GalaxyCon Richmond 2024

Yesterday, Chris, Jesse and I went to GalaxyCon in Richmond.  I was originally going there to meet Carl Weathers, but after his passing, I settled for Dolph Lundgren and a couple wrestlers.  I was very disappointed in the setup of the Con.  The line to get in the door took us 3 hours, after we circled the venue for almost an hour trying to find parking.

We finally got in and got the autographs we were looking for.  Dolph was really nice.  I didn't get a chance to say a whole lot because it was so crowded, but it was a positive experience meeting him. I wanted my card signed in blue but was in such a hurry getting through the line, I wasn't able to ask him to switch pens.  That was no one's fault.  I was still irritated abd flustered about a guy cutting in front of me in line.

The next booth we stopped at was Barry Windham to finish this 1985 WWF card of the US Express.  They have just been announced as members of WWE's Hall of Fame class of 2024.  Windham was nice enough to add the HOF 24 inscription without us even asking.  I had gotten. Mike Rotunda on the card TTM a couple weeks ago.  I was going to send a picture of this card to my cousin Lynn this morning since I knew she liked Windham and she was the one who got me into wrestling so many years ago.  She passed away this morning, sadly.  It was kind of strange because she was legitimately in my thoughts just yesterday. How short life is astounds me sometimes.

Onto more positive things, I got this card signed by Rikishi yesterday in yellow paint pen.  The card really pops, as Rikishi even said himself.

Rikishi wad really cool, as well.  We talked about who he had in the Wrestlemania match between Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes.  We also talked about how I'd like yo sew him come out and get involved in the Bloodline storyline since he is a senior member of the Anoa'i family.

The poor planning and logistics aside, we did have a good time.  I'm glad Jesse was able to come on the trip with Chris and I.  It took an 11th hour miracle in finding a ticket, but it worked out.

Now that the ComiCon is out of the way, it's time for me to focus on getting prepped for the season. 

Rest In Peace - Carl Weathers

As I was pulling into Swan Quarter on Friday, about to make the line for the ferry to Ocracoke, my wife gasped as she was looking at her phone.  I said "What?" She said "You're going to have to get a refund!" I ask "For what?" Then she said something I really wasn't expecting: "Carl Weathers died!"

For context, rewind to last month when my buddy Jesse was sitting on my couch nonchalantly going through the list of celebrity signers at March's GalaxyCon in Richmond. Jesse said Carl Weathers would be appearing at GalaxyCon and I stopped what I was doing. "For real? Carl Weathers is going to be there? We've got to go, man!"  I bought tickets to the event and a photo op for Weathers as quickly as I could.

Weathers was on the very short list of celebrities who I haven't had a chance to meet but wanted to at almost any price.

Growing up, I probably watched Rocky IV more than any other movie.  Probably more than Aliens (believe it or not) and any Friday the 13th.  Over the course of my life, I've made it clear with anyone who would listen about the things I'm into and the pop culture influences I've had.  Apollo Creed is my second favorite movie character (Vasquez from Aliens is number 1 of course) and when the 2015 Topps Allen and Ginter Rocky cards came out, I had visions of getting the Creed signed by Weathers at some point.  I tried sending to him TTM, but never got anything back, sadly.  When the signing came up, I was super excited. Then it was taken away.

Carl Weathers passed away in his sleep Thursay night or Friday morning.  He was 76.  He has been all over TV recently; being in the Kick of Destiny ads with Rob Gronkowski.  He appeared in all three seasons of The Mandalorian.  I'll always remember his as Apollo Creed.  The Ricky World Champion from thr Rocky franchise.  Rocky's nemesis, but not a villain.  He's the one who gives Rocky a shot.  By part 3, they become friends and share an iconic bromance hug in the beach training montage.

Then there's always Predator, another awesome 80s movie where Weathers is featured.  One of the best scenes "Dillon, you son of a bitch!" muscle handshake with Arnold even became a meme.

Chubbs Peterson steals the show in Happy Gilmore.  Also, who could forget that, according to Weathers in Arrested Development, if there's still meat on the bone, you got a hell of a stew, baby!

Bill Paxton and Chris Cornell were two celebrity deaths that shook me and affected me deeply.  Having the opportunity to meet Carl Weathers taken away hits hard.  By all accounts, he was a great guy and I know I missed out.  It sucks.  It is going to take me a long time to get over this one.  It may seem silly, but it does affect me.  A huge piece of my childhood is gone, along with a lot of others.  It's part of getting older and adjusting.

