The 1990s were a magical time.
In much the same way that some Baby Boomers love to praise the 1950s as the heyday of American awesomeness, the 90s have come to hold the same special nostalgia in the hearts of New Yorkers.
Seriously, we had Ren & Stimpy.
The internet was around, but not like it is today. Google wasn't founded until 1998. For most of the 90s, accessing the web meant you couldn't make a phone call and everything took forever to load.
iPods weren't around until the end of 2001. Smartphones hadn't arrived yet. Cell phones for the masses hadn't really and truly arrived yet either-- think Zach Morris's brick of a celly in Saved By The Bell.
Giant neon scrunchies were in everyone's frizzy hair, and the battle between rollerbladers and skateboarders was yet to have been decided. (Skateboarding eventually won, obviously.)
So, of course, the New York City experience for kids growing up in the 90s was pretty rad too. That being said, we assembled this list of stuff you may have forgotten about.
Enjoy the memories now, will ya?
1. You memorized lyrics to Notorious B.I.G.'s songs before you knew the Pledge of Allegiance
If you weren't totally sheltered in the 90s, you were aware of the legendary hip hop coming out what seemed like every day.
Man, you had A Tribe Called Quest, the rise of G-Funk, and too much more to go into here.
[anad]
But growing up in NYC way back, Biggie Smalls' Juicy was something you just knew. Everybody did. Five years old, fifty years old, anywhere in between, Juicy was in your ear and you loved it. Chances are, you still do.
We sure as hell do.
2. You remember when the Knicks were actually good
nysports76 New york knicks season opener is in 78 days at milwaukee bucks. 🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🔶🔷🔶🔷🔶🔷 #nyk #lgk #knicks #nyknicks #gonygo #goknicks #letsgoknicks #knicksbasketball #newyorkknicks #newyorkknicksbasketball #newyorkknickerbockers #knickerbockers #nba #basketball #newyork #patrickewing
In the 90s, the Knicks were hot.
You didn't need Lin-sanity to spark interest in watching the Knicks, a mild, albeit muddled, intrigue in the Triangle offense, or waiting to see if Carmelo Anthony can ever learn how to play defense; they were good all on their own.
Making the playoffs was the expectation. Knicks/Bulls match-ups were great games, and Knicks/Pacers games were easily some of the best NBA rivalry games of the 90s.
You remember names like Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Allan Houston, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, Latrell Sprewell, and Hubert Davis.
Heartbreak wasn't a lottery draft pick, but a missed finger roll, or a bench-clearing brawl that suspended enough players to make a series un-winnable. Heartbreak was 8 points in 8 seconds.
And Reggie Miller was the real villain-- not James Dolan or Isaiah Thomas.
3. You overanalyze Hey! Arnold
nosabias_que No era su falda, era una camisa. #TodoTieneSentido #heyarnold #dibujoanimado #dibujos #Shirt #love #instagood #tweegram #photooftheday #iphonesia #instamood #picoftheday #Curiosity #iphoneonly #instagramhub #SabiasQue #girl #instadaily #Funny #beautiful #bestoftheday #FollowBack #igdaily #webstagram #picstitch #fashion #foodPorn #Draw #MyWorld #instagramers
If you were lucky enough to have Nickelodeon back in the day, Hey! Arnold may have been a measuring stick of your perception of NYC, just like Who's the Boss? showed the "real life" Connecticut and Full House was an "accurate" portrayal of San Francisco.
Let's be real though, nobody's grandpa had a Packard. NOBODY had a remote controlled room like Arnold.
But you did know a kid who was afraid to leave his stoop, and you probably made fun of him exactly like in the show-- until you saw that one episode...
4. You're definitely going to "The Dopest TBT Ever" (Hudson Terrace - 621 West 46th Street)
If you grew up in the 90s in NYC and you're down with us here spoiled NYC, you can bust out your scrunchies and come reminisce with us on Thursday, September 17th at 7 p.m.
On that night, spoiled NYC and Tablelist are throwing The Dopest TBT Ever at Hudson Terrace-- a dope Hell's Kitchen spot with killer Hudson River views.
[anad2]
We're gonna be kickin' it in the clouds, spinnin' the best 90s tracks, and stayin' fly till the wee hours of the night. P.S., there's an open bar for one whole hour too.
