Even with the crushing ennui I feel towards Topps' flagship lately, I finally picked up a few packs. I'll want these sets in a couple of years even though they don't interest me a whit right now. The local card shop* has packs priced better than Target right now (5 hobby packs for $8 compared to 4 retail for the same price) so I'm going to get my Topps fix there until prices get jacked up. If they get jacked up. No more Strassboorg hype, remember.
My first five packs were actually fairly decent, surprisingly enough. Here's one card from each pack, mainly because I can't be arsed to post the whole thing anymore.
Pack 1 - Dave Winfield & Jason Heyward Legendary Lineage
There was one card I really really wanted from this set when I first saw the sell sheet. Nailed it in one. Every pack I purchase after this one is a colossal waste.
Pack 2 - 1952 Topps Eddie Mathews Yo Momma card
No ones' momma threw this card out because Sy Berger chucked 'em all into the river before they could get to them. Nowadays all those unsold high series packs would be shoved into repack boxes instead. Think about that the next time you complain about the six 2007 Topps Series Two packs you get in your next "Find The '52 High Series!!!" box. If I manage to pull the original back version of this card I'm putting it in with my 1952 Team set and crossing one more card off my list.
Pack 3 - Rick Ankiel
Ok, his batting average with the Braves was .210 (compared to a strikeout average of .353!) but the guy sure can play defense. The Home Run makes up for all the whiffs. I initially thought I might have been at the game when this picture was taken but the visitors' uniforms are all wrong. (those are the Mets, right?)
Pack 4 - Merry Stras-Mas Motherfu----
The front of this card makes me nauseous (Seriously, Merry Stras-mas? Blearrgh), but the back is interesting. First card in the set? #661. That's right Topps, YOU DON'T FCUK WITH THE BASE SET, BITCHES. Let's see how long it takes them to forget this rule. I put the over/under at about a month and a half ago.
In other news the numbering convention US-1 to US-330 is just as unwieldy as UH-1 to UH-330. It is slightly more patriotic, however. Go back to T1 to T132 or even better 661-990. All those extra numbers and dashes just put more strain on set collators' eyes. Oh wait, I'm telling the marketing geniuses who have managed to shrink their market to about 10% of what it was 20 years ago how to run their business. Never mind, you guys got this. Carry on.
Pack 5 - Ty Cobb Vintage Legend - 1971 Topps
Is it just me or is Topps just having fun doing the same custom card stuff we do all the time with this set? While there are some odd ducks in this set (see: Christy Mathewson in a 1997 Topps design with a blue border design) this one is just about perfect. '71 Topps design, check. Sweet facsimile auto, check. Cool old timey ads in the background, check. The Georgia Peach with a bat in his hand and hatred in his soul, check. Topps even got the fonts right on this card.
I have to say I like the Update set more than I thought I would. I'm still pretty apathetic towards this whole 'card' thing right now though. How many Heywards do I have to chase, again?
*I'm not using the increasingly popular LCS acronym. Nosir, I don't like it. Still gonna use blogosphere though no matter how much everyone else in the blogosphere doesn't like the term.
8 comments:
The Lineage cards are just a waste but the 1971 Cobb and the 1952 Mantle are great cards to get in packs - I like the fact that 661 is availble in US set - so set collectors have a chance to get it (probably through ebay)
I have a Heyward Peak Performance card that is yours if you want it.Let me know and I will drop it in the mail.
ok what is going on with US-14 and US-15 Ike Davis and Ike Davis RC??
is this more shenanigans??
card 14 is a 'debut' card with the date of his first game with the Mets, 15 is his RC logo card. more subset than shenanigans and it gets another J-Hey card into the set so I'm fine with it.
LCS stands for League Championship Series. That's never going to change with me.
I noticed while sorting these that occasionally, a few will have a different size font for the card number on the back (Like the Stras-Mas I think). They are slightly larger than the rest. And are of course, easier to read. Too bad they couldn't have used this size throughout.
GCA - I was going to mention that... All the card numbers are are the same font and size except for the combo checklist cards. I have no clue why Topps did this.
I prefer the acroynm NCIS, actually.
Neighborhood
Collectible
Interests
Shop / Store / Showroom / Stockpile
Oh wait, the stockpile is in my house. *sigh*
Some acronyms just shouldn't be re-appropriated. I could never get on board with calling LaDanian Tomlinson "LT". Despite his continuing laundry list of troubles, the first, real, and only LT is Lawrence Taylor. And I don't even like the Giants.
However, I would agree to call LaDanian "LDT", as that is not taken, yet much like a sammich.
Word verification: thapp
1) What Spiderman's web shooter sounds like when it's too moist
2) The singular, only, and repetitive sound you hear in a very boring adult movie
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