Games People Play was an NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 television show that ran from 1980 to 1981, hosted by Bryant Gumbel

Bryant Gumbel

Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...

 and Cyndy Garvey

Cyndy Garvey

Cyndy Garvey is an American television personality and former wife of baseball player Steve Garvey.-Career:...

. The format centered on unusual sports competitions, including a belly flop contest and a taxicab

Taxicab

A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...

 demolition derby

Demolition derby

Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...

. Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...

 discovered Mr. T

Mr. T

Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...

, whom he subsequently cast as Clubber Lang

Clubber Lang

James "Clubber" Lang is a fictional character and antagonist that appeared as Rocky Balboa's rival in the 1982 film Rocky III. He was played by the popular "bodyguard to the stars" Mr. T, who was 29 years old when the film was launched...

 (the villain in Rocky III

Rocky III

Rocky III is a 1982 American film that is the third installment in the Rocky film series. It is written and directed by and stars Sylvester Stallone as the title character, with Carl Weathers as former boxing rival Apollo Creed, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey, and Talia Shire as Rocky's...

), when Mr. T won a "World's Toughest Bouncer

Bouncer (doorman)

A bouncer is an informal term for a type of security guard employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs or concerts to provide security, check legal age, and refuse entry to a venue based on criteria such as intoxication, aggressive behavior, or attractiveness...

" competition on the show.

The title of the show is a play on the title of Games People Play

Games People Play (book)

Games People Play: The Psychology of Human Relationships is a 1964 bestselling book by psychiatrist Eric Berne. Since its publication it has sold more than five million copies. The book describes both functional and dysfunctional social interactions....

, a popular psychology book from the 1960s about mind game

Mind game

The term mind games refers to three main categories:* a largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or empower the thinking subject, making the aggressor look superior - 'mind games or power games'.* 'the...

s and interactions within relationships.