Neon colors. Cute cartoon animals. Velcro. The 90s were a great decade because they made just about everything better.

I’m not the CEO of a toy company (at least not yet), but if I had to take a wild guess, I would think they are constantly wondering about one thing- how to make more money.

Sports toys- footballs, baseballs and bikes. These are products that have been around since the 50s. Simple games. Kid throws ball. Kid catches ball. Everyone’s happy, right?

WRONG! Not in America! Not in the 90s!

Here’s a list of my favorite, most radical sports toys from the decade I grew up in.

6. PORTABLE BASKETBALL HOOPS

Remember the days of ugly basketball hoops mounted above the stupid garage door or on poles cemented into the retarded ground? Yeah, me neither- MY basketball hoop was PORTABLE. Today, portable basketball hoops are everywhere, but before the 90s, you could only play 1 on 1 in driveways and parks. Now white kids everywhere are rollin’ that hoop out to the street, and lowering the rim for some sweet dunk action.

5. MOUNTAIN BIKES

Wow, I can’t believe there was a time when kids didn’t have mountain bikes. I mean- there’s a lot of rough terrain out there on the wild, paved roads of suburbia. This toy was a neccessity for me when I had to get from my house to 7-11 and I didn’t want a ride from Dad because that’s lame. One time I took my mountain bike on a dirt path, and it went faster because it was neon green.

4. GATOR GOLF

Mini golf was nice, but what could be greater than playing golf with a gator?? When I saw this commercial for the first time, I immediately begged my parents to take me to Toys R Us. I wish I could’ve met that big Gator and played on the life size Gator Golf course in the commerical.

3. VELCRO CATCH PADDLES

Man, I’ll never forget the day my parents bought me my first Velcro Catch Paddle. I immediately threw my baseball glove in the garbage and started enjoying the luxuries of velcro baseball. I was so into my Velcro Catch Paddle, that I tried playing 3rd base with it in a Little League game. Man was my coach pissed that day!

2. VORTEX HOWLER FOOTBALL

Was there anything worse than playing with a dull, regular football as a kid? Not really- it was the worst. God, so how much sweeter was it when the Vortex Howler came out and you could throw a perfect spiral EVERYTIME. Plus it whistled, which let me know I was good. One time I tried using the Howler when I was playing quarterback in Pee Wees. Man, was my coach pissed!

1. ROLLERBLADES

ROLLERBLADES. Kids used to get beat up if you didn’t have a pair. Mine were black and electric blue, and I could totally shred on them- at the roller rink, in the streets… They were the catalyst of the Street Hockey explosion of the 90s. My first pair I got for Hanukkah ’93, and when Christmas came two weeks later (we celebrated both) all our toys were Street Hockey equipment. Awesome! Rollerblading was crazy in the town I grew up in. Our school had rollerblading days in gym, and my town even converted basketball courts into roller hockey rinks!

What memories do you have of 90s sports toys? Please share!