"Nineties Scrapbooks"
Operation Desert Storm, The Rodney King Incident, Beavis and Butthead, Saving Private Ryan, Titanic, OJ Simpson, Alanis Morissette, David Koresh and the Branch Davidians, Timothy Mcveigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewenski, Cloned Sheep, The Crack Cocaine explosion, The Olympic Park Bombing, and the Colombine Massacre. The nineties was a decade full of conflict and turmoil. The meaning of the Nineties is defined by key characteristics: globalisation and the rise of East Asia; change, insecurity, and the flexible society; meritocracy, and the decline of deference; the decline of traditional politics. As the decade began the United States found themselves on the verge of international conflict in the persian gulf. Popular music was about to take a dramatic shift from the mainstream. and a new wave of domestic terrorism was about to take centerstage in the homeland. America would no longer be spared from the internal conflicts that had plagued most third world countries over the last forty years.
The nineties would take a giant leap forward in television and motion pictures as americans were treated to a new wave of cartoon molodrama and reality tv. Beavis and Butthead, Mike Judge's cartoon exploitation of the stereotypical youth movement made it's debut in 1990 shortly after the introduction of The Simpsons. The new wave of what we all know now to be reality tv came to life with shows like, Jerry Springer, and Maury Povich which showcased and exploited the growing social and moral decline in America. Then you had the epic releases of movies like Saving Private Ryan, Titanic, Pearl Harbor, and Rainman. Hollywood was being more creative and daring in it's productions as no topic in life no matter how controversial became subject to finding it's way onto the motion picture screen.
Crime in the nineties was about to take a brand new twist, In the early '90s, a young couple from Virginia was involved in a story that many people will never forget. In June 1993, 24-year-old Lorena Bobbitt became known as the woman who cut off her husband's penis with a carving knife. On the night of the infamous assault, Lorena says her husband, John Wayne Bobbitt, came home drunk and sexually assaulted her, a charge he denied and was acquitted of. Later that night, Lorena went into the kitchen, picked up a knife and returned to the bedroom to cut off her sleeping husband's penis. Then, she got into her car and started driving. Somewhere along the dark highway, she rolled down the window and threw his penis onto the side of the road. Hours later, a search team found the severed penis, and surgeons were able to reattach it.
Then in 1994 murder and the judicial system became good tv as millions tuned in to watch the sensationalized trial of OJ Simpson who stood accused of brutally murdering his ex wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman outside her apartment in Los Angeles. The trial put the entire system of justice in the public eye as Simpson would later be aquitted of the crime due to shotty investigation and corruption within the Los Angeles Police Department.
Then in 1994 murder and the judicial system became good tv as millions tuned in to watch the sensationalized trial of OJ Simpson who stood accused of brutally murdering his ex wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman outside her apartment in Los Angeles. The trial put the entire system of justice in the public eye as Simpson would later be aquitted of the crime due to shotty investigation and corruption within the Los Angeles Police Department.
Popular music took a radical shift from the hedonistic, self indulgent, party like it's 1999 sounds of the eighties into a deeper and darker place. The seattle grunge movement became the death nail for the eighties hard rock and hair metal bands who made a living selling it's over the top live shows and theatrics. The music now had come back to the street level with groups like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. Dance music and an otherwise underground rap movement came into the forefront during the early years as rock n roll continued it's slow decline from the public conteousness. Everybody wanted to get out on the dance floor and do the floor dances as they did during the disco movement of the mid seventies, but all the while a sinister more menacing form of music was being created out of the streets of south central Los Angeles that would forever change modern music.
As crack cocaine became the new drug of choice the streets from which it was born was producing music that reflected life in the streets and the daily struggles of those who lived in them. Hard Core Gangsta Rap began exploding on the scene with groups like Public Enemy, and Ghetto Boys. The music reveled in the violence from the streets it was created and became the cultural crossover platform of the day. Movies fell in suit as the realeases of films like New Jack City and Boys in the Hood dramatized the subject matter the music related. Then came the onslaught of what would be referred to as "New Wave" as groups like The Cranberries, No Doubt, and Hole exploded on the scene. The style also produced it's share of popular solo artist such as Alanis Morissette, Joan Osborne, and Meredith Brooks.
