A Comment On Donruss Certified

After seeing that Brett Favre is going to have his first Viking "auto" in Certified on Panini's webpage, I want to say a few things about the set preview they posted. Certified is next on the calendar, I believe, and is another in the mid end set line up that Donruss releases every year. Threads, Certified, Limited, Gridiron Gear, they all usually blend together.

First, I am actually surprised that Favre's auto card looks pretty good. Aside from the horrid foil board that its printed on, and the fact that it looks EXACTLY like last year's set, its not bad. The problem is that its just too easy to slap a sticker on the card and call it his first Viking auto. When you are almost 100% stickers in your sets, its kind of a cop out to claim that you are first. You could have put him in a Twins uniform and called it his first Minnesota auto. That sticker sort of invalidates the claim. Besides, it wont be about quality as the card will probably go for hundreds, despite the Playoff hologram background on the Donruss sticker, and that it will most likely only have 5 copies.

Second, the preview shows some pretty cool looking cards from the set, which made me feel weirdly anxious. Of course, these are all some of the best hits of the product, so I will withold total judgement until I see the rest.

The dual swatch freshmen fabric cards look great this year, surprisingly. They went back to the horizontal stack rather than the vertical stack, and it works SOOOOO much better. I may actually want a few of these, even though the rainbow foil is completely distracting.

The fabric of the game autos look good as well, but again, these are rare ass fucking cards, maybe limited to 5 or 25 copies at the most. The swatches are even in the right place, yet, I am very scared as to what the normal, non-auto versions look like.

The triple and quad swatch freshmen fabric cards are just as bad as they were last year, floating swatches and all. The quads are almost too busy to comprehend, and they break the design borders, unlike the duals which look cool. The souvenir stamps also look as bad as they usually do, mainly because that stray swatch looks extremely out of place. Although the rookies finally found a way to fit their signatures into the window below the stamps in these cases, others wont be so lucky.

Lastly, these Immortals cards are ridiculously awful. Yes they feature swatches and autos in some rare cases, but the player is being chased by huge obscuring text and out of place windows and stickers. Just a poor design and a poor decision to try to stuff all those things onto the cards.

Overall, I am still VERY apprehensive about this set. If these cards are the best of the best, and they just spike my awesometer to a normal expected level, what will the rest be like?

Do Yourself a Favor and Read This

For those of you who have been following the recent media blasts about the decline of the sports card industry, I would read this article to get the other side of the story. Some of you will probably shrug it off as a post designed to give false hope, but after recent conversations with Chris Carlin, I doubt that was the point in any way. Chris is a straight shooter, and although he is responsible for the marketability of his brands, he also knows his shit.

Last month, many mainstream outlets incorrectly reported that card shops had declined from 15,000 stores to under 500 over the last few years. The reports were based on arbitrary faulty numbers perpetrated by hobby blog villain TS O'connell of SCD, despite the fact that he had not done any actual research on the matter. Contrary to O'Connell's ideas of what was going on, Carlin did a great job of setting the record straight, as well as showing that the sky is not even close to falling (UD works directly with 1500 shops in the US and Canada alone).

Sadly, these scary "figures" have led to a lot of paranoia on blogs and message boards, most of which was focused on the supposed dying of the hobby. People had started crying about how the inflated number of sets and lack of kids had contributed to a decline in the collecting populace as well as the industry. Although things have changed from the days of the investment crazed 90s, both the hobby and the industry are in little jeopardy of going under. If card shops only lost 5% of their volume (per Carlin's research), during a crippling recession, I would say that is amazing, to say the least. Its actually even more impressive if the original prognosis was a loss of 30-40% total. Add in the thousands of online retailers and ebay stores, and the number is going to be a lot more than any research done by media that is disconnected or unrelated to the hobby. The fact is, regardless of any paranoid chicken little coverage, people still love collecting, writing about, and buying cards.

