footbag scene to be associated with the hippy imagery, which might be blamed on articles like this…\nOn a hot, crowded Saturday at Venice Beach, Pat King, 19, spots two guys kicking around a Hacky Sack. Hoping to play, too, he whispers the secret password recognized at hack circles around the world: “Mind if I join in?”\nThe Olympics claim to promote peace and unity, but any hacker will tell you the true goodwill game is Hacky Sack. It has kept warrior guards awake in ancient China, warmed up the legs of soccer players, and helped treat sports injuries by stretching muscles and tendons. In its latest incarnation, though, it’s the ultimate neo-hippie sport–the athletic equivalent of tie-dyed clothing or listening to the Grateful Dead.\nRead the full article here.\nInterestingly enough this is all about the circle kicking style, but Worlds were there in San Francisco the year before.", "date_published": "1995-09-18T11:06:32+00:00", "date_modified": "2017-08-18T11:12:14+00:00", "author": { "name": "boyle", "url": "https://modified.in/footbagnews/author/boyle/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6f586ab72292c336cdaca834bbc7c660?s=512&d=mm&r=g" }, "tags": [ "circle kicking", "hippy", "LA Times", "San Francisco", "Newspaper" ] } ] }