A Program Worth Supporting

Today, Upper Deck posted on its blog that they will be sponsoring a new initiative to get 1,000,000 unopened packs collected and sent to overseas US troops by 11/11/2010. Its not often that you see something like this put together, so I hope you guys help contribute to this good cause at your local shops or by mail. They have given the program a head start with 100,000 packs, and the rest is up to us.

I dont think many of us realize how much this would mean to our friends across the ponds, as this little taste of home could mean the difference between a good day and a bad one. One of my best friends is stationed in Iraq right now, and he has had quite a struggle to find places to send him cards to feed his wax addiction. I can see that something like this would be wonderful for guys like him, and now we have the opportunity to bring that to them.

Im already working on putting together a contest to help, ill post as soon as I have everything ready.

Down in the (Sticker) Dumps

Now that Topps is out of football for the next few years, we do know that one thing is coming. Unfortunately for us, Topps will need to get rid of their built up stickers and jerseys, and the sticker dump product will be on its way. Sticker dumps are an inevitable part of using the labels for products, and thanks to this new Topps-less NFL, we are prone for a glorius second helping, after choking down two to three similar products from them and UD already this year.

Most of you are probably wondering what a sticker dump actually is, so here is an explanation. Basically, each year, the different companies send out their label sheets to rookies, veterans, and others for them to sign for the upcoming year(s). Unfortunately, due to the fact that the world of sports is ever-changing, a sticker that deserved to be in a set one season, may not have that status for the following year. This is especially true for rookies that never get established in the league, and are demoted, hurt, or cut. Due to the Tom Brady effect of having to put every single possible player's rookie auto in every product (just in case), there are tons and tons of stickers that end up in a box somewhere at the end of each card year. This box sits and rots in the warehouse until a set is developed where the company can use those stickers to fill out a checklist with players that dont matter.

For the NBA and its new exclusive license, both Topps and UD needed to rid their stores of unused stickers so that they could make as much money off the leftovers before they were unable to legally be used any more. The result was Topps Signature series Basketball and UD SP Signature edition, where the products' sole purpose was to eliminate all possible unused labels. Im sure it was pretty obvious something was up when you were getting Jorge Barbajosa and Josh Boone up the ass.

Earlier this year, you may have also noticed that Topps Magic Football was stuffed full of autographs from players like Isaiah Stanbeck, Allen Patrick, and Fred Davis. These players, at one point, were welcome in sets that featured many of the rookie autos that we have come to expect per normal protocol. However, as they have moved into 2nd or 3rd string roles with their respective teams, they are now not welcome in any normal set. Of course, when you have a sticker dump, those types of stickers come out of the woodwork for one last use before either being tossed, or whatever else is done with unused stickers.

This practice of completely dumping everything was even more prevalent in the crime against collecting known as 2009 SP Signature Edition football. As recent comments have pointed out, this set is quite possibly one of the most obvious sticker dumps ever created. Players that are now practice squad players, or at best second stringers, are littering almost every auto card, with rare big hits of people that actually matter. Granted the price is VERY small at around 40 bucks a box, however, it doesnt justify the horrid, horrid checklist.

The fact of the matter is this. If we continue to support the sets like this, they will continue to terrorize us. We need to speak with our wallets and show that products like this are completely unacceptable. Even though UD tried to blind us with four and six autos per card, it doesnt matter if none of those players will ever see game action or make a good contribution to their team. Although I think the Brady effect is very much to blame for a lot of these horrible excuses for products, it is not a reason for us to have to endure the pain.

The problem remains, Upper Deck and Topps have become pros at doing this every single year, sometimes without prior warning of a checklist. This leads to people opening their products expecting one thing, and getting something completely different. Although Topps will be forced to employ the sticker dump as a way out, UD should have a similar answer when the next season rolls around. The only way to avoid being caught in the trap is to look for obvious signs on the sell sheets, and wait for breaks and checklists before committing your dollars. Trust me, its worth losing fifty to one hundred bucks on a case pre-order when you find out you just saved thousands by avoiding a dump.