As crack cocaine became the new drug of choice the streets from which it was born was producing music that reflected life in the streets and the daily struggles of those who lived in them. Hard Core Gangsta Rap began exploding on the scene with groups like Public Enemy, and Ghetto Boys. The music reveled in the violence from the streets it was created and became the cultural crossover platform of the day. Movies fell in suit as the realeases of films like New Jack City and Boys in the Hood dramatized the subject matter the music related. Then came the onslaught of what would be referred to as "New Wave" as groups like The Cranberries, No Doubt, and Hole exploded on the scene. The style also produced it's share of popular solo artist such as Alanis Morissette, Joan Osborne, and Meredith Brooks.
As a new decade of Wonder football began the Wonders would enter into the fray as the defending AAA state champion from 1989. The Bruce Hardin era would venture into it's second season as the Wonders looked to become back to back state title holders. 1990 would also be the year of "The Catch" as the Wonders would defeat the Concord Spiders on a last second pass from QB Mo Blakeney to WR Scott Jordan to win the game as time elapsed. The game would go down in Wonder football history as one of the greatest bell games ever played. That dream of a second state title would come to end however in the third round as the Wonders would have their fortunes reversed. The Statesville Greyhounds would take revenge on the Wonders handing them a third round loss 21-14 knocking them out of contention for another state title.
As 1991 rolled around the Wonders would make it back to the state AAA title game only to come up short against the Red Raiders of T.W. Andrews 24-14 in Chapel Hill. The Wonders would maintain the winning tradition from 1992 to 1995 before a tough year in 1996 would see the Wonders flirt dangerously close to falling under 500% going 6-4 missing the playoffs for the first time in the Bruce Hardin era. 1995 would also see the introduction of a little unknown runningback from Shelby North Carolina named Nick Maddox who would become known to Wonder fans in the following years as "Nick at Night" Maddox would go on to break many state and local records in his four year career as the Wonders runningback supreme.
In 1997 the Wonders would begin a blistering three year run of domination that saw them claim their second state AAA title in 1997. The following year in 1998 the Wonders would defend their title courageously until a heartbreaking loss to Kings Mountain in round three of the state AAA playoffs derailed the Wonder freightrain. In 1999 the Wonders in coach Bruce Hardin's final year would record the programs last undefeated regular season finishing the year at 12-1 following a second round loss to the Concord Spiders 20-7. Bruce and his two sons Justin and Blair would head off to the Citadel to begin their venture at the next level.
The nineties was indeed a dominant decade for Wonder football as the Wonders would record a winning record of 121-24 under head coach Bruce Hardin. The Wonders would meet the Concord Spiders three times this decade in the playoffs with coach Hardin's charges taking two of the three meetings. Coach Hardin before leaving A.L. Brown would record an overall 10-4 record against coach E.Z. Smith and his Spiders with nine of those victories coming in the nineties. So lets step back in time to that "Wonderous" decade of the nineties where Wonder football was the lone bright spot in a world intent on destroying everything around it.
As 1991 rolled around the Wonders would make it back to the state AAA title game only to come up short against the Red Raiders of T.W. Andrews 24-14 in Chapel Hill. The Wonders would maintain the winning tradition from 1992 to 1995 before a tough year in 1996 would see the Wonders flirt dangerously close to falling under 500% going 6-4 missing the playoffs for the first time in the Bruce Hardin era. 1995 would also see the introduction of a little unknown runningback from Shelby North Carolina named Nick Maddox who would become known to Wonder fans in the following years as "Nick at Night" Maddox would go on to break many state and local records in his four year career as the Wonders runningback supreme.
In 1997 the Wonders would begin a blistering three year run of domination that saw them claim their second state AAA title in 1997. The following year in 1998 the Wonders would defend their title courageously until a heartbreaking loss to Kings Mountain in round three of the state AAA playoffs derailed the Wonder freightrain. In 1999 the Wonders in coach Bruce Hardin's final year would record the programs last undefeated regular season finishing the year at 12-1 following a second round loss to the Concord Spiders 20-7. Bruce and his two sons Justin and Blair would head off to the Citadel to begin their venture at the next level.
The nineties was indeed a dominant decade for Wonder football as the Wonders would record a winning record of 121-24 under head coach Bruce Hardin. The Wonders would meet the Concord Spiders three times this decade in the playoffs with coach Hardin's charges taking two of the three meetings. Coach Hardin before leaving A.L. Brown would record an overall 10-4 record against coach E.Z. Smith and his Spiders with nine of those victories coming in the nineties. So lets step back in time to that "Wonderous" decade of the nineties where Wonder football was the lone bright spot in a world intent on destroying everything around it.