Rodman Pops Up In State Just In Time For Nba Finals, Lollipop Bears Likeness Of ‘Worm’

For anyone who ever wanted to bite Dennis Rodman’s head off or just give the outlandish basketball star a lickin’, this pop’s for you.

Custom Confections Inc. of Boise starts production Friday on a lollipop of the tattoo-covered, cross-dressing Rodman, endorsed by the Worm himself.

In fact, it IS the Worm himself.

The 1-1/4-ounce pops are in the shape of a bloated worm with Rodman’s face.

Not the kind of thing you want to stick in your mouth? Lowell Fugal is betting otherwise. He hopes to sell 15 million by the end of the year.

“The interest is extremely high,” Fugal, president of Custom Confections, said Wednesday. “We figure we’ve got a three- to six-month time frame on this product. He’s going to be popular for a while and then the next thing will pop up.”

Fugal said the United Center in Chicago, where Rodman and the rest of the Chicago Bulls play, already has ordered 15,000. They should be on store shelves next week, before the NBA Finals end.

Flavors will include strawberry creme, cherry, strawberry-banana, tutti-frutti, root beer and grape. The wrappers will be clear and carry Rodman’s signature.

“We’ve been working with him very closely. Rodman has seen the pops and likes them,” Fugal said. “He’s excited about it.”

The idea came from a candy distributor who suggested it to Fugal, who put a local artist to work on the design. The Los Angeles-based Rodman Group gave its final approval last week. It will split the profits with the candy company 50-50.

It’s the first Custom Confections lollipop with a sports figure’s likeness, and Fugal said it may be the first ever. Candy bars are the typical way sports heroes are immortalized in sugar.

But won’t a lollipop that looks like a worm, even THE Worm, be distasteful?

“There may be some retailers who won’t carry it, but other than that I don’t see a downside,” Fugal said.

Production will begin with 40,000 a day and could increase to as many as 160,000 a day. The suggested retail price is 99 cents.