BLACK FRIDAY COMC PICKUPS - PART 38: KING

ISN'T IT COOL HOW HIGHER END PREMIUM CARDS THAT ARE UNATTAINABLE WHEN THEY FIRST COME OUT EVENTUALLY START SHOWING UP FOR SUPER CHEAP. IT'S FUN AS HELL

2013 SPORTKINGS SERIES F GORDIE HOWE PREMIUM BACK

BACK IN 2007 WHEN CARD BLOGGING WAS REALLY STARTING TO KICK OFF, IN THE GAME SNAGGED THE GOUDEY SPORT KINGS BRANDING RIGHTS AND PUT OUT A HIGH END CARD SET FEATURING ART CARDS OF LEGENDARY ATHLETES WITH A BUNCH OF AUTOGRAPHS AND RELICS AND SUCH. BOXES WERE SUPER SPENDY AND BACK THEN I WAS WAY TOO CHEAP TO EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING ANY OF IT EVEN THOUGH RETRO RIPOFF ART CARDS WERE MY FAVORITEST THINGS IN THE WORLD. BUT IT'S FIFTEEN YEARS LATER, AND YOU CAN NOW BUY SINGLES (PARALLELS, EVEN!) OF INNER CIRCLE HALL OF FAME LEGENDS FOR UNDER A BUCK. SPORTKINGS ARE NOW MADE BY SAGE AND YOU CAN PICK UP A BOX AT RETAIL BUT IT'S STILL A PRETTY NEAT LOOKING ODDBALL SET. I HAVE A COUPLE OF SPORTKINGS CARDS ALREADY INCLUDING A NICE DOMINIQUE WILKINS I GOT FROM KAMEO ON TWITTER AND THIS GORDIE HOWE IMPRESSED ME ENOUGH TO GO AHEAD AND PULL THE TRIGGER ON THIS CARD VERY EARLY IN THE CARD BINGE PROCESS

THIS IS A ONE PER PACK/BOX PREMIUM PARALLEL BACK WHICH MEANS YOU GET A LETTER IN AN OCTOGON ON THE BACK INSTEAD OF A BIO PARAGRAPH WHICH SEEMS A BIT OF A DOWNGRADE HONESTLY? MAYBE YOU CAN SPELL OUT DIRTY WORDS IF YOU COLLECT THEM ALL. MANY OF YOU ALREADY KNOW I HAVE BEEN IN FULL 'HOCKEY SUCKS' MODE AFTER MY FAVORITE TEAM MOVED TO CANADA FOR THE THIRD TIME IN 2011. SO WHY A HOCKEY CARD, AND WHY GORDIE HOWE? TL;DR VERSION - I LIKE SPORTS GAMES AND FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. YOU MAY SKIP THE REST NOW IF YOU WISH, OTHERWISE HERE IS A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF MY HISTORY WITH HOCKEY: 

MY FIRST SPORTING EVENT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A HOCKEY GAME. MY CHILDHOOD BEFORE THE 80S IS FAIRLY HAZY BUT I DISTINCTLY REMEMBER GOING TO AN ATLANTA FLAMES GAME WHEN I WAS A KID (AGAINST WINNIPEG, IRONICALLY). I HAD A GOOD TIME ENJOYED HAVING A LOCAL HOCKEY TEAM AND THEN THAT TEAM MOVED TO CALGARY IN MY FIRST OF MANY SPORTS BETRAYALS. I WAS STILL A SPORTS AND TRADING CARD NUT AS A CHILD AND COLLECTED OLD ATLANTA FLAMES CARDS WITH A HINT OF SADNESS. I ALSO WAS SUPER INTO SPORTS TABLETOP GAMES AND BOUGHT A STRAT-O-MATIC HOCKEY GAME AT SOME POINT. I PLAYED A TON OF GAMES USING THE FLAMES ROSTER BUT THE GAME CAME WITH AN EXPANDED PLAYER ROSTER SET SO I ADDED A FEW CARDS FROM THAT SET TO MY TEAM INCLUDING CHRIS CHELIOS, WHO KICKED ASS

