Imagine a Different 1980s - A Collaborative Pop Culture TL

[Nivek]

I can't believe it! After LA go up 3-1, Philly go on a massive comeback and win the next 3 straight and win their first championship in 15 years!

Didn't we've this already?

 

[Joe Bonkers]

November 2, 1982:

In a very close race, Robert Casey is elected governor of Pennsylvania, defeating incumbent Republican Governor Richard Thornburgh.

The race was in a statistical dead heat for practically all of the fall, leading to some tough campaigning on both sides. Thornburgh repeatedly accused Casey of being a "tax-and-spend" liberal who would increase the state's taxes, particularly the income tax. But he ran into trouble, despite campaign stops from President Reagan and other prominent Republicans, with the slow recovery of the economy from the 1981 recession, which hit the state's industrial areas particularly hard. Casey argued that Thornburgh was indifferent to the state's problems because he was more interested in angling for a position in the Reagan Administration. One particularly nasty attack ad said, "Dick Thornburgh wants to go to Washington. That's fine with us Pennsylvanians. Just so long as we get him out of Harrisburg."

Thornburgh's attacks on Casey's record also failed to resonate, as most voters perceived Casey to be a fiscal liberal but not an irresponsible high spender. Casey was also a social conservative - he was staunchly pro-life - which helped him greatly in the heavily Catholic industrial regions and cities of the Keystone State.

Nevertheless, the popular vote margin remained close - 50.9 percent for Casey versus 48.2 percent for Thornburgh. But. along with the Democratic strongholds of Philadelphia County and Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Casey carried all the counties east of the Susquehanna River except rural Bradford, Susquehanna, Wyoming and Pike counties, along with Allegheny and Erie counties, the whole southwestern corner of the state, and coal-mining counties in the central region like Clearfield and Blair counties, plus Centre County (due to the Penn State student population). Thornburgh won most of the rural counties, but the vote was not large enough to overcome Casey's lead in the more urban regions.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

hey, I've been wondering: with a world series clinched the previous year and the majority of the core signed to long-term deals and motivated and more confident, would the montreal expos be able to win the NL East in 1982 instead of the cardinals? in real life, they finished 6 games behind, which is not that hard to surmount with a confident and motivated team with world series experience.

 

[More Than A Feeling]

Detroit have been awarded the first pick in the 1982 NBA draft

 

[loneranger]

Imagine all the cleanup.

Immediate butterfly: John Hinkley, Jr., wanting to impress Jodie Foster (but no longer with the memory of his "idol" John Lennon's killing) instead tried to break into her house. The police carry him off to jail. He is ultimately found to suffer from paranoid delusions and is committed to an asylum. "That was creepy," said Foster.

IIRC Reagan's near death experience and how it was handled by George HW Bush was sort of a turning point in their relationship (I believe they didn't like each other before this). If they continue in not liking each other then it's possible he is not nearly as popular heading into 1988. Already some interesting butterflies with only three degrees of separation from the POD. The world is strange.

 

[SavoyTruffle]

I can't believe it! After LA go up 3-1, Philly go on a massive comeback and win the next 3 straight and win their first championship in 15 years!

Lakers blew a 3-1 lead lmao.

Some more ideas:

February 4, 1981: Fresh off of the American leg of Wings' tour, Paul McCartney visits John Lennon at the Dakota in New York City.

Lennon demos a song of his call "Real Love" to McCartney. Not only is Paul impressed, he suggests to John that they make a go of it together, "like old times". While Yoko Ono is initially apprehensive, both men manage to convince her - "we're just gonna jam, you know".

February 6, 1981: Lennon and McCartney lay down base tracks for "Real Love", with John on lead vocals and piano, and Paul on backing vocals and drums.

February 7, 1981: John and Paul record overdubs for the track, with John playing acoustic guitar and Paul adding bass and electric guitar.

