I was always the social outcast, quiet and liked to be by myself. But I was also twiggy and underestimated constantly. When I got called out I would plow through them likely pulling multiple people down but when it was me forming the line even the biggest of kids found out I had a death grip and a sense of balance far better than they'd expected as while the other person I held arms with might start to topple I could hold them up. Later on in highschool the football coach tried recruiting me for the team after seeing me in the weight lifting class, despite being 6'3" and skinny as a twig I could run better than most of the football/wrestling team (Yes they were almost the same guys) but I was the only one that could max out the the squat machine at 650lbs. I flat out turned him down because I was one of the "nerds" and had already gotten into a fight with them for messing with one of my friend and kicked 6 of their asses after practice one day while still in their gear. I told him I'd likely kill them before we ever saw the first team.... He just nodded and accepted it.
‘Tis a tale of time of the boldness and fearlessness of children. A time when we accepted the fate that the steadfast rules of playground engagement whilst our overlooking teachers smoked their cigarettes of choice far from the field of battle. They were difficult times, they were raw times, but they were times when we could show the true content of our character and be shaped into who we are today. Glory!
LOL I wasn't allowed to play it nor sing it ever again! 1970's... My father is driving and turning a corner when I opened the car door and pushed my twin sister out! Just giggling "Red Rover Red Rover Send Erin right over" !
@@mviens Ohhh yeah she was okay. A couple of scraps. I wouldn't be laughing if she was harmed. I'd be crying with her. That and she talked me into getting a cut, scrape or a broken tooth every time she did ... So we could continue "looking like twins" LOL. She used to make me dress like her when we got older. Every trip she'd buy us matching outfits and bathing suits!! Last trip matching "fireworks " shirts from Cracker Barrel and a matching T-shirt that said "My kids think I have a favorite which is ridiculous cause I hate them equally My grandbabies are my Favorites" I have all 4 of them shirts and our bathing suits, now.
@@samtrujillojr Well, my memories, now. All I have left. I try to just concentrate on the silly and fun. Her last days were horrible. Regrets and arguments.. typical though. It's like life LOVES to have last days (for the living) full of sadness, regrets and ugly words.
Remember the cheaters that put rocks in the snowballs? That got bloody fast and nobody told the grownups even if you were mortal enemies. The GROWNUPS were rough. We didn't even wish the GROWNUPS on our "mortal enemies" who eventually became our buddies. Kid conspiracy of silence. No matter what. And nobody got shot. We wud always throw hands if we had a beef. The other kids wud run interference and lookout for GROWNUPS ,which called for flight in every direction. 😂 The biggest difference today is that we call young people children or child for way too long. They shuda be called kids until about age 12/13 then called men or women. I coached a lot of football for 7th and 8th graders all the way up to varsity football. It's amazing how hard you can get your kids to compete when you call them "men". Even girls liked being called men in a game. Idk why. Never have figured that out.
Ah, yes. I remember well the days of Red Rover, Ghost in the Graveyard, Kick the Can, Tetherball, Foursquare, Freeze Tag, Heads' Up 7-Up. Yet, one of the most fraught of the playground amusements was the horizontal bar. As a young lady of the time, I never left home in a skirt without shorts underneath, so I could reveal my gymnastic prowess, not my Care Bear underwear. For any youngsters lurking about, the object was to flip/rotate around a fixed, horizontal, metal bar, using only the hands and/or the backs of the knees. After completing a number of death-defying, blister-inducing tricks, the truly brave or stupid added a final flourish with a dismount worthy of an athlete of the highest caliber. I never did manage the Death Drop. Oh, for the days when the only difficult decisions involved whether or not to pop blisters.
The traditional dismount of hanging by your knees, swinging backward, and releasing the bar to then land on your feet after a blind 180° rotation usually brought cheers from the crowd. I learned the hard way ( as we all did then ) of the danger of over-rotation. On one particularly vigorous dismount, my feet were still an inch off the ground by the time I completed the rotation. Consequently, Newton and his First Law sent me through another 90° of rotation before my back, shoulders, and head all touched the ground at the same time. I was perfectly fine, of course, because we had that wonderfully soft gravel as a base layer, just for those kids of occasions. However, I never rose to the level of mastering that bar in summer with shorts, so I bow to you, master, and ask if it's still possible to learn those ways.
Last year, my daughter at the tender age of 10, attended 5th grade camp 3 day overnight camp. She is very emotional and a scaredy cat by no fault of her upbringing; however, at camp she came out of her shell, so I was told. She played Ghost in the Graveyard, told ghost stories, slept without night lights, tried to sneak out into the woods to sleep with a friend because the adult was snoring too loud, and climbed the rock walls. All things she refuses to do while she would be at home. So proud of her. Alphas are for sure Gen X squared!
