# "Next Big Things" that weren't so big **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044 "2011-04-03T15:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/141 "2011-04-08T20:15:24Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I used to think videophones were a stupid idea. Now I have Skype. The universe mocks me for my hubris. Videophones and Skype. The future arrives - no one cares. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/142 "2011-04-08T20:40:57Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > I went to High School in the same area and at the same time as [Ron Powlus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Powlus). He was supposed to be the next Joe Montana. Every quarterback who’s from Pennsylvania who goes to Notre Dame is the “next Joe Montana.” It’s the law, I think. Since you and I are contemporaries and both from Northeast PA, you’ll understand what I mean when I think Joe Zone also carries some of the blame for hyping Pawlus to the skies, what with featuring him on NewsWatch 16 just about every week. A few other sports things I can think of, mostly in the UK: SuperMax cricket. Teams played two innings of 10 overs a side, and the field had “Max Zones” where all scoring including boundaries counted double. I think the New Zealanders invented it during the 90’s. Great idea, and it prefigured Twenty20, but it was just a little too ahead of its time. This is one of those “Next Big Things” that did eventually become the next big thing in a slightly altered form. In the same vein, 50-over games of two 25-over innings a side. The Australians are still pushing it, but it seems that ship has sailed. Baseball in the UK. Seriously, Channel 5 thought in the 90’s that baseball would be a hit in England too. Didn’t work. Ski jumping in the UK! Everyone thought they could be the next Eddie the Eagle! Obviously they didn’t see that clip of him lying in the hospital in a full-body cast after a particularly bad crash. Jai alai in the US. It’s still a minor sport with some devotees but at one point in the 70’s a group planned to turn it into the big time with teams all over the US. IIRC the mob got involved and actually had one of the main operators whacked in a parking lot, and the money dried up very quickly after that. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/143 "2011-04-08T20:46:07Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Wasn’t there a kid that “Sports Illustrated” called the “best baseball prospect ever”. He was right out of high school, and was on the cover and everything. > > Whatever happened to him? Brien Taylor got into a bar brawl two years after being drafted and wrecked his arm. He never made it to the Majors. ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/144 "2011-04-09T02:00:37Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Wasn’t there a kid that “Sports Illustrated” called the “best baseball prospect ever”. He was right out of high school, and was on the cover and everything. > > Whatever happened to him? If you’re thinking of Bryce Harper, the jury is still very much out on him. He just started his first minor league season in Hagerstown. SI Cover: [Link](http://blogs.suntimes.com/sportsprose/2009/06/bryce_harper_sports_illustrate.html) Harper’s 2011 status: [Link](http://aol.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2011-04-08/bryce-harper-hype-dissipates-in-day-two) ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/145 "2011-04-09T02:13:25Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > It might still be the technology. I don’t know. However, if it could be done on big, expensive machines 15 years ago it seems reasonable to think the computational aspect of it, at least, could be done on much smaller, cheaper machines now. I know guys embedded in the videogame industry who’ve told me the tech to do worthwhile VR could exist if anybody would focus on it, but hardware cost would still be too high and the utter failure of the 90s stuff means nobody with a brain will touch it. It’ll probably get revisited in a decade or so. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/146 "2011-04-09T02:17:12Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > Electronica. Remember reading in 1997/98 in Rolling Stone and Spin how Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers, etc. would revolutionize rock music? Yeah, I think it DID revolutionize music, it’s just that it didn’t change every other genre to “electronica.” Techniques gleaned from electronica are used all the time in mainstream music now. The odd thing is that “pure electronica” has fallen out of the mainstream. I think that’s because it turns out people like lyrics. ---
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/147 "2011-04-09T02:58:35Z")
When I was a kid, I used to love reading about all the different mega-engineering projects like super-long bridges, super-tall skyscrapers, etc. that were “just around the corner!” Some of these were built: the Channel Tunnel was the one I remember being the most excited about. But where’s my [Bering Strait bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Strait_Bridge)? They\* still\* haven’t built that bitch. And we also don’t have a road that crosses the [Strait of Messina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Messina_Bridge) yet even though various people have talked about building one for approximately the last five billion years. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/148 "2011-04-09T05:58:56Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Jai alai in the US. It’s still a minor sport with some devotees but at one point in the 70’s a group planned to turn it into the big time with teams all over the US. Isn’t this a background thing on of the _Mad Men_ series? There’s a demanding client who’s got this sport which he thinks is going to be huge but no-one else does and there’s some debate if it’s worth taking him on as a client. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/149 "2011-04-09T06:48:22Z")
