Sunday, June 14, 2009

First Look: 2009 SPX Football


Well, we finally get to see what's up with SPX, and I am still waiting to find out the exact details of the Shadow Box Card. From this preview I have two guesses. Either it will be a regular and plexiglass card put together, or the card will be like an actual shadow box with the auto area being recessed from the top of the card with some sort of acetate or glass covering it.

The rookie auto cards dont look all that great in this preview, though I am very glad that they dont spell out "SPX" anymore. Not really sure how these will turn out, but based on this Crabtree, color me underwhelmed.

The true star of this preview is the "Rookie Materials" card, which I think looks awesome. Im just hoping they dont all contain the goofy "helmet off" pics that I hate.

Lastly, doesnt look like the triple material cards look any better than last year's, with the odd balance of the swatch windows. I wish they would all be on the same side, or balanced a little better.

This product has some potential, but I will have to see final products of the shadow boxes and the RC autos before I make a final judgement.

6 comments:

  1. If I had to guess on the shadowbox idea, it would be that the player (take the manning above) is standing out in that window. Like a pop-up book of sorts. While the auto is like you said, floating on a clear acetate. I like the Manning design as is. Not sure how the shadow thing will change that.

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  2. The card has potential, I need more info though. Still waiting...

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  3. That winning trios card is one of the worst I've ever seen. SPX and Heroes have potential from what is out there? Come on, I realize this is the Upper Deck fan club, but they are the same horrible designs with minor changes from last year. -Jeff W

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  4. Its the UD fan club round here because they are the only brand that produces cards on a regular basis that look good and fit the wants of the collectors who buy them. Add in that they have done most autos on card this year, they dont send boxes to beckett for football any more, and they tend to listen to us, I think they deserve it.

    I think Heroes looks good. The design is much better than last year, and the product gives a lot for the price. I also like that its all on card.

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  5. Just focusing on SPX and Heroes, if you apply the same standards applied to other companies, SPX has worthless cut outs for the jersey patches, Heroes has poor patch placement, and both are completely recycled designs with a few injections. SPX is as overpriced as Triple Threads, and Heroes for the price is quite a mediocre to bad value both in flipping and collecting. I think if folks, not just you want to ride Beckett for bias, I think the same standards should apply for bloggers. I don't blog or matter in the industry but I have received pretty cool benefits from UD and I can see why bloggers and Beckett would woo them. Not to mention UD is the company who had the audacity to blow the lid on loaded boxes to Beckett by just how loaded a box was given. (Full disclaimer, I don't hate everything about Heroes, I love the sketch cards and hope they have a ton this year.) I agree on one thing, if your view on UD is just one product, for football there is nothing that comes close to SP Authentic. That is a perfect line of product. I prefer NT, but that is the throwback lover in me. A modern, classy, high value not too expensive release. Without that product, football collecting wouldn't be the same.

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  6. Listen, I hear you, I do. However, with Heroes, the set does have injections of new stuff, and it has a lot of new content all together. Is it SPA? Hell no. This is early in the year and it blows Elite out of the water.

    As for UD in general, they are the standard in the football industry, rightfully so, but if they put out a crapper, like they did last year with a few products, I let them hear about it. Check out my review for Icons, and some others that escape my mind.

    Maybe I am reading you wrong, but I dont get anything as a reward for my good reviews. No product, no exclusive info, not even a pat on the back. Its all my personal opinion. Its different in the hobby media, they accept anything and everything.

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