Giridiron Gear Is Live, Ugly

Back in 2006, I discovered Gridiron Gear as a cool set with cards that featured rookie patches and autos for a great price. The design was very cool, everything fit well, and I was more than excited to see that Laurence Maroney and a few of the other targets I had were being featured on some of the coolest cards around.

When 2007 Gridiron Gear was released, there were a ton of people who were touting it as one of the best looking products of the year. I was one of those people. The cards looked great, the subsets were fresh, and the Gridiron Gems looked top of the line. A Simple, white background, as well as nice placement of the swatches, all combined to make a great looking card. It was a build on the 2006 set that I was collecting, but looked even better with the clear sticker.

Then 2008 rolled around, and the design trends that are running rampant through Panini's product lines today, started to show up and become the rule instead of the exception. Busy backgrounds, oddly placed swatches that broke the border of the card, and a complete disregard for the elements that made 2007 great. I didnt even buy a single pack out of protest.

Now we are getting 2009 Gridiron Gear, and again, the set is going in the wrong direction. Floating swatches are back, though this time they are shaped weirdly and dont really fit. The background is still busy, and looks like a giant pac-man eating the windows. The player is again covered up by the relics, and nothing really looks right. When you look back at how cool 2006 and 2007 was, this is an abomination.

Really, this is only one part of the set, but the other parts are just rehashes. Plastic helmets are back, player timelines are back, and Gridiron Gear continues its slide. The set is filled with ugly cards, and I am disappointed that once again, I am prevented from collecting one of my favorite sets because the cards were Panini-nized.

Oh, and I almost forgot - MORE FUCKING REDEMPTIONS FOR STICKER AUTOS OF PLAYERS AT THE ROOKIE PREMIERE!

Panini Takes 'Bush League' To An Unprecedented New Level

When the signatures on your cards look like this, its probably best not to display them. It makes me wonder if these are actually just the good ones, complete with bubbly and streaky signatures across the board. Could there be worse ones out there? What the fuck are they thinking? Those horrible looking sigs sure dont complement that awful design very well.

Now, with preliminary reports of Gridiron Gear being a complete and utter waste of space, Panini really needs to re-evaluate things if football is going to continue to be viable for them. For fuck's sake, these guys are complete fucking amateurs. How long until SPA again?

CLICK TO ENLARGE:

First Look: 2009 Topps Platinum Football

First we had Chrome, then Sterling, now Platinum. I know, lame as hell, right? Well, as a final hurrah, Topps announced via Twitter that they are putting out this set to close out their license with the NFL. I had heard from a few people that Topps was creating a product to directly compete with the perennial awesomosity of SPA, but this is too little too late.

Basically the product is going to be set up exactly like SPA, 24 packs with one rookie patch auto per box and lots of base. Unlike SPA, however, the product is all stickers (as usual for Topps), and the cards look like bastard children of Bowman Sterling and Topps Chrome.

After seeing this, maybe its a good thing after all that Topps is leaving.

Can We Stop With The Less Products Equals More Argument?

I hate when news like the Topps axing comes around, not just because of the actual news itself, but of all the stupidity that starts flooding the internet like a biblical storm. Whether its people giving their good riddance to whatever went down, or people conjecturing about how the hobby sky is falling, its annoying all the way around. In fact, the net gets so polluted with ridiculous comments, that you cant escape it.

First, we need to stop with the whole "where are the children!?!" type of bullshit. Im sick of hearing that things are going south because kids arent around anymore. Fuck that. As I have said before, kids are not the primary focus of this hobby, nor should they be. Ever since the 90s, when investment crazed adults made this industry what it is now, kids have been out. That means the boom and the decline all rest on the shoulders of grown adults, not children. Ask any of the manufacturers who their biggest customers are, kids or adults. Ask them who they market to, kids or adults. Find out why a child hasnt been featured on any of those UD posters for SPX or whatever. Its because KIDS DONT FUCKING MATTER. From what I have gathered in talking with different people, kids who still remain in this hobby function like the adults that drive the market anyways, so dont shove that argument down my throat unless you want me to ignore you.

