WE'RE OVER THE HUMP AND CAREENING WILDLY TOWARDS CHRISTMAS NOW. BEFORE YOU KNOW IT IT'LL BE ALL OVER AND WE'LL ALL WONDER WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED. WE'RE NOT THERE YET THOUGH SO TAKE A BIG SNORT OF EGG NOG AND ENJOY THE RIDE WHILE YOU CAN
BASKETBALL IS VERY EASILY THE #2 SPORT I COLLECT BY A LARGE MARGIN. NOT SO MUCH IN THE SIZE OF THE COLLECTION BUT THE AFFECTION I HAVE FOR MY BASKETBALL CARDS IS WAAAAAY MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE EXCEPT VINTAGE BASEBALL. EVEN SO, BASKETBALL AUTOGRAPHS AND RELICS ARE NOT SOMETHING I HAVE A LOT OF IN MY COLLECTION. IT MIGHT BE THAT I RIPPED LESS PACKS DURING PEAK RELIC YEARS, IT MIGHT BE THAT BASKETBALL RELICS ARE JUST GENERALLY MORE SCARCE AND NOT OFTEN FOUND IN BARGAIN BINS BUT I DON'T HAVE A TON OF THEM AND THE ONES I DO ARE OFTEN EXTREMELY RANDOM FRINGEY TYPE PLAYERS. WHICH MAKES IT SO WEIRD THAT I HAVE TWO RELIC CARDS OF SHAQUILLE O'NEAL FROM 2002-03 TOPPS, ONE FROM FLAGSHIP AND ONE FROM CHROME AND BOTH WERE PULLED FROM PACKS
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE SHAQ, HE'S MY AGE, WAS DRAFTED WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE AND WAS THE FIRST GIGANTIC SUPERSTAR CAREER I REALLY GOT TO WATCH FROM BEGINNING TO END. THESE SHAQ ATTACK RELICS WERE FOUND IN BOTH TOPPS AND CHROME AND WERE ESSENTIALLY THE SAME OTHER THAN HOW REFLECTIVE THEY WERE. SOMEHOW I PULLED BOTH THE TOPPS AND CHROME VERSION FROM PACKS I GOT AT THE SAME TARGET. I DON'T EVEN USUALLY BUY PACKS OF CHROME, I JUST PICKED SOME UP THAT DAY FOR WHATEVER REASON. THE GIMMICK OF THIS SET IS THAT THE FRONT LISTS FIVE BIG MOMENTS IN SHAQ'S CAREER AND THEN HAS A LITTLE JERSEY SWATCH SHAPED LIKE THE STATE WHERE IT OCCURRED. THE TOPPS CARD HAS A TINY YELLOW SWATCH IN THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, THIS ONE IS A PURPLE CALIFORNIA. I CHOSE THIS ONE TO SHOW OFF BECAUSE THE 2002 WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS IS ONE OF THE MOST INFAMOUS SCREWJOBS IN NBA, NO - SPORTS HISTORY. SACRAMENTO SHOULD HAVE WON THAT SERIES BUT THE REFS COMPLETELY TOOK IT AWAY FROM THEM WITH ALLEGATIONS THAT THE REFS FIXED GAME 6. THE LAKERS WON THE SERIES AND THEN THEIR THRID STRAIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (AND THIRD STRAIGHT FINALS MVP FOR O'NEAL) AND THE KINGS' FRANCHISE FELL INTO ACTUAL HELL AFTER THAT. IT'S KINDA WILD OWNING A TRADING CARD WITH A RELIC FROM A JERSEY THAT WAS WORN BY A FINALS MVP AND IS ALSO COMMEMORATING AN ACTUAL SCANDAL
I STILL LOVE YOU SHAQ, DON'T LET CHARLES BULLY YOU TOO MUCH
1 comment:
I probably should add a few more Shaq cards to my Lakers PC, but there was a time when I wasn't a big fan of his (since he had beef with Kobe). But that's all in the past... it's time to forgive and forget. I'm off to COMC to see if I can find a few cheap Laker relics of his.
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