I think its safe to say that this hobby is never going to die. Collecting based things usually don’t, even when there is no one to produce new stuff. The industry itself may go, eventually, but the actual people who drive it will always create a market for trading, buying and selling. The problem has never been kids or a pollution of products, in fact, the problem has probably been the value that the cards carry. As the reality of the overproduced cards of the nineties were actualized as less valuable than fire kindling, the collectors who staked their involvement in collecting on the amount they were going to make, left quickly. What was left behind were people who loved cards, as always, as well as a few people who realized that investing was bad, but collecting was fun. This is what led from having 15,000 shops to a few thousand.

As with any collectible, there will always be people in it for the money, however, as we have seen, a lot of people are in it for the love of the game too. The proof is in the blogs and boards, as membership and production has skyrocketed lately. When people realize that they can cater their experience to themselves rather than relying on a money driven, conflict of interest laden magazine, good things happen. Also, with a worldwide marketplace like eBay, there is now a way to get whatever you want, whenever you want it.

Bottom line, as far as I am concerned, there has never been a better time to collect.

NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 4

Well, week 4 is pretty much in the books, and it was a pretty eventful week with some key injuries and a few players who did poorly instead of normally performing well. This week was also the first bye week, so not every one of the rookies got their chance to shine.

Matthew Stafford

Although the Lions lost in epic fashion, and although he threw for close to 300 yards, neither of those are the story of the game. Stafford went down with a pretty gruesome looking knee injury in the fourth quarter, which has been reported as a dislocated knee cap by NFL Network. The guys on the show all thought he would be out for a long time, which is going to be extremely detrimental to the Lions and his card values. Nothing is official yet, but this looks really bad for the future of his season.

Mark Sanchez

AHHH! Sanchez is human after all! He had his worst game to date, throwing for under 150 yards with no TDs and three picks versus a great saints team. The issue is that the Saints arent really known for their defense, and Sanchez threw two picks to the oldest part of it. Sharper returned one of his picks 99 yards for a TD, and the other came late when the Jets were trying to rally. His value shouldn’t drop all that much because one game does not a rookie make, or break for that matter, so don’t ditch everything quite yet.

Johnny Knox

Knox had another good game this week, with 50+ yards receiving and a kick return TD for 101 yards. Granted, it was against the worst special teams in the league, but impressive none the less. Knox has been a huge surprise for the Bears, and is slowly starting to look like he is going to be a reliable option for them if he can grow in the system. With Bennett struggling as I expected he would, Knox has been their guy. His values are at their highest of the year right now, and may go higher if he continues to perform.

Knowshon Moreno

The Broncos sure embarrased the Cowboys by handing them their second straight loss, with Moreno scoring a TD and gaining around 80 yards on the ground. Moreno has looked like a feature back, and I guess he will be it until he fucks up or doesn’t perform. He had a key fumble on the first play in the second half, but it didn’t come back to bite them that much. Moreno will be good, and he has had a productive season so far.

Donald Brown

Brown scored a TD in the Colts blowout, and ran for 40 or so yards in addition. I would have expected more from them, but even with the lead, they passed instead of ran. I never was really a Donald Brown guy in the first place because I knew that Manning, Wayne and Addai would take up most of the good plays. Brown has done well in a backup role, no doubt, but he is going to have to play ahead of Addai to become the man in indy. Maybe as the NFL moves to a two back system completely, he will have more of a role. Until then, he is going to be a cleanup player.

Hakeem Nicks

Welcome to the NFL Hakeem Nicks! Even though he only caught one pass, it was a big 54 yard screen that went for 7. Nicks has been injured the last few weeks, so it was good to see him get into the action in the huge Giants win.

Mike Wallace

The Steelers had their work cut out for them on Sunday night, and Wallace had 2 for 47 including a biggie for 35. He has been good for them in a number 3 role, and his values have reflected that. Im guessing its more because of the team he plays on, but having solid numbers has helped just as much.

