North Stars: A Video-Game Diary

An ice-hockey fan considers why his love of the Minnesota North Stars (NHL) makes him a perfect video-game consumer in modern dreamt America.

Well, I claimed I was retiring/signing-off, but I just had to add a story about a Christmastime shopping-themed nostalgia vignette about an ice-hockey video-game aficionado from Asia who thinks his sentimental use of the earlier-gen Minnesota North Stars (NHL) team makes him an ideal 'consumerist' American.

Merry Christmas,

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"My name is Amlan. I moved to America from Asia in the late 1980s. I began collecting Sega and Nintendo video-games while growing up in America. I was a big fan of the Mario Brothers video-games (Nintendo) and the Madden NFL (football) and NHL (ice-hockey) games on the Sega. I was particularly hypnotized by EA Sports' series of NHL (ice-hockey) games on Sega! In fact, I played alone in my basement for hours on weekends, using my favorite all-time team, the Minnesota North Stars. Now (in 2020), the North Stars are simply the 'Dallas Stars' but in a more classic era, they were Minnesota's special 'vintage north team' (iconic). I have no interest in moving to Minnesota and actually prefer Dallas (Texas) sports/teams (usually), but the Minnesota North Stars in Sega's early NHL video-games were somehow quite...dioramic."

"Today, you can buy a classic Sega Genesis console video-game system on eBay and purchase classic NHL video-games on eBay and use the gaming-systems to enjoy playing with the Minnesota North Stars at your leisure! This modern-day consumerism convenience speaks to an American investment in personalized home entertainment. Where else but in America can you feel like democratic shopping affords you the 'special right' to indulge in private nostalgia/daydreams? I might purchase a classic Sega/NHL video-game 'set' this Christmas and remind myself why capitalism is like a church!"

"I'll invite my best friend Dick over to play these classic NHL video-games on my purchased vintage Sega system with me this Christmas. He can compliment my girlfriend (Jane), and I can comment on the attractiveness of his girlfriend (Mara). That's what best friends do, and Dick is my best friend! He enjoys Sega games and NHL games as much as I do, and we're both fans of the nostalgic and offbeat Americana-oriented NHL film Slapshot (Paul Newman). My mom always likes cooking for Dick when he visits, and I think I'll ask her to make a delicious butter-chicken curry with tortillas when he comes over this Christmas to play some customized Minnesota North Stars (classic) vs. Dallas North Stars (modern) games with me on Sega. That's that Christmas is all about, my fellow Americans."

"NHL video-games sometimes offer you the chance to customize or create/build your own personalized teams, and I'd perhaps build a sentimental Minnesota North Stars team so I can see them soar through the NHL Playoffs and win the Stanley Cup. In real life, I'm a NY Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) fan, since I'm a fan of the retired/current players Tavares and Lindros, but when I play NHL video-games, I always choose the Minnesota North Stars as my 'team of gods' and look for my favorite North Stars player, Brian Bellows. The North Stars never won a Stanley Cup but were in the finals in 1991."

"Modern NHL video-games on Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox offer chances to build vintage teams from the past such as 'all-time North Stars' and 'all-time Wild' which is pretty cool. This is a nice experience to be able to nostalgically build your own playing environment and use/draft older generation players for a roster that can be integrated into a customized tournament featuring new-gen athletes. Sports is such a business now, but video-games remind you of your own right to think about the 'purity' of self-determined dialogue. That's America!"

"My mom tells me not to play too much video-games, since it will blur my vision and make my mind stiff, but I refrain from over-indulging and simply enjoying the virtual playspace of constructed daydreams. It's pretty cool, actually. My girlfriend Jane, however, agrees with my mom that I play too many video-games. However, I'm just interested (mostly) in the NHL video-games that enable me to pit Brian Bellows of the Minnesota North Stars against the Flyers' Eric Lindros. Ice-hockey is a predominantly Caucasian sport, and because I'm from Asia, I keep my North Stars fanfare in video-game conditions and private. I once had a dream I was being visited by the ghost of a deceased athlete who was warning me about indulging in daydreams about civilization fantasies!"

"I also have a signature poster of Minnesota North Stars player Brian Bellows in my room, and I put it up and took down the poster of a hot Playboy model after I started dating my girlfriend Jane who's making me more mature and sane in my life! I have a job at a law firm, and I have a degree from Dartmouth College (Ivy League!), and I live at home with my mom on the East Coast (USA) and tell Jane I intend to marry her someday and have her move-in with me and my mom. Maybe if we have kids, I'll give my Bellows North Stars poster to my son, whom I'll name Ben! I'll be wary of my mother and Jane's warning that NHL video-games are making me too psychological."

"The sport of ice-hockey is really about coordinating teamwork with personal ambition. It's about being able to move the puck/game-piece while using the stick to fend off opponents, make creative passes, and go for goals! It's about pleasing your coach and keeping your teammates excited. Ice-hockey is a rather involved professional sport, and finding your favorite team to use in an NHL video-game this Christmas just might remind you why Americans consume sports-culture and sports-marketing films like Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise)."

AMLAN: Maybe I should find a different video-game.
JANE: No, you like using Brian Bellows of the North Stars!
AMLAN: Yeah, that's my favorite.

JANE: Just be careful not to let video-games dominate you.
AMLAN: Yes, they can be quite addictive.

JANE: I'll do likewise and not spend hours on Facebook.
AMLAN: Good.

JANE: Modern tech/toys are guilty pleasures.
AMLAN: Well, maybe we should spend more time in the park.
JANE: Why don't you play more video-games featuring women's sports?
AMLAN: Nah; men's sports is much more straightforward.

JANE: You see, video-games make you 'conveniently' smalltown!

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