What great memories of the play ground during the elementary years. All of the games we played in the late 70's and early 80's were bound in imagination and the desire to make daylight last as long as possible. One of my favorite memories of those years was simply playing 'king of the hill'. Nothing like a dirt pile and the neighborhood kids scrambling to the top to be 'king' if only for a little while.
Kick the can, Capture the flag, Chinese frozen tag, and Red Rover. I have scars from all of these games. Never was physically strong or athletic in any way. Never was competitive either, but I loved these games because of the necessary team work and how it tested your mettle. I learned I was viscous in my strategy and great at distraction. Great memories.❤
Yes! It actually prepared me for my future in the world of punk rock, which could get pretty brutal in the 80s. Had a blast but now in my 50s I feel all those old injuries.🥴😂
Asked my kids(10 and 9) I’m 45 if they had ever played red rover red rover and they looked at me as if I’d lost my head! Yes that explains so much about our kids these days!
@@robertbeirne9813Ask your kids if they ever sit down indian style at school. The absolutely ridiculous baby nonsense they have replaced it with is disgusting
I'm old enough to remember the sting of the orange rubber dodgeballs, yet young enough that my peers do not. despite the multiple undiagnosed concussions camp counselors vs the campers wrought, I would not change a thing.
Oh, my good sir. I always walk away from your videos with laughter and amusement. I still can't determine if your accent is authentic or part of your character. Quality entertainment. Thank you so much.
The joys of Red Rover, King of the Hill and Tackle the Man with the Ball (Free-For-All) will remain unknown to the children of today, I fear. Who would be brave enough to pass along such knowledge in the face of the universal condemnation they would, surely, suffer?
Those were the good days when you really found out who was your loyal friends that truely stood by your side through thick and thin , fantastic days they were and we played rain or shine.
That glorious moment whence your name was called and you sped headlong into battle giving no quarter and expecting none in return. Your only thought being to cause pain, break their spirits, and return victorious dragging a hostage back to your fortifications.
I remember playing "Smear the Queer" fondly, too. In smear the queer, one person (the queer) held a football, and tried to evade the other players. The players without the ball would tackle (smear) the person with the ball. We USUALLY played the game on grass, sometimes on a dirt field, and only occasionally in the street. Theoretically the queer could escape by tossing the ball to another player, who would then stop trying to tackle him, and would switch to trying to evade being brutally knocked into the earth by several of his friends. Escaping the violence by relinquishing the ball was bad form, and (worse yet) cheated you out of the painful fun and glory of being injured. - There was no scoring. - There was no formal field nor out-of-bounds line. - There was no base to touch in order to find safety. - There were no rules other than that you could only tackle the person who had the ball. - There was just struggle and violence and pain for the fun of it. We LOVED that game more than any other! For obvious reasons we could never play it with adult supervision, but most of the time, we had none, so we were good to go. Needless to say, from first through seventh grade, I ALWAYS had at least one skinned knee or elbow.
Red Rover was what teachers had us playing in elementary and preschool. When we got older we played a harsher version called British Bulldog. Similar to Red Rover except it was full contact tackling.
Yes and lest not we forget kick the can at dusk, when the darkness rose and you were left alone to guard the can, not knowing from which of the shadows the threat would come. The adrenaline pounding in your veins, all senses on high alert, life at it's finest.
I deeply miss the days of bloody noses, dislocated shoulder, and minor neck injuries from clotheslines. I don't miss the feeling of utter disappointment at being forced to join the ranks of the enemy troops if my mission to break the line failed.
Ah yes the amazing Red Rover. My favorite method to use when I was called was the side step chop method. Basically I would find my target but run in straight line towards the 2 people to the left or right of them. At the very last second I would do a quick side step to my target and right as I connect with their arms I would do a downward chop on their arms. The wrist is the sweet spot.. Worked most the time. Got in trouble using it too once or twice. Just tell em when your arms are moving from the running that's why you hit them.
Let's not forget the asphalt play grounds. No padding for us, just tar pavement. Just flying out of the swing set hoping not to break a leg or fall down and skin knees or bloody our faces! I still have asphalt rocks in my knees from falling on the play ground, and I am almost 55.
Yet again brought back another childhood memory of me in grade school! Simpler, great times and I can still remember the unbreakable bonds of bully’s hands lol! Good on ya, you made my day again… Cheers from Canada…
As one of the smallest guys in my school.. I remember this as: Red Rover, Red Rover, now knock my ass over. But though Red Rover was not my best sport, my size did give me advantage at the great game of dodgeball. You see I was small, but I had big hands and fast reflexes. Though Red Rover beat me, I avenged my losses on the field of battle called dodgeball and it was glorious!
