Desert Island Pop Culture Tournament: Day Five

The premise is easy. You are stranded on a desert island for the rest of your life and are permitted to bring just one entertainment choice along with you. Chad Campbell & Justin Rozzero, along with an assist from the PTB Nation staff, have chosen 64 essential items across eight different categories. After a random draw, these 64 items have been matched up tournament-style. You will vote to determine the one item you could never live without! Here are the categories!

Games & Activities: All materials needed to play the game or activity are included

Yearly Events: You get to watch these special televised events each year

Complete Television Series Collection: You receive a DVD set of the entire series

Complete Movie Series Collection: You receive a DVD set of the entire collection of movies, where applicable

Wrestling Pay Per View DVD: You receive a DVD copy of the full unedited wrestling event

Magazine Collection: You receive an ongoing subscription to the magazine

Complete Video Game Series Collection: You receive a copy of the entire series of a game title, where applicable

Music Albums: You receive a digitally mastered CD of the album

Come back each and every day to vote and share your opinions at the Place to Be Nation Facebook page!

Catch up on all the previous tournament matchups here. Vote now!

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Street Fighter vs. Rocky (Series)

Day Five opens with a duel between a video game series and a movie series that both center around the world of fighting.

Originally released to arcades in 1987, Street Fighter eventually reached household consoles and would immediately begin breaking records en route to becoming one of the most successful video game franchises ever created. The user plays as Ryu, competing in martial arts competitions around the world and delivering colorful characters, locales and fights. The records continue to stand up. As of the late 2000s, Street Fighter II for SNES was still CAPCOM’s most successful release. Spinning off into animated series and card games, the franchise continues to roll along as one of the most revered fighting video games of all time.

Released nationwide in late 1976, Rocky was a massive sleeper hit, raking in a cool $225 million on a budget of $950,000. It was easily the highest grossing movie of the year and would take home three Oscars, including the award for Best Picture. Staring Sylvester Stallone as underdog slugger Rocky Balboa, the film was the embodiment of the underdog story. Rocky II followed in 1979, featuring Rocky finally knocking off champion Apollo Creed. Battles against Clubber Lang (1982), Ivan Drago (1985) and Tommy Gunn (1990) followed and all three elicit strong emotion from viewers, both good and bad. After sixteen dormant years, the series received a proper sendoff in 2006’s Rocky Balboa. The movie put a bow on the story and let us Rocky duke it out in the ring one last time, putting to bed the bad memories of the mentally challenged pugilist we last saw trading fisticuffs in the streets of Philadelphia. All these years later, the Rocky series still endures and, mimicking the training regiment of its titular character, can often be found running marathon style on various cable networks at any given time.

Who will win this fight of survival? The world traveling street fighter, wiping out any opponent put in his path? Or the lower class hero that rose up from nothing to become champion of the world and an icon to millions?

People Magazine vs. Dumb and Dumber

In our second battle of the day, a magazine that defines pop culture faces off with an iconic comedy that truly stands the test of time.

An illegitimate child of Life magazine, People launched in 1974 with a mission statement of focusing on the people making the news, not the news itself. With a circulation of well over three million, People is as popular as ever thirty years later. One of People’s most enduring qualities is its focus on lists and awards, including naming the Sexiest Man Alive, Most Intriguing People of the Year, and Most Beautiful People. In this age of constant celebrity obsession, the publication continues to rack up awards, revenue and website hits, proving that People is as popular as ever.

In late 1994, Jim Carrey had established himself as a top player in comedy. Riding a wave of success that started with In Living Color and crested with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask, Carrey hooked up with Jeff Daniels and directors Peter & Bobby Farrelly to make Dumb and Dumber. The movie was the Farrelly’s first foray into film and, as would become tradition, is based out of Rhode Island. Following the dimwitted Harry and Lloyd on a cross country adventure, the film delivered plenty of laughs, quotable dialogue and even some swerves along the way. Initial reviews of the film were not strong, but it quickly gained steam as a cult favorite and was successful at the box office, meaning the flick would go a long way in cementing both Carrey and the Farrellys as top dogs in the industry. With a sequel on the books for the 20 year anniversary, Dumb and Dumber will live on and become a cult legacy film for a whole other generation of teenagers.