Kenny Britt

Another solid game for Britt, and he has the first 100 yard game of anyone this year, rushing or otherwise. Even though he didn’t find the endzone, it was still a very impressive performance.

The Rookie Graveyard

Darrius Heyward-Bey - I still think its more of a QB issue than a talent issue, but he has yet to get a good game under his belt.

Beanie Wells - Bye week this week

Jeremy Maclin - Bye week this week

We still have a great game coming up tonight, so we will see how Percy Harvin reacts to being on the national stage, especially with Favre going up against his former team. Im beginning to see the talent in this draft class regardless, as we could have another year where there are a lot of contributors much like 2008. Next week has some key matchups too, plus we will see if some of the guys can rebound from their poor performances.

The Twins' Date With Destiny

As the season wrapped up last year, I was not excited about playing a 1 game playoff against the White Sox in Chicago. Not a good place to be, especially coming off a horrible series against the Royals. They ended up losing 1-0 on a Thome home run, and ended up watching the playoffs from their couches instead of the dugout. This year, its a little different, as the playoff will be played in the dome, and they will have a rookie pitcher to hit off to add to it.

Aside from being happy that the Twins have even made it this far with the team as beat up as it is, their success has been even more of a testament as to Mauer's place as the 2009 AL MVP. The Twins lose Morneau, and Mauer continues at a torrid pace to help his team into a tie on the last day of the season with NO pitching what-so-ever. If Mauer doesnt win, you may see him actually raise his voice for the first time in his life. He has had one of the best seasons in MLB history, and to not end up with the hardware is criminal.

Either way, the Twins do have a much better shot at Winning this year, especially with Baker on the mound and a day off to get themselves together. Funny enough, the Tigers are having problems getting hotel rooms because of Monday Night Football, so maybe that will play into the Twins' improbable playoff run.

Ill be the first to admit, the Twins should NOT be in this position, and they will NOT go far into the playoffs, especially with the Yankees waiting for the winners in New York. But to see Detroit slip the way they have and to see the Twins turn it on, you can bet your ass that they are not going down without a fight.

The game starts at 3 pm PST, so I probably wont even be able to watch it all thanks to a few meetings I have on tuesday, but I will not hesitate to drive 80 down the 405 to make it as soon after the start as I can. Im actually thinking of concealing a radio in my suit, especially if things start out well for the Twins.

Regardless of the outcome, im sure all the Minnesota fans out there are happy to see the dome leave our baseball consciousness for good. After reading that Torii Hunter set himself on fire on a dive for a fly ball, I think its safe to say that outdoor baseball is where its at. That, and when the seats face the opposite outfield instead of the pitchers' mound, I will be happy that my neck wont be sore during a game ever again.

Im hoping that Mauer does amazing on tuesday and shows the idiotic voters who is boss, all on the way to a Twins victory. Although this will probably be the last win for them this year, it was a treat to see them make it this far.

Now, where is my Homer Hanky?

This Card Is Just Awesome

So far, the Shadow Boxes have definitely delivered. Check this out:

Yes, its college uni, but ill gladly trade that for a sticker any day. Wow.

Rumble In Minneapolis: Packers Vs Vikings Rd 1

When the Vikings signed Favre, to tell you the truth, I wasnt even sure if he was going to make it to this game coming up on monday. Now that the game is upon us, and the circus has come to town, anticipation is starting to boil over. Its going to be great, and its going to be a nationally televised event!

Favre, so far, has been great at leading the Vikings. He has been careful with the ball, he has let AD run wild without remorse, and he was responsible for the best Vikings drive in the last 10 years. Great. Now Bretty McWrangler has to go up against the Packers, a team with a new defense, a great offense, and a hankering to put their former golden boy on his ass. That is not great. Considering that Favre is about as fragile as paper thin sheet of glass, to play a team like Green Bay is probably not going to be a good thing for his health.