Secondly, less does not equal more. Yes, I get it. You want to go back to 4 products a year so you can get every card, but that isnt going to happen. Companies cannot survive on a few products, nor would having less products, in any understanding of the concept, be a good thing for anyone. Having variety in our lives is the reason why collecting is fun, as it gives you choice on how to mold your collection. It also gives you a chase element which keeps you coming back for more. If there were only 1 or 2 products per company, people would have what they needed so fast that it would be boring to wait for the next product. In addition, there wouldnt be any way to account for the massive amounts of mid year happenings in card form, an aspect most collectors love. Also, if one of those few products sucked, it would fucking blow to have to lose out on it because it was a badly conceptualized set.

Third, the hobby is fine, and the industry is not in any immediate danger, so shut the fuck up with your worrying. I dont need to be bombarded with people telling me that cards are done because Topps lost football. Cards are not done, the industry is adapting to lower sales, and people will collect until the apocalypse. The sooner that the idiots realize this fact, the better. In all honesty, there really is no solution to any of the problems affecting card sales until the economy fully rebounds. At that point, things will return to a different shade of normal, and we can all go back to our happy go lucky Beckett world without the fear of Armageddon.

Lastly, I dont think this part of the industry's nose job was the fault of the companies themselves, despite the chatter. NFL Players Inc sure lives in a wierd bubble, and I dont think they really get what they just did. Plus, with Topps getting their exclusive baseball license, I dont think they really care about losing football the way we think they do. Baseball is the biggest yard on the street, and they are now the only real, whole dog in the yard. Everyone else is a cat or dog with three legs. That counts for more than anyone could imagine.

So, in other words, it sucks that Topps and their history is gone, but shut up with the stupid noise about everything else.

The Box Break Of My Life

I got 3 boxes of SPX, here are the results. To say I killed the odds is an understatement.

Autos:

Alphonso Smith 23/99
Buster Davis
Brandon Gibson
Robert Ayers (redemption)
Andre Smith 18/25
Justin Forsett
Patrick Chung 122/299

Jerseys

Marc Bulger Dual 84/99
Patrick Willis Triple 7/10
Michael Crabtree Dual 40/149
Juaquin Iglesias Dual 17/249
Mark Sanchez 257/349
Knowshon Moreno Dual 27/99
Barry Sanders 213/249
Mike Vrabel Dual 24/50
Peterson/Portis Dual 6/35
Ben Roethlisberger 85/249
Darrius Heyward Bey 59/99
Terry Bradshaw (Damaged) 38/99
Mark Sanchez 27/149
Ernie Sims Dual 9/149
Merlin Olsen 174/249
Glen Coffee Dual Patch 4/99
Julius Peppers 3 color 7/99

Rookie Jersey Autos

Juaquin Iglesias 175/549
Javon Ringer 452/549
Rhett Bomar Patch 15/25



Here is my third best pull of the break. Yes, this was the third best pull.

Here is the second best pull, which was surprising to say the least.

Oh, and I forgot about this. Its autographed, and its spectacular.

Yeah, I dont really think I have ever been this lucky.

HOLY SHIT: Topps LOSES NFL License

I posted before that it will most likely be down to two manufacturers in football come 2010, and today the NFL Players inc issued a statement that Topps is out of the NFL for the foreseeable future. I think I am glad because sets like Triple Threads, Sterling and Lettermen are gone, but very fucking sad that this will be Chrome's last year.

Topps has assaulted my senses quite a bit over the last few years, but Topps Chrome and Bowman Chrome deserve a place around the campfire. On top of all of that, anytime variety is TAKEN AWAY from collectors, we are the ones that lose, as well as the companies that lose out. Exclusivity sucks no matter which way you slice it, and now that we wont have a flagship Topps set for the first time in decades, its kind of sad to imagine what is going to be happening.