February 18, 1981: George Harrison, in the midst of reworking his Somewhere in England album, hears about the Lennon-McCartney reunion and is inspired to finish his song "All Those Years Ago". (OTL the song was a work in progress when John was murdered and was completed with it in mind. Obviously TTL with Lennon being alive the song is pretty different)

 

[NyQuil]

February 5th 1981-President Reagan addresses the nation on his economic plan to slow down the current recession including across the board tax cuts and spending cuts and says he hopes the country will have a balanced budget by 1987.

 

[More Than A Feeling]

1982 NBA Draft
Notable Picks
1 - Detroit - James Worthy
3 - Golden State(Traded to Milwaukee for cash considerations) - Dominique Wilkins
4 - New Jersey - Terry Cummings
10 - Dallas - Clark Kellogg
11 - Houston - Sleepy Floyd
13 - Denver - Fat Lever
17 - Phoenix - Ricky Pierce
18 - Chicago - Paul Pressey

 

[More Than A Feeling]

NBA trade alert!
Utah has traded Bernard King and Greg Deane to Detroit for John Long and Kent Benson

 

[kinnikuniverse]

yup, the pistons have become the exact opposite of what they were IRL: all offense, no defense.

 

[More Than A Feeling]

yup, the pistons have become the exact opposite of what they were IRL: all offense, no defense.

Also the Mavericks are starting 6'8 Louis Orr at center and 6'5 Rick Wilson at power forward.

 

[More Than A Feeling]

TIL that Jabari Parker's dad played in the NBA

 

[More Than A Feeling]

The 1982-1983 NBA trade deadline was boring. Only role players were traded. No big trades of note.

 

[C. McKay]

Is Don Nelson coaching the Bucks at this point?

1982 NBA Draft
Notable Picks

3 - Golden State(Traded to Milwaukee for cash considerations) - Dominique Wilkins

 

[More Than A Feeling]

Is Don Nelson coaching the Bucks at this point?

Yes. The POD is in 1980 and he started coaching the Bucks in 1976

 

[More Than A Feeling]

1983 NBA playoff matchups
Trail Blazers-Jazz
Lakers-Rockets
76ers-Bucks
Bulls-Celtics

 

[More Than A Feeling]

Western conference playoff teams starters and 6th men
Portland Trail Blazers
Jim Paxson
Ron Brewer
Alex Bradley
Tom Chambers
Maurice Lucas
Abdul Jeelani
Utah Jazz
John Long
Lewis Lloyd
Adrian Dantley
Kiki Vandeweghe
Kent Benson
Paul Dawkins
Los Angeles Lakers
Norm Nixon
Magic Johnson
Jamaal Wilkes
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Mitch Kupchak
Michael Cooper
Houston Rockets
Calvin Murphy
Allen Leavell
Greg Ballard
Moses Malone
Rich Kelley
Robert Reid

 

[More Than A Feeling]

Eastern conference playoff teams starters and 6th men
Philadelphia 76ers
Maurice Cheeks
World B.Free
Julius Erving
Bobby Jones
Darryl Dawkins
Bill Laimbeer
Milwaukee Bucks
Sidney Moncrief
Marques Johnson
Junior Bridgeman
Dominique Wilkins
Bob Lanier
Bill Walton
Chicago Bulls
Reggie Theus
Freeman Williams(For some reason he is a beast in this sim)
Paul Pressey
Jeff Ruland
James Donaldson
Alton Lister
Boston Celtics
Vinnie Johnson
Cedric Maxwell
Larry Bird
Kevin McHale
Robert Parish
Danny Ainge

 

[NyQuil]

February 8th 1981-Former Acting Attorney General and Solicitor General Robert Bork is name the special prosecutor of the ReaganIran investigation.
February 9th-1981 President Reagan’s approval rating bumps up to a high of 43%.

 

[More Than A Feeling]

NBA conference finals matchups
Trail Blazers-Rockets
76ers-Celtics
After the Rockets swept the Lakers, rumors started coming out that Magic Johnson may request a trade...