The counter-gambit for the clothesline strategy was to throw both of your arms up, so that your elbows were are neck level, and your forearms covered your face. If the defenders still chose the clothesline, the charging armor of bone was sure to strike home, at the hands amd wrists of the defenders, either breaking their grip or injuring the clotheslining players. In either event, that player would not be keen to repeat the clothesline tactic, as the best that could be attained was a pyrric victory. On the battlegrounds of gym class, we learned battle strategy and courage under fire, through a crucible of blood and glory. We saw titans fall, and the triumph of the meek. Those were the days in which we learned who we truly were. Like you, sir, I miss those days.
By the Valor of our forefathers, we learned, yes, we learned. Perseverance, fortitude and battle techniques. We lost some, we won some. But the lesson itself was the point. We adapted to the ever changing environment that was our way of life. I have instantly subscribed.
According to an exhibit now in the National Archives, the average early American in 1790 drank an estimated 5.8 gallons of pure alcohol annually and then went to work in the fields. Ponder on that!
Ah yes, red rover was a great game. I remember playing it in scouts not to long ago. It taught us how to be strategic and to evaluate our oppositions strength.
Loved this game but my all time favorite game was king of the hill! Battling in the before time for ultimate supremacy was and always will be a great experience!
I loved to hear "Red rover red rover send Darren over" because soon I would hear tears and the lamentations of my opponents. I was always the largest kid in my class even though I was a year younger due to being a summer child. But oh how I enjoyed those games. Quickly though the school shifted from red rover to kick ball avoiding dodge ball which I also dominated because parents complained.
This is true. The most common injury was broken collar bones but like you said, the teachers were on standby to collect little Timmy as another stood by to watch on for the next cry for help.
Yes, those were the best of times!! When a man was a man and a woman was a woman!! There were no cry-babies, and if there were…We’d send them home crying for their mommies (eventually to wear her clothes too!)!!! Kids nowadays wouldn’t last a day, in our world/times!!! You Sir, make me reminisce and relive the days of old; the good old days!!!
Omg. I remember getting clotheslined so hard playing that game. Think I even rattle a few teeth loose on a few of those exchanges. Ah the good old days. I miss those days. Ngl.
Always, at least one or two of the cohort was in a cast or had stitches. I remember cutting off my cast with a drywall saw early so I could ride my bike and make dirt jumps with shovels.
I remember watching kids literally flip over my arms, get the air knocked out of them as they landed flat on their backs. Good time, good times indeed.
back in the 80's in Australia we played a game called "bedlam" it was a free for all, similar to the Italian game "Calcio Fiorentino" but without a ball. I remember 1 game where a team mate flew into an opponents back, knees first and ruptured his kidneys. The teachers watched and recruited the best of us (who could tackle and take a hit) into the rugby league team. this would never happen with the simps and soy boys we raise today
Yeah cause rupturing a kidney is cool. Please... Huge difference between a red mark from a stupid rubber ball or a kid having red arms from breaking the chain. A broken bone (kids are weak) is to be expected here and there. But rupturing a kidney?
when I was little,my uncle took us lil ladies aside,and gave us strategies on how to break their link n also how to properly clothesline the enemies.Those tips were some of the most valuable tips I've ever had.thank u unk
Red Rover was my curse... always the tallest in my class, always the largest, and always the one that the other kids wanted to take out of the game. I usually managed to break through, but was sometimes stopped, by that dreaded clothesline
"Kill the Man" and "King of the Hill" as well... "Smashmouth Football," "Dodgeball," "Tetherball," and "Full-contact Hoops." We made every game a violent conflict. 😂
I remember a time when we were playing red rover outside against another classroom of kids. Our team decided to summon a fairly big kid. He saw that a girl named Alexa was holding hands with two kids much bigger than she was. She was one of the more skinny girls in the class. She was standing two kids down to my left. So the big kid saw the opportunity and he decided to run as fast as he could towards her left side. The guy holding her left hand grabbed as hard as he could to her. Well his grip was very strong, too strong. The big kid running didn't break through the line. But we instead heard a snapping noise as the bone in her left forearm broke. She started screaming and tried to retract her left hand from the other kid's grip, but her hand went floppy. One of the two teachers present ran inside the school to summon an ambulance for her. She was taken to the hospital and we didn't see her for about 2 weeks, when she returned with a purple cast on her left arm. They banned red rover at my school after that day.
Dog piles, red rover, dog fights on the swings, Johnny cross. How did things get so messed up? I would blame the schools but they didn’t lower the education standards, they just embraced it.
I'm 47 and never played red rover. My favorite gym game was Circle Dodge Ball. Didn't know it was supposed to be 2 even lines facing each other until the movie Dodge Ball came out. In circle dodge ball all the girls would circle around the guys and throw the 8 red gym balls the group on the ring got. Then dodge balls would come from every direction until you got hit. Then the boys traded places and we would throw the balls at the girls as hard as we could until each girl was eliminated. Fat people got hit first. Easiest target.Bonus point for making somebody cry.
