Now that we’ve finished our Things That Need Need to Go in 2020 list, it’s time to discuss what needs to come back. While this list isn’t nearly as big as the one that we just did, it’s still one that we can’t go without doing, so here’s the short but sweet list of what needs to return in the coming year. 

This was not a move the Giants made that showed them they care about their fans.

10. CATCH-ALL: The San Francisco Giants caring about their fans and home runs at Oracle Park

I hesitated to put this on here because it would look like I am terribly upset about the moves the Giants have made, but you know what? I am, so sue me. 

Never did I think the Giants of all teams would straight up do a Houston Astros-style teardown of this team to the point where you have nobody on the roster anyone recognizes and fans who don’t want to spend money watching a last place team lose night after night, which is going to lead to a nearly empty Oracle Park (More on Oracle Park in a second). 

All of the fan favorites that could’ve stayed, especially Madison Bumgarner, have left and moved on. Furthermore, they took five weeks to hire the man who they wanted to replace Bruce Bochy all along the moment he was shown the door in Philadelphia in Gabe Kapler, which is and has been an unpopular hire.  

It just has the feel of the team not caring about the fan base and any attempt to do so feels facetious at this time. We get it, it’s a rebuild and our feelings don’t matter when it comes to it, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be upset about what’s taken place. 

Also,can we get home runs to come back to this ballpark? It’s something you don’t get to see very much anymore with this team unless it’s their opponents who make it look easy. It’s not fun watching the other team hit home runs in your own yard. It’s time to do something about it. Bring in the fences, let them use steroids again, whatever it takes to make Oracle Park a launching pad again. 

9. The ice cream man

I’m sure you’re wondering why this is on the list, and understandably so. It’s not so much that the ice cream man doesn’t come around anymore, he just doesn’t come to neighborhoods like mine where it’s not as “ghetto”. It seems these days the only places you can find the ice cream man are in neighborhoods that aren’t as nice. My neighborhood doesn’t quite qualify as that. 

Back in the day when we were kids the ice cream man came all the time. In fact, we used to have walkie talkies on us as we rode bikes in order to locate him. Then whoever found him was to keep him there until we all arrived so we could get our favorite delicious ice cream treats. Those days are a distant memory now.  

8. The old Channel 40 logo

KTXL FOX 40 is my local FOX network affiliate and before the decided to adopt their current generic logo in the late-1990s, they had a logo that was kick ass that last more than 30 years on their station in one form or another. It was a 40 logo with the rainbow zero not connecting all the way and attached to the 4. It was creative and nothing like any other station’s logo before it. 

I think the logo is as iconic as the Laser 2 logo of KTVU which has been in use since 1975 and it’s a shame that it isn’t being utilized at all on the station today. The only way you get to really see it is if you drive by their studios in South Sacramento and see it on one of the satellite dishes on top of the building or old videos on YouTube. It needs to come back and the rainbow 0 needs to be with it, too! 

7. BBrothersBlog

For the better part of five years, my friends Gary and Rodger Butler were the dynamic duo known as the BBrothers and put up new videos every Sunday on their BBrothersBlog channel to the delight of thousands. Even yours truly was in a few videos. By 2016, the channel took a downturn and the videos came to an end. Even their YouTube channel is no more. I think now more than ever is the time for these guys to make videos again. I would love to see Dream Gary, Kenny “Freakin” Butler, The Vienna Sausage Chronicles, and all the great food challenges return. America needs some entertainment in their lives and these guys were fantastic at it. 

6. Wood paneling on station wagons and minivans

Back in the day,up until about the mid-90s, you could get simulated wood paneling on your station wagon or minivan to make it look more,dare I say,suburban. You weren’t a legit soccer mom if you didn’t have a kid-mobile with some fake wood on the sides of it. It let the whole neighborhood know that you were picking the gang up from soccer practice with juice boxes and orange slices in a cooler. Then,after that,newer cars didn’t have that charm of wood paneling on them anymore and it has yet to return. 

I think it’s time this piece of nostalgia returned to our automobiles to remind us of the good times in life. After all, so much from the 90s is already back,why not bring back more of it? 

5. The Hamburger Big Bite from 7-Eleven

This has made our list before and it has again. Why? Because the last time it was there the popular convenience store had it in limited areas and now it is not even on the menu. 

I,for one, loved the Hamburger Big Bite. A hamburger that’s shaped like a hot dog that can fit in a hot dog bun, what’s not to love? A meat log full of happiness that you can eat like a hot dog with ketchup and mustard is never a bad thing. 

Message to the mayor of 7-Eleven: Bring this back in 2020!  

4. TV shows with longer seasons

Why don’t shows have as long of a season as they used to back in the day? On a network show, a show will usually have 22-24 episodes a season. Nowadays a show you can only get on Netflix or Hulu will only have 13 episodes for one season. Not only is that not a season, it’s not even a full season.  

Now a milestone of 100 episodes for a show is an anomaly, even shows you can only stream don’t last that long. I don’t see why that would be so hard to double the amount of episodes in a season. People are going to watch it anyways, so why not expand the seasons? You have trillions of dollars, make the seasons longer. 

3. The Sacramento Kings in the postseason

The last time the Sacramento Kings made the postseason I was 24 years old working as a courtesy clerk in grocery store. Today I am almost 38 and am property of the State of California. That’s 14 years, folks. In that time the Kings have missed the playoffs and who knows when the hell they’ll be back. I thought it would be last year when they made the trade for Harrison Barnes but it wasn’t meant to be. 

I’m tired of it. It’s frustrating watching one of your favorite teams struggle year after year and I want the streak of years missing the playoffs for this team to end. There is talent on this team, they just need something to bring it all together and hopefully they can because I don’t want my 40th birthday to come before their next playoff appearance. 

2. Political candidates telling us what they’re for

One thing I get sick of, especially now, is candidates who run for office and continue to tell us what we can’t have and why change towards goals we want is impossible. What they also don’t do is tell you what they’re for. 

Here’s my question: Why are you even running for office if you don’t have any ideas to run on and are just there to dump on ideas you’re against? Why should anyone even take you seriously? This is especially true with Democrats who often times move to the left in primaries, but as soon as the general election hits , they pivot back to the center and often times they lose.  

I think it’s time that these candidates just come out and tell us what they’re for and decide if they’re worth our vote. Maybe it’ll be so telling of what you need to work on to win an election and recognize what your base wants for a change. 

1.In-person hangouts 

One thing I would love to see more of is in-person hangouts. I get it, we’re all busy these days and it’s hard to get together sometimes, but honestly, I would love to see more in-person hangouts. Texting people and talking on FaceTime is just not enough sometimes and the more and more that happens, the less and less we see of one another and honestly, that makes me a little sad. 

I think we need to make more time for one another, whatever it takes. Let’s go have some Korean BBQ, go to a game, grab some coffee, have a barbecue. Just communicating through other means doesn’t have the same genuine effect.