"Pokémon GO" has taken the world by surprise. Old, young and the in-betweens, "Pokémon GO" does not discriminate. The game has caused one of the biggest cultural storms since its debut in early July, but amid the brouhaha lies the people who thought they had escaped "Pokémon" in the '90s. Let's just say that they are less than pleased to see it resurfaced.
Growing up, I was a very active and a creative kid. I played a lot of sports and was involved in all the social games. Remember duck, duck, goose, stuck in the mud, marbles, Chinese Whispers, and my all time favorite, wall ball? Oh boy, if only someone would have warned me back then that it would all end!
With all of that, you would think that I would have embraced "Pokémon" when it first came out, but I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Quite frankly, I never understood why everyone loved this game so much. The characters weren't even appealing to me at all. Well, all except Pikachu. Yes, I have to admit that he was the only Pokemon creature that caught my attention and has held it throughout all these years.
Still, I had to bite my tongue, sit on the sidelines and wait for the craziness to pass, and pass it did, or so I thought. I thought that "Pokémon" was well behind us, left in the pile of everything that represented the '90s. May that decade rest in peace! Never did I foresee, even for a second, what was coming back.
Fast forward to today and the "Pokémon" craze has swept back into our lives. Somehow I am the only one that seems to be bothered by it, and for good reason, because you can't escape it. You leave your apartment and people have that frantic look in their eyes, desperately lurking in search of Pokémon. You think that you'll escape it when you are out with your friends during happy hour, but all they bring up for conversation is "Pokémon." You are at work during a staff meeting, and "Pokémon" still manages to squeeze its way into the conversation. I mean, for Christ's sake when will it stop?!
The worst part?
People are actually risking their lives to catch them. A few days ago in Northern Ireland, a man plunged himself into traffic, looking for Pokémon. Still, no word if the man was hurt or not, but for the safety of everyone and for my peace of mind, let's put a stop to this game.
I guess only time will tell if "Pokémon" is ready to go because we are now in August and the madness still hasn't stopped. Heck, have we seen any sign of it slowing down?
