Updated August 28, 2024
Growing up, my mom worked. So, my older brother and I got morning and afternoon care at our siblings daycare center. Until my younger siblings were old enough to attend elementary school, it was the most effective way for her to get us all to school on time. That being said, there weren’t a lot of older kids during the school year. So, after school care kids got a lot of computer time.
The desktop didn’t have internet access, but it was preloaded with different computer games. Looking back at it now, it’s likely how my math and reading comprehension skills improved, but that’s not why we’re here. You see, everyone loved playing The Backyard Baseball and Backyard Football. Why did I remember this specific time of my childhood? If you’ve been here a while, you know how some of these post come to light. That’s right scrolling on the gram.
What Is The Backyard Series
Humongous Entertainment released the first Backyard Sports game in 1997. Although there are breaks in production, the last game was released 2015. Not bad for a sports video game that’s actually marketed toward kids. In my opinion, you get elementary version of professional players that you can put on a Dream Team. There’s also a mixture of fictional athletes sprinkled in, which makes stats important.
Think of two captains taking turns picking different players from the bleachers. This detail is fun for sports enthusiast. Typically, there’s a quick game or series option. If a kid was short on time, they didn’t have to worry about getting through a full series
I’ll admit I’d gone to a few minor league baseball games, but I wasn’t a loyal fan of any particular team. Yet, I enjoyed playing Backyard Baseball and Backyard Football. Most of the players that I picked were black, Hispanic, biracial, or baseball legends. Believe it or not representation matters to children.
I was pleasantly surprised that girl players were available and weren’t terrible. As I played the game more, I started prioritizing stats, because I was making imbalanced teams. Either way, the diverse team was surprising for a 90s games.
Should It Get A Reboot
I don’t see the harm in brining it back. I wonder what would be more practical; computer, portable console, or app? Considering the fact that the series was available on all major consoles in the early 00s, it would be feasible. The nostalgia factor could prove useful.
Still, What new players would be added? Would the player selection for each team from previous games still hold up? In previous games the uniforms were pretty simple. It was more about teaching the technical side of sports and how to correctly utilize your roster. So, think of it as kid friendly version of EA Sport Games.
In my opinion, a soft launch of a new app to feel out the fan base is a safe choice. After all, an app was released back in 2015. So, we know the series has delved in apps before. With or without a reboot, I’d encourage my kids to play Backyard Sports.
Boys & Girls Are Back In Town!
If you don’t know, now you know Backyard Sports are back. Last week, I introduced my kiddos to Sandlot. So finding out this generation will get to experience Backyard Sports is a win in my book.
If you’re familiar with Backyard Sports, I hope this post brought back some happy memories and/or peaked your interest. Thanks for stopping by. Hope you’ll be back for Motivational Mondays with Trisha!
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