Other games we played were Ollie, Ollie oxen free, freeze tag, king of the mountain, as well as card games and board games. Oh, there were so many games to play. Hang man, which is now Wheel of Fortune.
Smear the Kweerr ..where you had to single handedly carry the Nerf® football from one driveway "end zone" to the next driveway..over the lawn while your neighborhood friends all tried to annihilate you to the ground and get the ball.
Yes the days of old. We played these games. We survived when they say we wouldn't. We were feral . We Gen X are the feral . Stay feral my friends and you will be just fine.
Our K-3 playground was covered in gravel. Our 4-5 playground was covered in asphalt. Dodgeball, Red Rover, etc. were blood sports. Most of us have the scars to prove it.
I think everyone had at least one kid in their school that was 6 foot tall and 160-180 pounds already at age 10-12 and no one called him over or tried to go through him. And he was always picked 1st when playing Red Rover lol
It wasn't a school and playground. It was a barracks and training hall. Decades ago, in college, a group of us got the brilliant idea to have a game night to relive those elementary playground games. Some, like tag, are even better in your 20s because being in your athletic prime makes it that much more challenging. But we had to call the Red Rover match early because being young and in your athletic prime makes it that much more dangerous. A 60lbs child running at 8mph is easy to stop when your bones are still quite elastic. Restraining 200 lbs of sprinting adult when your arms are fully ossified means fractures, dislocations, and torn tendons are much more likely. Ah, the days of dodgeball, four-square, mercy, and others on the blacktop.
And I'm not sure the teachers were actually there to make sure that we made it to the nurse's office or rather for their own entertainment. As an adult, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't making side bets 😆
Ah yes, the times when the strongest would survive and the weak learned from mistakes and became stronger
It was a simple lesson taught in a fun way. The newer generations could never do it
The times before everyone wins. This is how my children and family still raise our kids , especially our boys. My kids are leaders.
Your name was called.....you went forward......never a thought of backing out....ever......death or glory
for the glory of the line
I was always the social outcast, quiet and liked to be by myself. But I was also twiggy and underestimated constantly. When I got called out I would plow through them likely pulling multiple people down but when it was me forming the line even the biggest of kids found out I had a death grip and a sense of balance far better than they'd expected as while the other person I held arms with might start to topple I could hold them up.
Later on in highschool the football coach tried recruiting me for the team after seeing me in the weight lifting class, despite being 6'3" and skinny as a twig I could run better than most of the football/wrestling team (Yes they were almost the same guys) but I was the only one that could max out the the squat machine at 650lbs. I flat out turned him down because I was one of the "nerds" and had already gotten into a fight with them for messing with one of my friend and kicked 6 of their asses after practice one day while still in their gear. I told him I'd likely kill them before we ever saw the first team.... He just nodded and accepted it.
@@SilvaDreams Whoo, that is a most impressive fantasy! You should write a book of your imaginary exploits!
One of my absolute favorite feral games from the great outside!
😉
‘Tis a tale of time of the boldness and fearlessness of children. A time when we accepted the fate that the steadfast rules of playground engagement whilst our overlooking teachers smoked their cigarettes of choice far from the field of battle. They were difficult times, they were raw times, but they were times when we could show the true content of our character and be shaped into who we are today. Glory!
These merciless games of strength, forged the content of our charactures. We truly were blessed with the best of life. 😂
The times, they were more feral by far.
Bullrush in New Zealand and British bulldog
I miss life before smartphones. Thank you ❤
Now that I think about it.
We were savages.
When your name was called you went forward into battle never questioning or flinching. Only forward into the doom or glory.
It was an honor to do battle on those fields
Long live the 80’s!!
And the gut bleeding 70s.
This is just the best!
The memories...
The dislocated shoulder...
Playing on, with a dislocated shoulder...
Good times.
;)
Red Rover was one of my best games. I myself was never defeated. I always broke through. Being the fat kid who could run fairly fast was a real skill.
LOL I wasn't allowed to play it nor sing it ever again! 1970's... My father is driving and turning a corner when I opened the car door and pushed my twin sister out! Just giggling "Red Rover Red Rover Send Erin right over" !
@@lorireed8046 Wow, that's intense. Was she OK?
@@mviens Ohhh yeah she was okay. A couple of scraps. I wouldn't be laughing if she was harmed. I'd be crying with her. That and she talked me into getting a cut, scrape or a broken tooth every time she did ... So we could continue "looking like twins" LOL.
She used to make me dress like her when we got older. Every trip she'd buy us matching outfits and bathing suits!!
