For as long as I can remember, I have always loved Star Wars. When I was just a wee young buck, I would sit no further than six inches away from the TV and watch the original movies on VHS over and over and over (and over) again. My favorite of the bunch was Return of the Jedi. As the courageous Rebel Alliance took on the Empire in the battle between good and evil, I simply couldn’t peel my eyes away from the screen. Except of course when a few of the Ewoks get smoked. Then I had to look away and think happy thoughts while fighting back tears for those fuzzy, loveable bastards (and I don’t care what you say, Ewoks are AWESOME!).
If the movies weren’t cool enough, then the more than abundant offering of action figures were the bomb dot com (even though no one really knew what a “dot com” was back then).
I remember the first Star Wars figures I ever owned. After discovering that one of the older neighbor boys had a collection of vintage Star Wars toys he was willing to part with, my brother, Matt, and I pleaded with our mom to give us a few dollars to buy some. With a lot of convincing, our mother caved and agreed to fund our little shopping spree. With all the excitement in the world, we raced over to the older kid’s house and rummaged through all his Star Wars goodness.
After a thorough search through the toy bin, we made our final selections. I don’t remember everything we picked out, but I definitely remember that Yoda was my first and favorite of the lot.
Our mom didn’t have cash on her at the time, so instead she gave us a check made out to our neighbor for twenty dollars. I sure hope his dealer accepted personal checks, because I’m pretty sure he was planning to buy some illegal substances with his earnings.
That was just the first of many Star Wars toy-buying excursions I would make throughout my childhood (and perhaps a few in adulthood).
Now let’s fast-forward twenty-three years later to September 2015, a period that places the world on the eve of quite possibly the biggest Star Wars movie release of all time. And with the mighty Disney marketing machine flying at light speed, you bet your nerdy asses they are going to make a big deal out of the new toy releases. In fact, they made an entire event out of it. They declared Friday, September 4 as Force Friday and coordinated a massive midnight grand opening with major retailers across the country.
Having never experienced anything like this event myself, I said “Ah what the hell! This could be fun,” and planned on attending.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to experience what Force Friday had to offer. I was filled with boy-like anticipation on September 3rd. I made sure I was all ready to go before the hour struck midnight:
Work finished. Check.
Clean-ish Star Wars t-shirt ready to rock. Check.
Packed for the bachelor party that weekend in which you won’t tell any of the guys that you went to Force Friday like a huge nerd. Check.
As mentioned before, there were multiple stores participating in the occasion, but I figured I would get the best show at a Toys R Us. I hopped in the Black Dragon (2006 Honda Accord) and cruised a few miles up I-35 to reach my destination. I arrived around 11:40 pm, and there was already a pretty lengthy line formed outside the entrance. People were in various states of dress in celebration of the big night. The most popular attire included XXXL t-shirts, jean shorts, and some bitchin’ pony tails. One kid even dressed up like the roller-testicle-droid-thingy from the new movie. Hell, even Geoffrey the Giraffe was dressed up and wielding a Lightsaber.
I exited my vehicle and made my way to the back of the line in the most un-dork like walk I could muster. This proved to be difficult because…well…I’m a dork. I even tried to lean up against the building in a cool manner like some sort of modern day spare version of Fonzie.
I will admit, it was a little awkward standing all alone at midnight outside of a toy store when you are a grown-ass 29-year-old man. But screw it, I was there for a new experience.
As I stood there like Ricky Bobby trying to figure out what to do with his extremities during an interview, I took notice of the multiple groups talking about various Star Wars topics and rumors. Observing these folks really made me smile. You could tell how important this was to them and how happy it made them to experience an event such as this. Though I consider myself a nerd, I was more there for recreational purposes. But these people were here for more than that. This was like their Super Bowl, and it truly was a joy to see people so moved by something so innocent. Anything that inspires childhood like wonder is okay in my book.
However, my happy sentiment quickly turned to one of moderate fright when they finally opened up the door. As I tried to casually enter the door with my un-dork like walk, people began to rush past me with shopping carts. Now they weren’t quite knocking each other over or scratching each other’s eyeballs out, but it was pretty damn intense watching people race to the Star Wars aisle of the store. I was seriously worried that people might start kicking each other in the scrotum to ensure they got their hands on the items they wanted. Fortunately for me, I was wearing my jock strap and protective cup.
When my casual cool-guy walk finally delivered me to where the mob was forming, I patiently waited in some semblance of a line (again) just to view the new products. After some of the more maniacal patrons filled their shopping carts to near spilling levels, it was finally my turn to see what all the fuss was about. I was pretty surprised (although I guess I shouldn’t have been) to see that most every action figure had already been claimed. There was one lone Force Awakens figure left dangling in front of me. But I’m totally not a huge nerd, and I totally didn’t buy it…
After looking around at all the other new Star Wars merchandise for a few minutes, I made my way back to the Black Dragon and headed home.
It was most certainly a worthwhile experience, and I wouldn’t mind checking it out when they release the next movie (though I may don some body armor and have some mace at the ready).
Despite the mild terror I experienced during the mad rush for plastic heroes and villains, it still does make my heart smile thinking that Force Friday gave die-hard fans such an elated feeling. Perhaps they need to turn their forceful/aggressive shopping practices down a notch or two, but I hope they never stop living with that passion. Trying to force that kid-like spirit from one’s heart is a sad and wasteful thing to do. Keep enjoying life with the enthusiasm of a child and always remember that it’s still okay to have fun.
Now. Time to lift some weights and watch football.