Now you decide! Do you prefer the weekly look in at celebrity life or the opportunity to enjoy the always entertaining road trip hi-jinx of Harry & Lloyd?

Tetris vs. Basketball & Hoop

In matchup number three, a classic video game takes on one of the greatest pieces of sporting equipment ever created.

Originally created in Russia in the early 80s, Tetris quickly caught fire as a computer based game. It would make its way to America and eventually end up on gaming consoles in edition to its PC birthplace. The game focuses on rearranging a series of oddly shaped blocks in order to clear out fully completed lines as they crash down from the sky. For each line you are able to erase, you earn points. However, the less you erase, the higher your structure raises and the faster the pieces fall down on to you. The awesome soundtrack also played a role in the hours and hours of enjoyment gleaned from the game. Tetris is easily considered one of the greatest video games ever created and as of 2007, had sold over 70 million units. In a five year span in the late 2000s, the title had sold over 100 million copies of the cell phone application as well.

Created in 1891 by a weary gym teacher on a rainy day, the sport of basketball is now played across gyms, playground and driveways across the world on a daily basis. Originally played with a soccer ball and a peach basket, the sport has evolved immensely and now consists of a metal cylinder raised ten feet off the ground and affixed to a backboard and a 22 oz inflated ball. The simple complexity of the game is what makes it great and of any sporting equipment in existence, is the most conducive to spending eternity trapped on a desert island.

You make the choice. Which solitary time killer do you prefer? The mid crunching brain test that is Tetris or the athletic freedom to make physical music afforded to you through a basketball and hoop.

WrestleMania VI vs. Seinfeld

The final battle of Day Five is a strong one with two heavyweight contenders squaring off. One is the kingpin of WWF nostalgia and the other is the greatest sitcom to ever grace television airwaves.

Coming at you live from the Toronto Skydome on April 1, 1990, WrestleMania VI was set to deliver the biggest WWF dream match since three years prior at the Silverdome as the Ultimate Warrior was challenging World Champion Hulk Hogan. Anticipation was at a fever pitch and the match delivered, with Warrior knocking off Hogan to usurp the WWF torch. The show was a huge success, packing 67, 678 wild fans into the dome. It is seen by many as the official peak of the 80’s boom period, as the company would start its downswing shortly afterwards. The undercard is highlighted by Demolition regaining their tag team titles from the Colossal Connection in Andre the Giant’s final WWF match. The show may not feature the greatest workrate, but it delivered quality moments and payoffs in spades and for the second time in three years, the company delivered a big money dream match that lived up to the hype.

Debuting in near anonymity on Wednesday July 5, 1989, Seinfeld didn’t seem long for the TV world. However, the network stood by it and after a move to Thursday nights, the writers, including legend Larry David, and actors found their inspiration, leading to officially launching an epic run of high quality, well woven, time tested sitcom gold. Gold, Jerry. Gold. With a main cast of aces, the stacked supplemental roster flanking Jerry, Elaine, George and Kramer added to the show’s rise to prominence. Seinfeld would become a ratings juggernaut and still dominates the airwaves 15 years after it closed up shop. It’s influence in pop culture ranks as highly as an TV show ever created, as catchphrases and memorable moments are still quoted endlessly to this day. Many shows have tried to be Seinfeld, but the shadow this sitcom giant casts makes it near impossible to knock it off its perch as the greatest sitcom ever created.

Will nostalgia run wild for you? Or will you choose the never ending tome of catchphrases, inanity and laughs from some of comedy’s most brilliant minds? You decide, now.