Last trip matching "fireworks " shirts from Cracker Barrel and a matching T-shirt that said "My kids think I have a favorite which is ridiculous cause I hate them equally My grandbabies are my Favorites"
I have all 4 of them shirts and our bathing suits, now.
@@lorireed8046 I'm sorry for your loss. I'm glad you guys have great memories.
@@samtrujillojr Well, my memories, now. All I have left. I try to just concentrate on the silly and fun. Her last days were horrible. Regrets and arguments.. typical though. It's like life LOVES to have last days (for the living) full of sadness, regrets and ugly words.
Along with King of the Hill.
The brutality that happened on top of a dirt pile was staggering.
Ha! Was going to mention king of the hill. Total blast, while the teachers watched on…
moritūrī tē salūtant
In the winter the dirt pile was traded in for one of snow. And possibly ice. Lol
Remember the cheaters that put rocks in the snowballs? That got bloody fast and nobody told the grownups even if you were mortal enemies. The GROWNUPS were rough. We didn't even wish the GROWNUPS on our "mortal enemies" who eventually became our buddies.
Kid conspiracy of silence. No matter what. And nobody got shot. We wud always throw hands if we had a beef. The other kids wud run interference and lookout for GROWNUPS ,which called for flight in every direction. 😂
The biggest difference today is that we call young people children or child for way too long. They shuda be called kids until about age 12/13 then called men or women.
I coached a lot of football for 7th and 8th graders all the way up to varsity football. It's amazing how hard you can get your kids to compete when you call them "men". Even girls liked being called men in a game. Idk why. Never have figured that out.
Ah, yes. I remember well the days of Red Rover, Ghost in the Graveyard, Kick the Can, Tetherball, Foursquare, Freeze Tag, Heads' Up 7-Up.
Yet, one of the most fraught of the playground amusements was the horizontal bar. As a young lady of the time, I never left home in a skirt without shorts underneath, so I could reveal my gymnastic prowess, not my Care Bear underwear. For any youngsters lurking about, the object was to flip/rotate around a fixed, horizontal, metal bar, using only the hands and/or the backs of the knees. After completing a number of death-defying, blister-inducing tricks, the truly brave or stupid added a final flourish with a dismount worthy of an athlete of the highest caliber. I never did manage the Death Drop.
Oh, for the days when the only difficult decisions involved whether or not to pop blisters.
Love this!
I speak sincerely for all of my friends…Well said!
👏🏻👏🏼👏👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿
The traditional dismount of hanging by your knees, swinging backward, and releasing the bar to then land on your feet after a blind 180° rotation usually brought cheers from the crowd.
I learned the hard way ( as we all did then ) of the danger of over-rotation. On one particularly vigorous dismount, my feet were still an inch off the ground by the time I completed the rotation. Consequently, Newton and his First Law sent me through another 90° of rotation before my back, shoulders, and head all touched the ground at the same time. I was perfectly fine, of course, because we had that wonderfully soft gravel as a base layer, just for those kids of occasions.
However, I never rose to the level of mastering that bar in summer with shorts, so I bow to you, master, and ask if it's still possible to learn those ways.
Last year, my daughter at the tender age of 10, attended 5th grade camp 3 day overnight camp. She is very emotional and a scaredy cat by no fault of her upbringing; however, at camp she came out of her shell, so I was told.
She played Ghost in the Graveyard, told ghost stories, slept without night lights, tried to sneak out into the woods to sleep with a friend because the adult was snoring too loud, and climbed the rock walls. All things she refuses to do while she would be at home. So proud of her.
Alphas are for sure Gen X squared!
What great memories of the play ground during the elementary years. All of the games we played in the late 70's and early 80's were bound in imagination and the desire to make daylight last as long as possible. One of my favorite memories of those years was simply playing 'king of the hill'. Nothing like a dirt pile and the neighborhood kids scrambling to the top to be 'king' if only for a little while.
We did that in the 90s too
Kick the can, Capture the flag, Chinese frozen tag, and Red Rover. I have scars from all of these games. Never was physically strong or athletic in any way. Never was competitive either, but I loved these games because of the necessary team work and how it tested your mettle. I learned I was viscous in my strategy and great at distraction. Great memories.❤
the good old natural selection.
Natural selection BWAHAHAHAHAHa😂
Red Rover and Dodgeball were my favorite games growing up
Red Rover, where we learned the flying elbow.
Yes! It actually prepared me for my future in the world of punk rock, which could get pretty brutal in the 80s. Had a blast but now in my 50s I feel all those old injuries.🥴😂
Asked my kids(10 and 9) I’m 45 if they had ever played red rover red rover and they looked at me as if I’d lost my head! Yes that explains so much about our kids these days!