Not only that, but a loss for the Vikings here would be a complete morale nuclear bomb. Having your biggest rival come into the dome and beat you on national TV is never a good thing, but when you have the best player in that Franchise's history in uniform, its that much bigger. I say this is going to lead Favre to make some bad decisions, and it may cost the Vikings the game.

If you remember back to the Vikings' playoff win in Lambeau a few years ago, Favre had major problems because he tried to do too much. The Vikings came away with one of the bigger wins in their history, and Favre looked horrible. The same type of effect could happen on monday, especially if Childress plays into it. If the Vikings can continue to hand the ball to Peterson, keep Harvin and Taylor involved, all while the defense plays their normal game, its going to be tough to beat them in their house. However, if Favre starts making horrible throws all over the field, a la the New York Jets last few games, its going to be a disaster.

Ill be watching as usual, and I hope that the Vikings pull it off. More importantly, I hope Favre pulls it off.

First Look: 2009 Topps Unique Football

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

When this stuff was first put out for baseball, I was definitely turned off by the horrible concept. Now that they have brought it to football with a few tweaks, its not as bad. The Brady card looks much better than its baseball counterpart, and the Namath doesnt look as awful as the tag card that was previewed a while ago on Wax Heaven. Im guessing its because the backgrounds look more finished, and the idea of what is trying to be presented looks more flushed out. However, the Mannings dual is typical Topps, and the Peterson and Roethlisberger look awful.

My thoughts are still that the namesake of this product doesnt really apply to the content, and that is going to be the problem. Its not really any different than what we get out of a lot of other products, so to call it "Unique" is a gross misnomer.

As long as it stays as a mid end set and doesnt stretch cost past the 100 dollar mark, it could be successful, mainly depending on whether or not the other cards are as boring as the baseball ones. With Topps, nothing is set until the product hits shelves.

EDIT: Just got word this product is going to run 140-180 a box. Holy fuck. Yeah, im out.

Product Review: 2009 SPX Football

Yesterday I had the chance to spend a few hours with my friends as they broke a case of SPX and a few other things. I was very eager to see the SPX because of the bad taste I had in my mouth after the initial eBay auctions, and im not sure it got all that much better. Sadly, SPX has been a dissappointing experience to me ever since they went to the new format in 2007, and this year I was hoping for more than just a bunch of needless relics.

Design/Creativity

There are two parts of this set I love, one part im good with, and a bunch that I hate. The first of the parts that I love is the Shadow Box cards. They are fucking sweet, and you really have to see one in a non scan format to appreciate it. The cards almost look 3D, and the way they are put together highlights a few different full sized player pictures. My buddy pulled the Peyton Manning, and it was the best looking card he pulled. Its one of those parts that a lot of people will be after, so be ready.

The second part of the set that I love is the autographed version of the Rookie Materials subset. The pics arent my favorite, but the design may have been a better choice for the base rookie autos. They are a balanced card with some cool elements, opting more for simple lines and features rather than filling it with needless paint spills and the like. I would definitely go after a few of them, but helmet off pictures are not my thing.

I also gained a little bit more appreciation for the base rookie autos after seeing them, as the design isnt all THAT bad when you see it in person. The problem is that its still a gaudy example of gold foil, but at least its dulled so that it doesn’t distract from things like the normal Panini fare. I would love to see on card autos on these, but with the time between the premiere and the release, that is just impossible. At least these cards look better than last year, which is a plus, but still not at the standards I expect from Upper Deck.

Outside of those three elements, SPX is just plain boring and poorly designed. If they went back to the format from 2006, it would prevent a lot of mediocrity that has seeped into this set. The jersey cards are horrible looking, like they forgot the autos, and the non-base rookie autos are a snoozefest. I almost tuned out after the main hit was pulled from each box, because of how bad some of the cards are.

I would say that SPX looks rushed at the very best. You can easily tell where the focus is, and the rest is a graveyard of floating swatch windows and Panini-style design elements.

