Clemente’s Corner: The Sharks, Rollerblades and a Time Machine to the ‘90s
We collectors do love nostalgia. It’s a way to connect our memories about legendary teams, players and games to the present using small pieces of cardboard. It’s a wonderful pursuit and the reason why so many of us have binders full of cards on our shelves and in our closets from the 1980s and ‘90s.
Another way to connect with the past is through books. One book that will take hockey fans back to that analog time is Brad Porteus’s “Roll With It.” It’s a heartfelt and humorous memoir that delivers exactly what its subtitle promises: “A trip back to the ‘90s – Gen X style.”
Notes
Roll With It: A Trip Back to the ’90s – Gen X Style
Author: Brad Porteus
Pages: 255 pages
Size: 5.5″ x 8.5″
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Porteus Press
Available at Amazon
Like so many Gen Xers, Porteus learned to improvise when it came to working in sports – “fake it ‘till you make it” – while stumbling his way through a decade that demanded resilience and independence. We are, after all, a generation of latchkey kids.
“Roll With It” serves both a personal coming-of-age story and a cultural time capsule. In fact, the book offers readers a surprisingly fresh take on that era. In doing so, Porteus has created a funny and unpolished time machine back to a decade that saw NHL expansion and the boom in on-line skating.
The book’s core revolves around Porteus’s unconventional job starting in 1994 as the general manager of the San Jose Rhinos, a Roller Hockey International team started that year just a few years removed from when the San Jose Sharks joined the NHL. Porteus had worked for the Sharks, but after quitting, found himself in a GM job in what now seems like a bygone era dominated by cassette tapes, VCRs and Windows 95.
For those who don’t remember, RHI was a professional inline (don’t say Rollerblades, Porteus warns, since that’s an actual brand name rather than what they’re called) hockey league that operated in North America from 1993 to 1999. It was the first major pro league for inline hockey. At the time, RHI aimed to capitalize on the popularity of inline skating by adapting ice hockey to roller skates.
I never owned Rollerblades (there, I said it!), but my sister did. They were black with hot pink wheels. Whenever I hear anyone mentions those skates, my mind quickly goes to that now-infamous 1991-92 Upper Deck card of Pavel Bure. It was one of the coolest cards I owned in high school. I still have it.
1991-92 Upper Deck card #54 – Pavel Bure
Despite some early success, RHI’s foundation was shaky. The league expanded too quickly, doubling to 24 teams in 1994, which diluted talent and strained finances as franchises struggled to put butts in seats. Many RHI franchises were unstable. This is where Porteus has some really good stories. He recalls those stories in a conversational style, making the book a fun beach read for those looking for one this summer.
The book isn’t trying to rewrite history or romanticize the past, but offer a look at what that era was like and how sports have changed over three decades. Porteus is frequently self-deprecating – something I thought made him sound very genuine and likeable. There are also parts of the book’s timeline where he jumps around a bit so you have to stay with it. These detours, however, are also fun excursions into the worlds of rock concerts, arena operations and road trips before every car had GPS.
While the 255-page book is for all generations, it’s particularly aimed to someone like me. I turn 50 this year and the 1990s remain, at least in my memory, an extremely fun time. It was the decade where I really became serious about collecting hockey cards, even though the vast majority of them aren’t worth anything today. This book really spoke to me. Heck, even though I grew up in New York City, I owned a Sharks Starter winter coat! Sometimes I wish I still had that coat.
Our generation really did learn to roll with it. Porteus is a poster child for that era – and he’s got some crazy stories to back it all up.
Clemente Lisi is a lifelong Rangers fan who first started collecting cards in 1986. He collects both vintage and modern with a focus on rookie cards. Follow him on X/Twitter @ClementeLisi.
Clemente Lisi is a lifelong Rangers fan who first started collecting cards in 1986. He collects both vintage and modern with a focus on rookie cards. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.
View all posts by Clemente Lisi
We collectors do love nostalgia. It’s a way to connect our memories about legendary teams, players and games to the present using small pieces of cardboard. It’s a wonderful pursuit and the reason why so many of us have binders full of cards on our shelves and in our closets from the 1980s and ‘90s.