We don’t teach competition anymore
@@robertbeirne9813Ask your kids if they ever sit down indian style at school. The absolutely ridiculous baby nonsense they have replaced it with is disgusting
And, did you teach them?
Red Rover was amazing. Lol!! So many great injuries.
Thank you for this, LOVE it, served 8 years hard time in Catholic school in the 80s then was released into public school LOL.
I'm old enough to remember the sting of the orange rubber dodgeballs, yet young enough that my peers do not.
despite the multiple undiagnosed concussions camp counselors vs the campers wrought, I would not change a thing.
Gen Xer here. I never played RedRover, but I did play Kill the Guy with the Ball.
Murder Ball!
Gym teacher called it basketball
Boomer here, the proper name was smear the queer.
Dogpile the rabbit.....rough game too when 20 kids pile you...😂
Oh, my good sir. I always walk away from your videos with laughter and amusement. I still can't determine if your accent is authentic or part of your character. Quality entertainment. Thank you so much.
The joys of Red Rover, King of the Hill and Tackle the Man with the Ball (Free-For-All) will remain unknown to the children of today, I fear. Who would be brave enough to pass along such knowledge in the face of the universal condemnation they would, surely, suffer?
Such Great Videos! Love everyone of them. Please keep them coming! Your wisdom is great, your tales large and your remembrance full!
Those were the good days when you really found out who was your loyal friends that truely stood by your side through thick and thin , fantastic days they were and we played rain or shine.
That glorious moment whence your name was called and you sped headlong into battle giving no quarter and expecting none in return. Your only thought being to cause pain, break their spirits, and return victorious dragging a hostage back to your fortifications.
I remember playing "Smear the Queer" fondly, too.
In smear the queer, one person (the queer) held a football, and tried to evade the other players. The players without the ball would tackle (smear) the person with the ball. We USUALLY played the game on grass, sometimes on a dirt field, and only occasionally in the street.
Theoretically the queer could escape by tossing the ball to another player, who would then stop trying to tackle him, and would switch to trying to evade being brutally knocked into the earth by several of his friends. Escaping the violence by relinquishing the ball was bad form, and (worse yet) cheated you out of the painful fun and glory of being injured.
- There was no scoring.
- There was no formal field nor out-of-bounds line.
- There was no base to touch in order to find safety.
- There were no rules other than that you could only tackle the person who had the ball.
- There was just struggle and violence and pain for the fun of it.
We LOVED that game more than any other! For obvious reasons we could never play it with adult supervision, but most of the time, we had none, so we were good to go.
Needless to say, from first through seventh grade, I ALWAYS had at least one skinned knee or elbow.
Red Rover was what teachers had us playing in elementary and preschool. When we got older we played a harsher version called British Bulldog. Similar to Red Rover except it was full contact tackling.
Yes and lest not we forget kick the can at dusk, when the darkness rose and you were left alone to guard the can, not knowing from which of the shadows the threat would come. The adrenaline pounding in your veins, all senses on high alert, life at it's finest.
Those times are not forgotten by the strong
I deeply miss the days of bloody noses, dislocated shoulder, and minor neck injuries from clotheslines. I don't miss the feeling of utter disappointment at being forced to join the ranks of the enemy troops if my mission to break the line failed.
The look of their eyes told the story. Out friggin standing.
I always enjoyed Red Rover. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the opponents to stop calling my name.😂😂🤣🤣😂😂
Ah yes the amazing Red Rover. My favorite method to use when I was called was the side step chop method.
Basically I would find my target but run in straight line towards the 2 people to the left or right of them. At the very last second I would do a quick side step to my target and right as I connect with their arms I would do a downward chop on their arms. The wrist is the sweet spot.. Worked most the time. Got in trouble using it too once or twice. Just tell em when your arms are moving from the running that's why you hit them.
The 70's when red rover was a cry for battle. The blood stain left on the play ground was always there the next time red rover was called.
Let's not forget the asphalt play grounds. No padding for us, just tar pavement. Just flying out of the swing set hoping not to break a leg or fall down and skin knees or bloody our faces! I still have asphalt rocks in my knees from falling on the play ground, and I am almost 55.
Yup, played soccer and football in the parking lot, tackling was allowed in both and I probably still have grit in my joints from it, 40 years later.
Or the hot chrome slides that sent sparks up your backside while melting your skin.
I get such deep belly laughs out of every single one of your videos! I am a boomer and you just crack me up!
Yet again brought back another childhood memory of me in grade school!
Simpler, great times and I can still remember the unbreakable bonds of bully’s hands lol!
Good on ya, you made my day again…
Cheers from Canada…
As one of the smallest guys in my school.. I remember this as: Red Rover, Red Rover, now knock my ass over. But though Red Rover was not my best sport, my size did give me advantage at the great game of dodgeball. You see I was small, but I had big hands and fast reflexes. Though Red Rover beat me, I avenged my losses on the field of battle called dodgeball and it was glorious!
