"Yooo This Aged Me VIOLENTLY": These Gen Z NFL Rookies Couldn't Identify Common '90s Items

Kelley Greene
·2-min read

In a recent viral Instagram reel, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers social media team asked their rookie players if they could identify some items from the '90s, and their responses have me, a millennial, feeling like I'm ready for the grave.

View this photo on Instagram

First up, they asked the rookies if they recognized a VHS tape. 23-year-old Chris Braswell had a few guesses. "Isn't this like a DVD?" he guessed. After being told he was wrong, he tried again. "VR?" "DVR?"

A person in a football jersey holds a VHS tape outside. Text on the image reads, "Isn't this like a DVD?"
@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

Then he laughed, admitting he didn't know what it was.

Person in football uniform holding VHS tape with text:
Person in football uniform holding VHS tape with text:
Football player in uniform looks at a VHS tape, smiling. Text reads:
Football player in uniform looks at a VHS tape, smiling. Text reads:

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

Tykee Smith, 23 years old, knew what the VHS was for but didn't know its name, calling it "the little DVD thing that you used to put in the VCR."

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com
@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

And as a balm to my aging soul, 22-year-old Bucky Irving successfully identified the VHS.

Person in a football jersey holding a VHS tape, standing outside near large windows and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo
Person in a football jersey holding a VHS tape, standing outside near large windows and a Tampa Bay Buccaneers logo
A person in a football jersey humorously gestures toward a VHS tape. Text reads,
A person in a football jersey humorously gestures toward a VHS tape. Text reads,

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

Then they showed Power Ranger toys to 22-year-old Graham Barton and 24-year-old Elijah Klein, which, thankfully, they identified immediately.

Person in a football uniform, standing outside with palm trees. Text reads
Person in a football uniform, standing outside with palm trees. Text reads
A person in a sports jersey smiles while holding two Power Ranger action figures. Text reads
A person in a sports jersey smiles while holding two Power Ranger action figures. Text reads

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

Next up was a floppy disk, which Braswell, Smith, and Irving all guessed was a CD.

Three football players in uniforms react to floppy disks. Text: "Is this just a regular CD?"
@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

After hearing he was wrong, Braswell took another guess. "IBM?" he asked.

A football player in an orange jersey holds a floppy disk. Text on the disk reads "IBM?"
@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

Mercifully, Klein correctly identified the item as a floppy disk, prompting Barton to ask, "Is that what this is?"

A football player in a red jersey reacts humorously while holding a floppy disk near a sports facility
A football player in a red jersey reacts humorously while holding a floppy disk near a sports facility
Person in sports jersey holds an orange floppy disk. Text in image says,
Person in sports jersey holds an orange floppy disk. Text in image says,

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

Barton then said of Klein, "He's like 24. He's basically a '90s baby."

Two football players in jerseys share a laugh outside a building. Text reads:
Two football players in jerseys share a laugh outside a building. Text reads:
Two football players in uniforms stand outside a stadium. The text reads:
Two football players in uniforms stand outside a stadium. The text reads:

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

I can feel myself transforming into the Cryptkeeper.

Lastly, the players were handed a cassette tape, which Irving was unfamiliar with. "I don't know this one," he said. "Y'all got me on this one."

Football player holds cassette tape under text:
Football player holds cassette tape under text:
Football player in a practice uniform holding a phone, with text overlay:
Football player in a practice uniform holding a phone, with text overlay:

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

As with the VHS, Smith didn't know the item's name but did know how it worked. "You put it in like a music thing and close it, and it plays tunes," he said.

Three-panel image of a person wearing a sports jersey, describing an old cassette as a music device that plays tunes when inserted and closed
@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

And finally, Braswell was able to correctly identify the cassette tape. "Times have changed," he laughed.

Football player in uniform examines a small item with text overlay,
Football player in uniform examines a small item with text overlay,
A football player in an orange jersey, number 43, smiles outside a stadium. Text reads
A football player in an orange jersey, number 43, smiles outside a stadium. Text reads

@buccaneers / Via instagram.com

People in the comments said they'd never felt older. "I'm 34 but after watching this video feeling like I'm in my 60s."

Profile picture with text: "I'm 34 but after watching this video feeling like I'm in my 60s" followed by two laughing emojis
@lizzy_rockz / Via instagram.com

"31 & they making me feel like i walked with MLK," one commenter said.

Username "you_hate_cee" comments: "31 & they making me feel like i walked with MLK" followed by two weary face emojis
@you_hate_cee / Via instagram.com

And another said, "yooo this aged me VIOLENTLY."

Instagram comment by evante.daniels saying, "yooo this aged me VIOLENTLY" from 7 weeks ago
@evante.daniels / Via instagram.com

Finally, even Queer Eye host Karamo Brown said, "I want to fight all of them. I would lose... but it's the principal."

Social media post by Karamo says, "I want to fight all of them. I would lose... but it's the principal," with laughing and shrug emojis
@karamo / Via instagram.com

Fellow millennials, how're ya feeling right about now? Are those knees starting to ache? And if you're Gen Z, would you have recognized these items without being told what they are?

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