When I say "I'm up for pretty much anything", I mean it. Did you know that this existed? Did you know that people have traveled by land, sea, or air across great distances, just to attend? Did you know that there are fandoms in this world that people are completely and utterly loyal to, and live their lives almost centered around the things they love? I got to witness all this and more last weekend at The Galt House in good ole Looey-ville Kentucky! I left my UK apparel at home for fear of getting a beat down in a back alley somewhere. I'm kidding. Kind of.
In all seriousness, I had heard of this event before. I have close friends are who huge fans of the Transformers franchise, so through the grapevine of I've heard tidbits of info over the last few years. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a casual fan myself, and you would be hard pressed to find any 80s kid that doesn't at least grin a little when it's mentioned. You could say "Optimus Prime" in a crowded room full of us, and we'll all know who and what you're talking about. The original animated movie from 1986 is one of my favorite movies to this very day. The animation is spectacular, and the voice acting, using many popular celebrities of the time such as Judd Nelson, Robert Stack, and Orson Welles (in his final performance), is very well done. It's a dose of nostalgia that can't be matched, and the soundtrack is heralded by many to be one of the best ever produced. I can agree with that. Transformers were EVERYWHERE back then. Without even talking about the toys or the feature film, you had a marketing juggernaut that covered everything from video games to stickers to lunch boxes to comic books, to virtually anything else you could possibly imagine. It was one of the most successful franchises of the era, and it's one that has stood the test of time and is still beloved today by people all over the world. I enjoyed the cartoon series when I was little, and had several of the toys. My friends and I would play for hours, transforming them from robot to vehicle, then back again many times. They were cool, and honestly, what kid wouldn't think so? Robots that change into trucks, cars, tanks, jets, construction equipment, and whatever else? Hell to the yeah! When you think about it in that aspect, it's a little easier to understand how and why they're still as popular as what they are. There's nothing else quite like them. The Michael Bay directed live action movies that have came out over the last several years have only helped to increase the popularity and revive it even further.
The idea of attending a convention centered around one specific thing is something that I still can't fully wrap my mind around. I've been to other types of conventions before, but they were more broad and covered a variety of things. Even as much as I dug these things as a kid, and as much as I've gotten a kick out of this revived renaissance over the last few years, I couldn't really imagine what I was in store for once I got there. Had it not been for the fact of getting to spend a day hanging out with two really good friends and former roommates from college, I'm not sure if it was something I would have done on my own. One of these guys I hadn't seen since his wedding in 2005, so we were long overdue for some quality hang out time for sure. So, I was sold on the idea, and early last Saturday morning, we began traveling westward to Louisville.
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| And....we ran into a blizzard. |
I'm not kidding. On April 9th, 2016 at approximately 8 am, it was snowing in Pikeville, Kentucky. Mark that down. We had to slow down a bit, but better safe than sorry, right?
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| Plus it gave me time to enjoy my gas station gravy n biscuits...and bacon. |
The storm quickly subsided and we journeyed on into Lexington to pick our other friend up (the one I hadn't seen since the Bush administration). We traded hellos and hugs, and departed on our way once more. It was an hour of laughter, discussions of life and love, pop culture references, and all the usual stuff people talk about when they haven't seen each other in over a decade. It was good stuff, and much needed. We inched closer and closer to Louisville...
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| I turn into a tourist quickly and easily. |
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| Congestion and construction. |
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| All the bridges always amaze me. |
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| What's up Luh-vool? |
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| Always nice digs are The Galt House. |
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| Always. |
We entered, paid admission, got our hands stamped, and entered into the convention. It was honestly an amazing thing to see. I witnessed fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, all spending quality time together, delving into a shared interest that they both clearly loved. I spoke to people who had flown in from other countries just at a chance to be among their 'brethren', so to speak, and for a shot at getting that ever elusive figure for their collections. I heard people talking and discussing the mythology of the franchise in great depth, even drawing comparisons to ancient philosophers and biblical standouts. There were vendors of every size and shape from all over the world, trading and dealing their merchandise. At the very core of it all...I witnessed people having a good time, being among like minded individuals, all doing something that they love. I may not have been a member of the complete target audience for this, but being a casual fan, I remembered enough to be able to hold my own and have a great time myself. Finding out the things you use to play with in the sandbox are now worth hundreds of dollars, is really the icing on the cake. Ok that part of it made me want to hit myself over the head with a Louisville Slugger, but nevertheless, it was still a great experience, one that's honestly difficult to put into words. So, here's a bunch of pictures!
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| The creators and hosts of the convention, answering questions. |
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| Discussion panel. |
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| Fan art contest. |
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| You're not a Transformer... |
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| This was actually someone dressed up! Impressive! |
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| This was actually someone dressed up. Impressive! |
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| General Lee.....Bot? |
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| For only 1500 bucks, you too could own him! |
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| Only I could go to a convention about giant robots and find a table full of old games. |
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| Underoos. |
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| "Say hello to my little friend!!" |
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| Ha! \m/ |
At this point, I have to discuss what could be the personal high point for me. I got to meet someone that I've been a fan of for a very long time.
This is Mr. Stan Bush. He was a singer-songwriter in the 80s, and still makes and produces music to this day. Remember earlier when I was talking about the animated movie, and how great the soundtrack is considered? This is the man who wrote and performed most of the songs. He was a great guy, and I got his autograph for my collection. Very cool experience for me personally, and one I wont forget anytime soon. It's also worthy to mention that Judd Nelson was in attendance, and at one point, walked right past me. I couldn't get a picture in time, but I did say hello. I thought about shouting something from The Breakfast Club, but I'm afraid he would have beat me up.
After hours of walking around and gawking, we finally decided to head out. We were getting hungry...and you know what that means! Stomp time.
There's a place I really wanted to go...somewhere I hadn't been in probably 20 years or so. Since 4th street is only a few blocks away, I suggested we take a walk in that direction...because Hard Rock Cafe is somewhere that I just can't pass up. Especially after this long.
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| And there it is.... |
We arrived at the door...and boom. Two hour wait. Why? Hard Rock is good and all, but a two hour wait? We were hoping to be back in Lexington within two hours, there was no way we could wait that long just to eat, especially as hungry as we were. What on Earth was going on?
Garth Brooks was going on. There was a Garth Brooks concert starting in just a couple hours, and every restaurant in town was booked solid.
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| Yeah. Thanks. |
So we loaded up in the car, and hit the interstate wide open. We started talking about how this is actually the Final Botcon. Yes, it's the last one. Something about the production company not being able to reach a deal with Hasbro. A lot of legal issues, and a lot of legal jargon. I realized at that moment that something truly special to so many, was now over. Permanently. The crowd at this thing was huge and diverse, so it's sure to be a stab right through the heart for the people who enjoy it so much. I guess it was fitting that the last one was in Kentucky, and that I had the opportunity to attend. Maybe they will get everything straightened out in the future, but who knows. Either way, a great, well organized event that was a boon for whichever town it was being hosted in, is now no more.
Finally, we found a place to eat. But, I'm not going to talk about that. In short, my friend's food was great, and I had to send mine back, after already waiting for 25 minutes just to have our drink orders taken. Not a good experience. For the first time....someone got STOMPED.
Thanks for reading!