The counter-gambit for the clothesline strategy was to throw both of your arms up, so that your elbows were are neck level, and your forearms covered your face.
If the defenders still chose the clothesline, the charging armor of bone was sure to strike home, at the hands amd wrists of the defenders, either breaking their grip or injuring the clotheslining players.
In either event, that player would not be keen to repeat the clothesline tactic, as the best that could be attained was a pyrric victory.
On the battlegrounds of gym class, we learned battle strategy and courage under fire, through a crucible of blood and glory. We saw titans fall, and the triumph of the meek. Those were the days in which we learned who we truly were.
Like you, sir, I miss those days.
By the Valor of our forefathers, we learned, yes, we learned. Perseverance, fortitude and battle techniques. We lost some, we won some. But the lesson itself was the point. We adapted to the ever changing environment that was our way of life. I have instantly subscribed.
I'm literally crying. I miss it so. The screams an chants...christ I miss it.
I miss the good ol' days. 😢
Lmao, I have clothes-lined so many peers...ahhh, the memories❣
“Red rover, red rover, let (insert name) come over” lol can’t tell you how many time I received an injury over those words lol
Gen X here 👋🏾👍🏾 this is the best description of this game 💯💯💯 love it!
Red rover, lawn darts & dodge ball; the triathlon of block battles.
Loved that game, Love your channel, it makes me smile daily!
This is a 100 % accurate......& I say good elaboration big brother / Good Sir .
Love this!!!! I was always afraid I wouldn't be picked. Alas, I joined my team!!
According to an exhibit now in the National Archives, the average early American in 1790 drank an estimated 5.8 gallons of pure alcohol annually and then went to work in the fields. Ponder on that!
The great outdoors. Great memories. I still have a limp from a tragic dodge ball accident. Oh how I wish I hadn't worn a dress that day. Sighs.
Go Sparta! 😂
Ah yes, red rover was a great game. I remember playing it in scouts not to long ago. It taught us how to be strategic and to evaluate our oppositions strength.
Loved this game but my all time favorite game was king of the hill! Battling in the before time for ultimate supremacy was and always will be a great experience!
I loved to hear "Red rover red rover send Darren over" because soon I would hear tears and the lamentations of my opponents. I was always the largest kid in my class even though I was a year younger due to being a summer child. But oh how I enjoyed those games. Quickly though the school shifted from red rover to kick ball avoiding dodge ball which I also dominated because parents complained.
We never ever thought that we would be the only generation to grow up like we did 😢
Oh man I loved red rover! One of the best games around.
Ye old glory days of “kill the man with the ball”…. Or the permanent feel and taste of those red dodgeballs…..
This is true. The most common injury was broken collar bones but like you said, the teachers were on standby to collect little Timmy as another stood by to watch on for the next cry for help.
Do kids these days even know what a clothesline is?
I think the answer is pretty obvious. On both accounts😊
@@Dommommy yeah. I kinda figured it. 😝
This dude is AWESOME!!...& As agen x'er myself... totally agree...we weren't and still aren't soft...
they have a new version of this game now. its a game of death battle ball in an octagon. its like training the kids for Mad Max battle domes
Nice. 😎👍
Yes, those were the best of times!! When a man was a man and a woman was a woman!! There were no cry-babies, and if there were…We’d send them home crying for their mommies (eventually to wear her clothes too!)!!! Kids nowadays wouldn’t last a day, in our world/times!!! You Sir, make me reminisce and relive the days of old; the good old days!!!
Omg. I remember getting clotheslined so hard playing that game. Think I even rattle a few teeth loose on a few of those exchanges. Ah the good old days. I miss those days. Ngl.
Always, at least one or two of the cohort was in a cast or had stitches. I remember cutting off my cast with a drywall saw early so I could ride my bike and make dirt jumps with shovels.
Indoor dodgeball in gym class was fun too. The thick red rubber rhythm balls sure did sting.
Sounds similar to British Bulldog. .. Great game!!!
I remember watching kids literally flip over my arms, get the air knocked out of them as they landed flat on their backs. Good time, good times indeed.
Best description of that game I’ve ever heard man those were good times indeed!🇺🇸👍🏻
The daily battles of the outside are never forgotten.
back in the 80's in Australia we played a game called "bedlam" it was a free for all, similar to the Italian game "Calcio Fiorentino" but without a ball. I remember 1 game where a team mate flew into an opponents back, knees first and ruptured his kidneys. The teachers watched and recruited the best of us (who could tackle and take a hit) into the rugby league team. this would never happen with the simps and soy boys we raise today
Yeah cause rupturing a kidney is cool. Please... Huge difference between a red mark from a stupid rubber ball or a kid having red arms from breaking the chain. A broken bone (kids are weak) is to be expected here and there. But rupturing a kidney?
