When the Wall fell, popular culture rose to a new level of social relevance. Wind of Change? More like a tsunami! The Nineties washed over the increasingly globalized media landscape in a tidal wave of catchy tunes, cult movies, TV series and show stars. FACES rolls up the decade – and publishes an encyclopedia on the age of grunge, girl groups, GZSZ and hackysacks in loose succession.
Is that still sport, or should it be ridiculed? A lump of granulate will get the most soft-footed fighter and the most awkward electro-tech students moving. Always. Everywhere.
Nineties my ass: Asian and Central American cultures are said to have come up with the idea of juggling objects with the foot, head, knee and shoulder thousands of years ago. In its not-so-modern form (from a 2020 perspective), employment originated in the USA. As two country bumpkins try to keep a sock filled with rice in the air as long and skillfully as possible for fun.
There are practical reasons why young people in their nineties are so keen on the footbag: easy to transport, available everywhere and unbound by time. For hours in the park, just for five minutes in a circle during the break before vocational school or semi-professionally over the net with a referee: the fabric balls filled with granules and manufactured in all (im)possible designs spur on top athletic performances. And at the height of its popularity, the first major European Championships were held in Berlin in 1999.