This is really a huge victory for Upper Deck and Panini, as their market share will increase exponetially, but there will also be MANY angry Topps collectors who will scoff at the idea of a football industry without their favorites. There will probably still be unlicensed Topps products, though not as many, as the company prepares to do battle with the biggest license of them all under its belt. When you think about it, having only baseball is not a bad thing for a company that was built on America's past time, but the nostalgia still brings forth angry feelings of loss.

Lastly, it looks as if we will no longer have resolution on lingering Topps problems, and those redemptions we all have are now in Jeopardy. Lets hope they finish strong, unlike what has happened with Basketball, as Topps Signature Edition football is surely on the way. Either way, with all the different Chicken Little and "OMG THINK OF THE CHILDREN" posts that are surely coming, we will definitely get a clear picture of how the hobby is reacting to the news.

Popcorn anyone?

NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 9

This week had a lot of byes or Monday night games for the top rookies, but we definitely have some newcomers to the list. We also see that more and more late rounders are coming out of the woodwork to become productive for their teams, so be sure to dig through your commons before tossing them in a shoebox for eternity.

Josh Freeman

Its rare that Aaron Rodgers is out performed. Its even rarer that a rookie does it. The odds in vegas may not have even fathomed that a rookie QB on a winless team would beat him. Freeman played the game of his life in his first game, and it is ridiculous to think that he did it against a surging team like the Packers. 3TDs 200 yards passing, and 20 yards rushing. Thats pretty damn good. He WILL NOT play this well every week, but he looks like he could at least have some potential, which the Bucs must be loving.

Matt Stafford

Stafford had a pretty bad week this week, throwing 5 interceptions against the Seahawks. People on the boards have already started calling him a bust, but we have to remember that he is still a first year fucking QB in the toughest game to play well in. He had a bad game, on one of the worst teams in the league. Im not saying anything yet, but I will continue to say that holding his cards from the beginning was stupid.

LeSean McCoy

McCoy put up 100 total yards this week against a very good team, and I am thinking he is turning out to be one of the best non-first round picks of the year. He didnt get into the end zone, but he played very well. The problem is, once Westbrook comes back, its back to normal bench work.

Brandon Pettigrew

Welcome to week 9 Brandon Pettigrew! Holy crap, took you long enough. He caught 7 passes for 70 yards with a TD, though he was the only bright spot for his team. Pettigrew still has a REALLY long way to go, but its interesting that it took him this long to get involved. I think he will continue to come around, but its going to take a while when you have as many problems as the Lions do. Of course, I pulled one of his cards too this weekend, just my luck.

Johnny Knox

Knox has been relatively silent since the Bears decided to take a swan dive into the shitter. He caught 4-30, and really did nothing for the second game in a row. Another passenger on the NFL rookie roller coaster I guess. I think if you are holding his cards, you should have sold a few weeks ago.

Hakeem Nicks

Same as Knox, Nicks was silent again this week with 3 for 39 yards. The Giants in general didnt do much against the Chargers, so when you are the number three guy, its tough to get involved. I am still in the house that thinks Nicks is still one of the top rookie receivers of the year, but he needs to do better to keep that designation.

Beanie Wells

Wells had a pretty good game with 13 rushes for 72 yards, though he still has yet to really impress anyone. The focus of the Cardinals offense may be to blame for his lack of success, but he also hasnt done much with what he has been given. At least this game shows his YPC avg has potential to improve.

The Rookie Graveyard

Darrius Heyward-Bey - Bye week

Brandon Pettigrew - May come out next week if he has another good game

Matthew Stafford - Has done little since his injury, so I have to put him here because of the body of work

Michael Crabtree - 3 for 30 isnt going to cut it when you hold out for as long as he did

Beanie Wells - Still not much for a guy who had the hype he did.