Obsessed fan has spent 'thousands upon thousands' on Simpsons shrine at home
A Simpsons superfan has turned a whole room of his house into a 'shrine' to the iconic animated series and reckons he has spent "thousands upon thousands" on his hobby.
But it's not about the money for Florida man Dave Contarero, whose friends can be a little "jealous" about his obsession.
He told The Mirror: "My love for the Simpsons has always been there since I was a kid, but I could say it was rekindled about 10 years ago when one of my friends gave me a Simpsons trivia piece that started me going crazy with my Simpsons collection."
His obsession has taken him across the country, once driving 12 hours round trip to find an original 90's The Simpsons Arcade cabinet that he plans to fully restore.
The 40-year-old's Simpsons room in his house in Bay Country, Florida, is packed floor to ceiling with memorabilia and collectibles connected to the show but that's only a fraction of his collection.
'I don't want children staying up late at weekends - I really need adult time'
Dave's friends have said they're 'jealous' of his collection (Dave Cantarero)
(Dave Cantarero)He said: "Long story short, about five years ago I had a daughter, so I had to 'give up' my Simpson’s room so she could have her own room.
"I have about 40 tote bins up in my attic, stuffed with Simpsons toys and memorabilia and hopefully one day I’ll be able to showcase it all off in one room."
Dave isn't alone in his Simpsons obsession. He run's a wildly popular Instagram page under the title The Simpsons Man, where he has 125,000 followers.
He makes a living trading in Simpsons memorabilia.
But what do his friends make of the collection?
Just some of his countless collectibles (Dave Cantarero)
Dave has a whole room dedicated to his 'obsession' (Dave Cantarero)Dave explained: "Most of them think it’s cool, and I would say a few of them could even be a little 'jealous'.
"A lot of them always say 'I wish I had a room to display things like this in it' but of course there are a few that don’t care for it because not everyone is a Simpsons fan unfortunately."
When asked about how much he's spent over the years, Dave said: "To be honest, this is a hard question, easily thousands upon thousands but there is no way I could even put a dollar amount on how much I have spent.
"Honestly, I would hate to tally it up, hah!"
Just a glimse into Dave's wild collection
His collection is displayed orderly, as long as you don't count what's in the attic (Dave Cantarero)Collectibles aside, the TV show itself is never far from the screens in Dave's house, where he lives with his family.
'My hubby wants to name our baby after his mum but her beliefs are too extreme'
He said: "Whether it's just on in the background when we’re doing things around the house or when we’re actually sitting down and watching an episode, I feel like it’s always on in the house.
"As for the whole series I would say [I've watched it] at least a few different times and the first 12 seasons probably at least 20 times."
With so much affection for the show, picking a particular favourite episode isn't easy.
There are even shoes among the collection (Dave Cantarero)
Dave's been known to drive 12 hours for the right piece (Dave Cantarero)Dave said: "I get this question asked across my TikTok and my Instagram almost every single day, and to be honest it’s very hard to answer it because I have so many that could honestly be tied with first.
"Here are just a few of my favourite ones. Who shot Mr. Burns, Mr. Plow, Flaming Moe’s, 22 Short Films About Springfield, Deep Space Homer, Homer the Great, and You Only Move Twice."
But one episode came particularly recommended by Dave.
Dave's army of figurines (Dave Cantarero)
It takes a true fan to gather a collection like this (Dave Cantarero)He added: "And out of all those episodes I would 100 per cent recommend 222 Short Films About Springfield if anyone is reading this and they are new to the Simpsons.
"It has 22 short clips within the normal 30-minute time slot of The Simpsons, and it goes over so many different characters of the show and you get to know them all one by one in their own unique and individual way."
He also has some snazzy Simpsons trainers (Dave Cantarero)
All the characters are there (Dave Cantarero)As a dad himself, it might not be a big surprise the character he most relates to is Homer.
Dave said: "He’s an everyday all around guy. A lot of people associate Homer with being lazy, but I don’t think that at all.
"He’s had over a million different jobs and he’ll do anything it takes for his family. He loves his family more than anything."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