I WAS A CALGARY FLAMES ENJOYER FOR A WHILE, ALTHOUGH WAS SOMEWHAT SALTY WHEN THEY WON A CUP IN 1989. THAT SHOULDA BEEN ATLANTA'S CUP DAMMIT! THEN WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, ATLANTA FINALLY GOT ANOTHER HOCKEY TEAM, THE KNIGHTS, WHO ARE BEST KNOWN FOR MANON RHEAUME AND A MASCOT WHO LOOKED LIKE A BIG INFLATABLE WIENER. I WENT TO MORE GAMES WITH COLLEGE BUDDIES AND HAD A GREAT TIME BEFORE THAT TEAM MOVED TO QUEBEC CITY. BY THIS TIME I HAD SWITCHED FROM STATIS-PRO TO EA SPORTS HOCKEY AND HAD ADOPTED THE BLACKHAWKS DUE TO MY FONDNESS FOR CHRIS CHELIOS. HOWEVER, ONE OF MY ROOMATES *ALSO* LOVED THE BLACKHAWKS AND PLAYED WITH THEM SO I SWITCHED TO THE RED WINGS BECAUSE PAUL COFFEY WAS ANOTHER ASS KICKING DEFENSEMAN.  AND THEN THEY WON A COUPLE CUPS. THUS, THE RED WINGS BECAME MY FAVORITE TEAM IN THE 90S. I STILL WEAR MY OLD WINGS T-SHIRT ON OCCASION

AND THEN!!! CHRIS CHELIOS WAS SIGNED BY THE WINGS! AND HE WON A CUP TOO! THE THRASHERS EXISTED BY THEN HOWEVER AND I WAS FULLY ON BOARD WITH THAT TEAM. I WENT TO A BUNCH OF GAMES INCLUDING THEIR FIRST EVER WIN AGAINST THE ISLANDERS IN LONG ISLAND. I HAD A NICE DECADE OF HOCKEY LIKING, THEN YET ANOTHER SHITASS OWNERSHIP GROUP DUMPED THE TEAM AND IT MOVED TO THE AFOREMENTIONED WINNIPEG. THIS WAS STRIKE THREE FOR ME AND 'FUCK HOCKEY' MODE ENSUED. NO MORE WATCHING HOCKEY FOR ME AND THE CARDS WERE ABANDONED TO THE BASEMENT. IN THE PAST FEW YEARS THOUGH, I RESCUED MY 70S COLLECTION AND REDISCOVERED MY LITTLE PILE OF CHELIOS CARDS. WHILE I STILL CAN'T CARE LESS ABOUT THE CURRENT NHL, I STILL FOLLOW A FEW WINGS FANS ON TWITTER AND AM AN OLD WINGS CARD ENJOYER. CHELIOS EVEN ENDED HIS CAREER WITH THE THRASHERS AND HAS A CAREER CAPPER CARD IN SCORE WITH HIM IN AN ATLANTA UNI. I LOOKED FOR THAT CARD IN THIS BUYING BINGE BUT COULDN'T FIND IT. SO I ENDED UP BUYING THIS GORDIE CARD INSTEAD. WHY GORDIE THO?

BESIDES THE OBVIOUS THAT HE'S ONE OF THE GREATEST HOCKEY PLAYERS OF ALL TIME, I LOVE GORDIE HOWE BECAUSE CAMERON IN FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF HAD THE COLOSSAL GALL TO WEAR HOWE'S RED WINGS SWEATER IN A DAY TRIP TO FRIGGIN DOWNTOWN CHICAGO. HAWKS AND WINGS FANS FUCKIN HATE EACH OTHER, THAT'S SOME BALLSY SHIT. CAMERON FRYE IS THE TRUE HERO OF THAT FILM. ANYWAY, GORDIE HOWE RULES, I WANT TO WEAR THAT SWEATER IN A TRIP TO CHICAGO, AND THIS CARD KICKS ASS