Earlier this year, Panini released Immaculate basketball with game used shoe relics of popular players in a few different formats. Even though I am not a fan of the design, its clear that collectors were drooling over the cards, paying a ton of money to get the best ones
. Today, 13-14 Exquisite Basketball was released, containing their own version of these cards – with one major difference.
Check out the auctions and see if you can spot it. Here are Panini’s shoe cards:
2013-14 Panini Immaculate Kobe Bryant Jumbo Sneak Peak 1/1
2013-14 Panini Immaculate LeBron James Jumbo Sneak Peak 1/1
Here are Upper Deck’s:
2013-14 Upper Deck Exquisite LeBron James Signature Kicks Auto
2013-14 Upper Deck Exquisite Michael Jordan Signature Kicks Auto
2013-14 Upper Deck Exquisite Grant Hill Signature Kicks Auto
In case you missed it, Upper Deck’s language on the back makes it very clear that no player has ever touched these shoes. In fact, I wouldnt be shocked if someone trucked it over to the local Foot Locker and picked up a few pairs to make the cards.
The back of the card says “From a shoe brand typically worn by” as the defining statement. This is accompanied by an official disclaimer language at the bottoms stating that the relics are not player worn, event worn, or game worn. Im sorry, but this kind of takes manufactured relic cards to a new level. Upper Deck is not hiding what these cards are.
Previously we have seen that there are embroidered patches and relics that are used to make cards, but just cutting up and inserting shoes without purpose is something I am questioning big time. I have never liked the manu-patch format to begin with, but to take it to the level of manu-relics is a odd and comical
. I mean Exquisite planning is done a year in advance and no one thought to get the players to slip on the shoes for a second or two during a signing? Cmon.
Yes, I realize I just advocated for more event used material, but that is the nature of my thought process these days. Gotta love when our standards are that fucking low. I love what Upper Deck has managed to do in terms of design for many of their products, continuing to surprise me with what they put out. However, not only do these cards look like they are straight out of Panini Design School 101
, but the relics have zero meaning. None. Exquisite has always been about the best of the best, but these are just horrible.
Im sorry, but this just takes the cake. In next year’s Exquisite, I hear they are planning relics from “Lids store purchased hats typically worn by XXXXXXXX.”
They could attend an NBA game and just ask to buy some fans’ shoes after the game for $50. It’d totally sound better on the reverse if it could say “Contains a piece of shoe worn at an NBA game that LeBron James played in.” Also applies to all other eligible players appearing on either team’s roster that evening.
^ my thoughts exactly.
Was looking forward to this set until I read the back as well.
I thought the big difference was the UD cards being so hideous.
“Giant head shot?” Check. “Tiny swatches?” Check.
Turns out, it was the legalese… who knew?
This only reinforces what has been happening for years in memorabilia cards. I stopped collecting them a while ago. The original premise of memorabilia cards was that you’re getting a piece of material worn by them in a game. Pretty simple and cool idea. However, this concept has been bastardized by event-touched, event-anything, typically worn by and all other loose language that never makes any concrete guarantees that this material is what you thought or hoped it would be.
Do we really trust the same companies that put stickers on cards and call them autographed cards to deliver on the original idea of memorabilia cards? The state of memorabilia cards is illustrated well by an excerpt from a short story by Patrick McManus about a war surplus store he and his friends frequented as kids:
“The real treasure of course was any item with a bullet hole in it. For a long time your practically never came across anything with a bullet hole in it, and then one day Larry Swartze found a canteen with that looked like an honest-to-goodness bullet hole drilled through it. Henry P. himself had to break up the fight to see who was going to get the perforated canteen. Immediately after that incident, all sorts of ward surplus turned up with bullet holes in it, and we kept ourselves broke trying to buy it all. Then it occurred to us that maybe old Henry P. Was going around at night with a hammer and large spike counterfeiting bullet holes. The bottom subsequently dropped out of the bullet-hole market at Henry P’s.”
I’m fine with the bottom dropping out of collectibles markets, but when the Beanie Baby market collapsed at least collectors were left with original Beanie Baby toys. As the bottom continues to drop out on sports memorabilia cards you’re left with jersey and shoe pieces sourced from the local Foot Locker. That bothers me. I guess I’ll go play with my Beanie Babies now.
So, if collectors are ok going from “game used” to “event worn” to “similar to the type worn by” and we are ok going from “on card” to “sticker”, then what is next in the auto genre? “Signed by someone who knows….”