Thunderdome wasnt just the third Mad Max movie, it was the story of Gen X childhood
when I was little,my uncle took us lil ladies aside,and gave us strategies on how to break their link n also how to properly clothesline the enemies.Those tips were some of the most valuable tips I've ever had.thank u unk
Red Rover was my curse... always the tallest in my class, always the largest, and always the one that the other kids wanted to take out of the game. I usually managed to break through, but was sometimes stopped, by that dreaded clothesline
"Kill the Man" and "King of the Hill" as well... "Smashmouth Football," "Dodgeball," "Tetherball," and "Full-contact Hoops." We made every game a violent conflict. 😂
Red Rover
Such good times
Miss that game. Not gonna lie- if a bunch of adults decided to play, I would be THERE.
Sooo accurate a description and sooo fun of a game. I feel bad for the children who never got to play.
Ah the days of mercurochrome on the knees!!! Battle scars.
Flashbacks 😂😂😂😂
I believe mercurochrome has been banned and removed from stores....who would've thunk it?
I am howling and in tears, this is sooo funny. And I love that you do it with a straight face….😂
Now explain king of the hill. That was great. Thanks
I remember a time when we were playing red rover outside against another classroom of kids. Our team decided to summon a fairly big kid. He saw that a girl named Alexa was holding hands with two kids much bigger than she was. She was one of the more skinny girls in the class. She was standing two kids down to my left. So the big kid saw the opportunity and he decided to run as fast as he could towards her left side. The guy holding her left hand grabbed as hard as he could to her. Well his grip was very strong, too strong. The big kid running didn't break through the line. But we instead heard a snapping noise as the bone in her left forearm broke. She started screaming and tried to retract her left hand from the other kid's grip, but her hand went floppy. One of the two teachers present ran inside the school to summon an ambulance for her. She was taken to the hospital and we didn't see her for about 2 weeks, when she returned with a purple cast on her left arm.
They banned red rover at my school after that day.
School yard memories.
Ahh...yes, good times 🥰
Dog piles, red rover, dog fights on the swings, Johnny cross. How did things get so messed up? I would blame the schools but they didn’t lower the education standards, they just embraced it.
I'm 47 and never played red rover. My favorite gym game was Circle Dodge Ball. Didn't know it was supposed to be 2 even lines facing each other until the movie Dodge Ball came out. In circle dodge ball all the girls would circle around the guys and throw the 8 red gym balls the group on the ring got. Then dodge balls would come from every direction until you got hit. Then the boys traded places and we would throw the balls at the girls as hard as we could until each girl was eliminated. Fat people got hit first. Easiest target.Bonus point for making somebody cry.
Ah,yes.In the days before the oceans swallowed Atlantis,let me tell you of the days of high adventure!
Other games we played were Ollie, Ollie oxen free, freeze tag, king of the mountain, as well as card games and board games. Oh, there were so many games to play. Hang man, which is now Wheel of Fortune.
Smear the Kweerr ..where you had to single handedly carry the Nerf® football from one driveway "end zone" to the next driveway..over the lawn while your neighborhood friends all tried to annihilate you to the ground and get the ball.
And tetherball. Where the largest kid would dish out concussions to the smaller ones every recess
The only time you could clothesline your friends and not be punished.
Yes the days of old. We played these games. We survived when they say we wouldn't. We were feral . We Gen X are the feral . Stay feral my friends and you will be just fine.
Our K-3 playground was covered in gravel. Our 4-5 playground was covered in asphalt. Dodgeball, Red Rover, etc. were blood sports. Most of us have the scars to prove it.
I think everyone had at least one kid in their school that was 6 foot tall and 160-180 pounds already at age 10-12 and no one called him over or tried to go through him. And he was always picked 1st when playing Red Rover lol
It wasn't a school and playground. It was a barracks and training hall.
Decades ago, in college, a group of us got the brilliant idea to have a game night to relive those elementary playground games. Some, like tag, are even better in your 20s because being in your athletic prime makes it that much more challenging. But we had to call the Red Rover match early because being young and in your athletic prime makes it that much more dangerous. A 60lbs child running at 8mph is easy to stop when your bones are still quite elastic. Restraining 200 lbs of sprinting adult when your arms are fully ossified means fractures, dislocations, and torn tendons are much more likely.
Ah, the days of dodgeball, four-square, mercy, and others on the blacktop.
king of the snowhill, dodgeball.... ahh yes
How I miss the battle cry... "Break the line"
And I'm not sure the teachers were actually there to make sure that we made it to the nurse's office or rather for their own entertainment. As an adult, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't making side bets 😆