Good Eve—wait no, that’s not it. Good Morning everybody and welcome to Thursday Night Highlight (Friday morning edition!). Now I must be getting old because for the life of me I couldn’t remember my password last night. You’d think after the number of weeks I’ve been doing this column that it should be cut and dry, but I guess you reach a certain age where things come and go in your mind without so much as a goodbye. To all of those that waited patiently by your keyboards last night and kept refreshing the page over and over and over trying to get the Thursday Night Highlight to load… my deepest most sincere apologies. I know there had to be at least one of you… right? Anyway! Thursday Night Highlight is brought to you by esbjo_figs over on Instagram. That photo up there of Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski is a gimmie! The Patriots clinched the AFC East for the sixth year in a row this past Sunday and as the picture says… They Run The East! Let’s get on to the other photos!
“Mmm Bronco”
Peyton Manning (#4) from the Pop! NFL line and various Walkers from Pop! Television line of the Walking Dead. So by now everyone knows just how much I love the New England Patriots so it should really come to no surprise that I was thinking of doing a new series of photos called “Peyton in Peril”. Don’t get me wrong I think what Manning has done as a quarterback is outstanding and that no doubt one day he’ll be in the Hall of Fame. I think when he hosts Saturday Night Live his comedy is hilarious. I can even hum the Nationwide theme song when his commercial comes on, but don’t get me started on Papa Johns. At the end of the day though Mr. Manning and his Denver Broncos have become one of the big time rivals of the New England Patriots. So while I respect him… on any given Sunday I want to see him torn to shreds and what better way of doing that then by feeding him to the walkers of The Walking Dead? Bicycle Girl even has his helmet on. I guess time will tell what trouble Manning gets himself into next…. especially if, and when we meet them in the playoffs.
“Michael Buble’s Christmas Special.”
Michael Buble from… well this is actually a custom Pop made by me! This past Wednesday Michael Buble had his annual Christmas special on NBC. Now, if you’re not a fan of Buble, and some of you may not have even heard of him, then you should check out some of his songs. He released a Christmas CD a few years back, and since then he’s had four specials air on NBC around Christmas time. He’s got the voice of an angel, and who doesn’t love Christmas songs? I’ve placed the Pop in the middle of his band from one of the sets from Wednesday nights special. This is one of my favorite Pops and I hope one day Funko may revive the Pop! Music line and Mr. Buble gets the Pop treatment he so rightfully deserves! But… I doubt it. Here’s to wishful thinking and a Christmas miracle!
“Quick! Andy’s Coming!”
Buzz Lightyear (#2), Woody (#3), and Jesse (#19) from the Pop! Disney line *non-bobble*. This is my favorite photo I created this past week. Just like in the movie what if your toys could come to life? I have a few hundred Pops in my collection so I’m glad they can’t, but imagine the possibilities? Buzz, Woody, and Jesse have dropped to the ground as they hear Andy approaching. Now that’s not Andy’s hand it’s actually the hand of my five year old son. He was excited to see the finished product and found it hilarious that it looked like he was picking up the Pops! in the picture (I actually had him pretend to pick something up and took the picture of his hand so he had no idea what the purpose for it was…). These Pops! are actually a part of his collection so I had to get his permission before taking them to shoot. See if you’re married, or you have a boyfriend/girlfriend and they have a problem with your Funko obsession just get the kid involved in the madness and they’ll have to come to terms with your habits of purchasing Pops by the dozen. If you have no kids then…I guess you’ll have to get him or her whatever they like every once in awhile, or use the whole “I could be spending money at a bar!” routine.
That’s all the time I have today! Next week I promise Thursday Night Highlight will happen on Thursday… wait… I can’t really make that promise because next Thursday is Christmas Day! So, if you celebrate the holiday and I don’t happen to make it on here I wish you and all of your families a very merry Christmas. If you’re currently in the process of celebrating Hanukkah then Happy Hanukkah! I hope each day of your eight crazy nights has a Pop! involved! I hope your menorah is just nine Glow in the Dark Lumieres! Actually… no… that could be seen as crazy by your spouse if you ever suggested that. Anyway if you celebrate any holiday this month I wish you a safe one. As always you can find more photos like the ones above on Instagram (www.instagram.com/esbjo_figs) and over on the Funko Trading group on Facebook. Have a great day, be kind to one another, and as always… Free the Pops!
Matt Norris