It doesn’t get any more real than Friday…or Flashback Friday!
Especially when you don’t play with anything else!
Welcome to 1990, and the time where play involved foam weaponry and athletic equipment. We blasted each other with water and foam pellets propelled from plastic guns, and we enjoyed every minute of our innocent play. And the two subjects of this two-part commercial feel the same way about their foam play.
Why don’t we meet them?
Meet sons of professional athletes Jay Erving (son of Julius “Dr. J” Erving) and Stephane Auriol (son of Notre Dame Fencing Coach Yves Auriol). Their sports of choice? Basketball and fencing, of course! Their method of play? Why, Nerf…and nothing else!
See them in action, when you click play!
Wait a minute, Nerf had swords?!
Nerf was established in 1969 by Parker Brothers, beginning with a four-inch polyurethane foam ball. The original concept of Nerf came from Minnesota-based games inventor Reyn Guyer, who created a football game that was safe for indoor play. Parker Brothers reviewed the concept, and eliminated everything except for the ball. The company’s ownership eventually went to Kenner Products (which was bought by Tonka in 1987), and eventually Larami before Hasbro assumed control of the brand.
Products produced over the years are N-Sports (foam versions of sports balls), Nerf Blasters (plastic guns that shoot foam darts) and the associated Blaster types – N-Strike Elite, Dart Tag, Vortex, Rebelle (targeting a female demographic), Zombie Strike, Doomlands 2169 (a subseries of N-Strike Elite), Modulus, Rival, Nitro, Alpha Strike, Ultra, and Hyper, as well as Nerf N-Force, which has swords. Other products under the Nerf banner are Super Soaker, Lazer Tag, and Nerf Dog, a lineup of cool Nerf toys for your dog.
Nerf is, as you’re probably very much aware, still around today.
Nerf Fencing seems to have been discontinued sometime in the 1990s, but Nerf Basketball – er, the Nerfoop – is still marketed today. I did find a complete fencing set from 1988 on eBay that is listed for $200, so if you’re in the mood to go all Stephane Auriol on your sibling (because let’s face it, that’s who we took our Nerf Rage out on, right?), and you have $200, then by all means.
Get Real, Get Nerf, have a fantastic Flashback Friday, and a great weekend!
Now I’m going to be on the lookout for a Nerf Fencing set at my local Goodwill. I forgot about Nerf Fencing.
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And once you play with you, you’ll fence with nothing else!
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