You down? Get your free RSVP right here.
5. When you're hungry and see a street sewer, you still think of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
apil_sca An afternoon of baking and teaching squidge the art of ninjutsu in sewer with the best teachers I know. #teenagemutantninjaturtles #splinter #shredder #apriloneil #originalshows #cartoon #summer
Admit it, you remember the live action TMNT movies-- especially that first one.
And now, sometimes when you see a sewer, you imagine its address as "122 & 1/8th" because that's the address those beloved turtles gave Domino's and got $3 off because it was slightly late.
You want to try this. You know they don't play that $3 off game anymore, but it's worth a shot, for nostalgia's sake.
You might still wonder how many mutant reptiles are skateboarding/residing throughout the subterranean tunnels of the city, and how many of them have ninja training.
But don't worry-- we do too.
,6. You went to the old Yankee Stadium religiously
It wasn't the original Yankee Stadium. That was remodeled in the 70's. But it was the same grounds, basically the same building.
If you were a Yankees fan growing up in the 90s, you watched the Yankees in the Stadium where "The Mick" actually played. The House That Ruth Built.
You got ice cream in a little helmet shaped bowl and brought it home with you. Chances are your dad took you to the bathroom to wash it out so she didn't get ice cream all over the car.
[anad]
You remember the chants of "1918!" anytime Boston came to town. You remember the heartbreak of 1994 because the strike that ended that magical season, and 1997 because Mariano looked mortal for just one night.
You definitely remember the Core Four, Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera, and Jorge Posada, before they were the Core Four.
You also remember "Clueless Joe" Torre bringing the Yankees to three World Series in the 90s. Mad clueless, we won all of them.
The good ol' days, eh?
7. Twenty-five cents meant a good day
mrtatted88 My #TBH Some Cry Baby Candy I Had A Red And Bule One Today It Was Extreme Sour Money Gram #CryBabyCandy #TBH #ExtremeSourCryBabyCandy
As a child, you counted your money in cents. Maybe, you still do. If you had a quarter, you could get five Cry Baby's candies at the corner store, or a 25 cent icee (officially known as Fla-vor-ices).
Just like everything in NYC, the price has quadrupled since we were kids.
You want an Icee now? Put a dollar on the counter-- or more. That's if they even have Icees. If they don't, you're not in a bodega-- you're in a corner store.
And you should get outta there. ASAP.
8. Cris-Cross Clothing/overalls/glow in the dark beads in your braids/light up sneakers
cortney_mikel Definigtely a #tb! Anyone else remember them? #jumpjump #Regrann from @therealruben - Omg yo throwback I use to want to be like them yo 😂 I fucked they music #kriscross #ripchris
Kids' fashion in the 90s was amazing. While these trends may have been "a thing" around the country, they were especially big in NYC. Cris-cross clothing was the bomb.
If you had the prepubescent balls to rock your clothes backwards, and your parents would let you do that-- you had the clothing game on lock.
[anad2]
Perhaps the most cris-crossed piece of clothing was overalls - with one strap left undone. If you had both straps strapped, you were a loser. Finally, if you had braids and you did not have beads in them, especially glow in the dark beads, you were not as cool as everyone else.
The thing to top off those quintessential 90s outfits was light-up sneakers. You were basically the stylin'-est little homie if you had on backwards overalls, light up sneakers and glow in the dark beads in your hair.
Think about that for a second...
9. FAO Schwarz probably wasn't in your family's price range...
sandhya_murthy #faoschwartz. My kids look forward to fao shwartz every time we are in NYC. Sadly this will be the last time we ever go. It's closing down.
Kids from outside the city who watched Home Alone II probably thought everybody got their toys at FAO. Hell, the old man was just giving stuff away, right? That was not the case.
Just like most of Midtown, it's not particularly affordable to the people who don't live there. Or visiting there. That's OK; that's what Midtown is for, we guess.
But remember wanting to take home every thing you ever saw in the window there? Remember begging to go inside whenever you passed by that giant teddy bear statue? Remember always being told "No," or "Maybe tomorrow?"
We sure do... ahhhh. Memories.
Check out 9 Things You Can Do to Reminisce About the Good Ol' Days in NYC.