Review: Sam Sarver now hangs out on my desk.

Fresh from Bill Reese's studio, 1996NYDesign, the FC Dallas attacker/wing-back/energy drink now watches every keystroke, inspiring me to blog about soccer and Frisco and joy.

Last week, a small nondescript white package landed on my front step, and before I let my wife see what terrible expenditure I had made, I whisked it away to my home office and recording studio, unpacking with excitement.

What greeted me was Sam Sarver, albeit a “brick-style” action figure, complete with trademark hair line and cold Modelo in his hand.

The Sarver figure was actually larger than I anticipated. For sure, this was going to just be a cute and over-priced Lego-style figure, but instead, the dude is a bit larger than life. The texture, if you care about such things, is fine. See the photo below for reference.

The Sam Sarver figure is courtesy of 1996NYDesign, an Etsy shop featuring custom-printed soccer “block or brick” style figures that just ooze with fun and trips down memory lane. The designer, Bill Reese, has pleasantly been working a bit extra to keep up with demands on these fun novelty pieces of soccer nerds like us. You’ll find some other fun ones in the shop, including a New York Red Bull era Dax McCarty that I almost added to the cart.

You can even order your own custom figures if you want.

But Sarver? I had to have this one to highlight the remarkable journey of our team’s unlikely talisman, a SuperDraft pick turned MLS Next Pro Golden Boot winner turned FC Dallas late game magic maker. It’s only a shame that Sarver didn’t make the cut with the 2026 World Cup. If he did, I imagine these collectives would skyrocket in price.

In short, it’s a fun memento to cap what is quickly becoming a memorable year of soccer in the US.

I recommend giving 1996 NY Designs a follow on BlueSky to see what else they have printing down the line.