Today, everyone talks about #squadgoals and who gives them to us (ahem, Amy Schumer and J.Law) — but if you were lucky enough to grow up in the '90s, you know that friendship during that decade was the original #squadgoals. That's not to say there weren't things you fought about with your BFF in the '90s. But we grew up during a simpler time, when even the squabbles we had now seem nostalgic.
Because while best friends today obviously still butt heads from time to time, the way they do so is vastly different in myriad ways — most of which have to do with the changing times. It's the difference between verbally sparring with your biffle over the Backstreet Boys, and getting into a Twitter feud over some incendiary trending hashtag. To be sure, we're talking surface level stuff here. Besties of today and the '90s undoubtedly argued about more serious things like social politics, but today we're going to focus on the kinds of spats that generally ended in heading to the mall to buy brand new broken-heart-best-friends-forever necklaces and holding a sleepover to stay up late watching Clueless or Now and Then.
So if you grew up in the '90s, join me in laughing about some of the silly skirmishes we got into with our besties back in the day.
1. Which Spice Girl You Got To Be
Blonde hair, blue eyes — I was clearly the Baby Spice. But don't tell that to my BFF, who swore she was the Emma Bunton among us. And when Halloween rolled around? Talk about a power struggle over costume coordination.
2. When You Had To Pick Who To Pass The Bop It To
Technically, the rules were pretty straightforward. When the Bop It yelled "Pass it!," you would pass it to the person on your right hand side. There was strategy involved in this, though. Hardcore players like myself would choose who stood to their right — hey, I'm always in it to win it — which inevitably resulted in some tension when you didn't want your (endearingly) clumsy BFF to stand by your side.
3. The Classic Conundrum: Backstreet Boys Or *NSYNC?
My unabashed attraction to Nick Carter made me a diehard Backstreet Boys super-fan, but my bestie pledged her soul to Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, so she was clearly Team *NSync. And don't even get me started on the friends who liked to argue 98 Degrees was a best band contender.
4. Who Got Dibs On Benny From The Sandlot
So cute and sweet and fast (thanks to his trusty P.F. Flyers) — what '90s girl didn't want to grow up and marry Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez? Still, your BFF's insistence she would be the one to bag Benny was enough to make you say, "YOU'RE KILLIN' ME, SMALLS!"
5. Who Got Dibs On Your Crush IRL
Sure, there were many crushes from movies and TV you and your friend bickered about. But your mutual real life crushes were another matter altogether, because we all know girl code meant setting some boundaries about which crushes were off-limits. Lest you face a dramatic BFF breakup, complete with changing seats in the cafeteria.
6. Whether Someone Was Moving The Ouija Pointer
Someone remind me again why we thought the Ouija board was such a fun thing to play with growing up? True story, during one session, the Ouija board told me I would marry a man named Brandon. And while I contend to this day my friend definitely spelled out that name, it is my husband's middle name. So well played, old friend. Well played.
7. Which Heartthrob Was The Hottest
OK, Jared Leto lovers — raise your hands! It was entirely beyond me how anyone could think Jordan Catalano wasn't the most swoon-worthy hunk of the decade, but somehow my best friend harbored twin torches for Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jonathan Taylor Thomas. Who were you even if you didn't dream of Jared Leto? In that respect, not much has changed.
8. Who Got To Go First When You Were Playing Party Mania
I'm sure there was a provision in the rules determining who was to go first, yet this girlie game inspired intense rivalry over who would have the honor of hearing Max or Luke first. Considering the game consisted of doing chores, I can't for the life of me recall why we thought this was fun to begin with. Max and Luke weren't that cute.
9. Which One Of You Was "The Topanga"
Remember the "I'm the Mary and you're the Rhoda" scene in Romy and Michele's High School Reunion? That was basically BFF-dom in the '90s. There were many variations on this riff — who was the Kelly vs. who was the Jessie, who was the Cher vs. who was the Dionne and, later, even who was the Romy vs. who was the Michele. But the ultimate of these debates revolved around who was the Topanga (you, obvs) and who was the Angela. Looking back, Angela was totally chill and I so wouldn't have minded being her. But at the time, Topanga was the height of '90s cool girl status.
Image: NBC; Giphy (9)