Thanks everyone for listening and reading.  I appreciate the opportunity to let that out a bit.

Rest in peace Carl Weathers. #BePeace.

Birthday Present to Myself - Rocky Set

Because of the amount of money that I spent at the National, I told my wife that she really didn't have to get me much of anything for my birthday.  On top of that, I really didn't want her to re-gift a bag of socks that I had bought myself and forgot about (long story) either, so I bought myself one thing that I had seen advertised on Topps.com.  When it arrived from Topps a week before my birthday, I had my wife wrap it up to give to me on my day.

This Rocky 40th Anniversary card set was being offered by Topps at a pretty decent price, so I picked it up.  I didn't pull one of the randomly inserted Sylvester Stallone autograph cards, but overall, I was really happy with the set.

The set features scenes from each Rocky movie from the original to Rocky Balboa.  They did not include anything from Creed.  That's ok, though, because they had plenty of Apollo to go around!!

COMC Pickup - 2015 Ginter X Rocky Characters

I used some of the money I raised on COMC during the Black Friday sales to pick up the remaining cards I needed of the Rocky characters for the Ginter X black parallels.  I already had the Apollo Creed card, so I went ahead and got the others that I needed.

My plan is to display all of them (10 cards) somehow.  I have my buddy, Max, working on getting me some of those multi-card screwdown holders.

I think that once I get those in from him, I will be able to show these off.  I really like that Topps added these guys to the set.  The cards look really cool, and it gives me a chance to have some cards from a movie series that I have enjoyed my entire life.

I wonder if Sylvester Stallone had any idea when he wrote the original screenplay that the characters he was creating would have the staying power that they have.  I mean, everyone knows who Rocky Balboa is.  He is one of the most iconic movie characters there is.

Rocky Memorabilia at The National

One of the things that I enjoyed most about the National, aside from spending time with my friends looking at cards, was the huge amount of memorabilia that was available at the various booths for the auction houses.  Heritage Auctions had a lot o Rocky memorabilia that had been put up by Sylvester Stallone for auction.  Above, you can see the belt used in the Rocky movies, as well as photos, gloves, etc.

They had the ring robe for Ivan Drago, which I thought was really cool. Rocky IV is one of my most favorite movies, so seeing this stuff in person was so cool.

With Rocky IV being one of my favorite movies, Apollo Creed is one of my all-time favorite movie characters.  I always enjoy his entrance in Rocky IV, to James Brown's Living in America, so this Uncle Sam outfit was so awesome to see.

It is really cool that a new Rocky movie is going to be released in November.  It seems that Rocky stuff is all over, and is even in this year's Allen & Ginter.  I pulled Drago in a pack of Ginter before I left for the show.  I bought a box at the show, and busted it at the Topps booth in order to get the redemption packs.  In that box, I pulled Thunderlips (Hulk Hogan).  I went to a vendor who had a bunch of singles to pick up the rest of the cards in the series, Rocky, Clubber Lang, and obviously Apollo Creed.  I want to get a 5-card frame and post these on the wall.  I was really happy to get them all, and being at the National made it really east to pick up the ones that I needed.

2015 Topps Allen and Ginter - I Must Break You

An early blog post today, since I am going to be heading to the airport in a little while to begin my trip to the National.  I added something to my list of things I wanted to do, since I stopped by my LCS at lunch yesterday.  I bought four packs of 2015 Ginter since I had heard that there were cards of characters from the Rocky series of movies.  My goal is to get all of them, but the Apollo Creed is the one I really want.

In the four packs, I did pull one of the characters, Drago, from Rocky IV.  The movie that ended the Cold War is one of my all-time favorites, so I was happy to pull the Drago.  I would really like the Dolph Lundgren autograph, since the pose is different (look it up, it's awesome!).  I also wouldn't mind pulling the Sylverter Stallone auto, you know, since it is selling for a few grand on Ebay.

I did have another nice pull, this 10th Anniversary framed Justin Upton card was really nice.  It is not numbered, but looks really cool.  I saw a Brooks Robinson on Ebay last night while looking around, so I may pick one up at some point.

So, I think I want to bust a box of 2015 Allen and Ginter while I am at the National.  I know prices will be pretty good for boxes, so this is something that is well within reach.  I wonder if the guys I'll be meeting up with would want to bust a box as well?  A pack opening party is always a good time.

Anyway, next time I blog will be from the Windy City.  I'm really excited to see what is in store for us at the National.