M. Night Shyamalan is the next Steven Spielberg. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/150 "2011-04-09T06:58:44Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > There was a VR Doom-a-like in my local arcade. It was overpriced because I think you were on a timer, so the game ended soon no matter how well you played. I remember the sensation being incredible though. I threw up all over that machine, on the first date of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/151 "2011-04-09T07:45:26Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > I know guys embedded in the videogame industry who’ve told me the tech to do worthwhile VR could exist if anybody would focus on it, but hardware cost would still be too high and the utter failure of the 90s stuff means nobody with a brain will touch it. It’ll probably get revisited in a decade or so. I had high hopes for VR back in the day, but the hardware was insufficient. The same with holographic tech also. The software was barely adequate also. But seeing developments like Wii give me hope that its day will come back soon. I think what killed development was not those hurdles, but everyone was seduced by the Internet - a heck of a lot cheaper development costs, and much greater rewards - and much greater usability for the average user. VR still has rather limited applications\*, while the Internet continues to expand its wares. I think computing power, hardware and software, has caught up to the basic requirements but the optical tech is still lagging. And until we can hack the brain, we will never have true Matrix-level VR. Audio and visual are almost there, and haptic systems are not far behind, but taste and smell are a long way away, if ever. \*As for apps, I think VR tourism would be successful, especially for museums and other cultural venues. It would be nice to ‘visit’ the Louvre without having to pay for air fare to Paris and spend hours waiting in lines. Another app would be to expand on Wii Fitness and create virtual dojos or gyms, a la the scene in the Matrix. As for the OP, I keep waiting for wearable computers/tech. Any year now - it will be huge!!! ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/152 "2011-04-09T13:55:55Z")
Harold Miner, the first “next Jordan”. ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/153 "2011-04-09T15:09:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Remember “the next Dylan” [Donovan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donovan)? If you do…you are OLD! Damn you **Annie** , you total sadist, now I’ve got to go out and buy a motorbike, or get an eighteen year old girlfriend or something. And just WHERE can I get some hair dye ? ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/154 "2011-04-09T15:32:42Z")
Lots in football but the Englisg press seem to overhype English football players. Micheal Owen is up there. He’s had a decent career but both like what was expected of him. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2011, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/155 "2011-04-10T20:40:45Z")
Another “The Next Beatles” act: **Klaatu**. **Electric Light Orchestra** was also going to be the next Beatles, and were even accused of being a sound-alike band. They had significant success in the 1970’s, though. A lot of my favorite acts were once touted as the ‘next great thing’ and never made it: **The Jayhawks** were going to be the next Eagles. Their first albums were met with critical adoration, but they never had a major commercial breakthrough. **John Prine** and **Steve Goodman** were both touted as “the Next Dylan”, which has already been pointed out to be the kiss of death for most artists. Goodman died young, but Prine maintained his critical darling status right up to today but has never had a major hit. **Warren Zevon** exploded on the scene in the 1970’s, and _Rolling Stone_ called Zevon’s first two major albums two of the best albums of the 1970’s in their end of decade retrospective. Everyone expected him to rise to the heights of people like Bowie and Springsteen. Alcohol and OCD and other personal problems caused his output to be sporadic, and his songs are generally too dark and too literate to be commercial successes. But he died a hero to other musicians. **Wilco** was going to be monster after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but they’ve never broken into the big leagues. Ten years later they’re still playing 1,000-2000 seat venues. Not a failure, but not huge. **Beck** has never quite lived up to his early hype. He’s had reasonable success, but he’s not packing in arenas or anything. Moving away from music, I just finished the first book in a two-part biography of Robert Heinlein. There was a lot of stuff in there that a lot of people thought would be the ‘next big thing’ but never happened: - One world government - Social Credit - General Semantics - Interplanetary manned space missions - Nuclear power - Socialism - Flying cars - Starvation/Malthusian population bomb ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/156 "2011-04-11T14:20:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Moving away from music, I just finished the first book in a two-part biography of Robert Heinlein. There was a lot of stuff in there that a lot of people thought would be the ‘next big thing’ but never happened: > > - One world government > - Social Credit > - General Semantics > - Interplanetary manned space missions > - Nuclear power > - Socialism > - Flying cars > - Starvation/Malthusian population bomb Nuclear power happened. Socialism . . . well, depends on how you define it. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/157 "2011-04-11T14:23:41Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Nuclear power happened. Not really, I believe **Sam Stone** is referencing a belief that almost all of our power would be via cheap Nuclear Power and not the small percentage in the US or world wide we have actually achieved. This was clearly where many thought we were headed in the fifties. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/158 "2011-04-11T14:41:32Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > **Wilco** was going to be monster after Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but they’ve never broken into the big leagues. Ten years later they’re still playing 1,000-2000 seat venues. Not a failure, but not huge. I agree not a failure, but not really hitmakers either. Which is sad, because they do have a number of catchy, pop-sounding tunes (even on Yankee Hotel Foxtrot) that I could see getting some radioplay. But I think the problem is one of timing. If they had hit 10 years earlier, they would have been able to take ride the alt-rock craze of the early to mid-90s. And while they may never have been as big as Beatles, I could see them being an arena-filling act in the vein of Smashing Pumpkins. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/159 "2011-04-11T15:22:11Z")
> [@Sakuma\_Drops](#): > > But where’s my [Bering Strait bridge](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Strait_Bridge)? They\* still\* haven’t built that bitch. 😕 What need would it answer? There’s not much ship traffic across the Bering Strait **now.** ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044/160 "2011-04-11T15:23:16Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Good example. Other bands that have been touted as the “next Beatles” have included the Knack, Coldplay, Radiohead, the Bay City Rollers, Rockpile, and Duran Duran. See [here](http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-670558/Peeping-under-rock-for-the.html) for an excellent 2004 article on “Next Beatles” bands. How come no band is ever “the next Sex Pistols”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/next-big-things-that-werent-so-big/577044.md?page=7)