Rating =

Autograph Cards

I don’t have many complaints about the autograph cards, because they arent the downfall of this product. They don’t bring this product to another level either, so its pretty much indifference here. The stickers do detract from things, but at least they arent covered up by dark colors either.

The rookie auto jerseys arent as horrible as I thought, but they arent that great either, a running theme for this year. Thank god the windows look like footballs instead of spelling out SPX like they have for the last 2 years, one of the main welcome changes for the set.

The base scrub autos arent horrible either, they just look like the filler they are. They fit in with everything in the product, and they really arent something you are going to have as that one memorable card from your box. Most of them suffer from the Brady effect, or getting every rookie to sign some cards just so you can have a card of the one guy like Brady or Romo who breaks out from the later rounds.

Rating =

Relic Cards

Man, Im wondering if someone from Panini designed the relic cards from this set. They are the worst I have seen out of a UD product in a LONG time. Floating swatches, backwardly designed cards, and boring concepts litter the product to the point of nauseum. At least they are better than the weird die cut numbers and shapes of the last few years, but not on the level they should be at all.

When many of the relic only cards look like you forgot to add the autos, there are major problems. Panini does this on a regular basis, but we have yet to see UD break the golden rule of designing the relics as stand alones and finding a place for autos later. Otherwise they end up like crap when you have 10 parallels to fill the set.

Rating =

Value to the Collector

SPX as singles will actually hold value pretty well, especially the rookie autos and the shadow boxes. These are the first cards that really will hold through the year, even with other releases, and its not a bad idea to buy now on the cards you like. The parallels that are created on the rookie autos are always collected by a lot of people, so if you pull one, consider yourself VERY lucky.

The Shadow Boxes, especially the auto'ed versions will sell well because of the way they look and because of the rarity. I would think this type of idea will be repeated in other ways, and that its pretty cool to think how it can be used. Black already somewhat uses it with the Lustrous cards, but now it may be taken in another direction. I really like that, and so will the people who will chase these cards.

Outside of the rookie autos and the rare case hits, there isnt much value. The jersey cards are throwaways and the other stuff is junk. It’s the reason you should stick to singles over buying a box. The fact that this product is carrying a 150 dollar price tag is borderline Triple Threads territory.

Rating =

Overall impressions

This set was held back by the non auto jersey cards, plain and simple. Without the relics and with a cheaper price tag, this could have been a great product a la 2006. I think things are definitely better than 2008, but not to the point where it deserves any praise. SPX needs a major redesign, as it does in baseball, hopefully with figuring out ways to get rid of the swatch cards that are completely worthless.

Average Rating =

2009 Product Leaderboard (SO FAR)

1. Topps Chrome (4/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Upper Deck Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Philadelphia (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). Topps Football (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Icons (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Heroes (3/5 GELLMANS)
2(t). UD Draft Edition (3/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Upper Deck SPX (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Playoff Absolute Memorabilia (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Bowman Sterling Football (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Donruss Threads (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Donruss Classics (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Donruss Elite (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Playoff Prestige (2/5 GELLMANS)
8(t). Bowman Draft Picks (2/5 GELLMANS)
16. Score Inscriptions (1/5 GELLMANS)
17. Leaf Rookies and Stars (0/5 GELLMANS - NR)

2009 SPX Football Is Live!

2009 SPX is live, and they have already eclipsed last year's horribly conceived neon foil cards in my opinion. Of course, they are still produced on gold foil this year, and im not quite sure how I feel about the final product quite yet. These cards notoriously scan very badly, so I may have to wait to see a few more examples in person.

All I have to say is that the Rookie Materials autos (like the Maclin below) look amazing. I commented that these would be the best back when the previews were released, and so far it looks like I was right. I dont really consider myself an SPX fan usually because of the cost and the design, though the cards do look better than they normally do. Lastly, I would have liked on card sigs for this product, but I know that isnt possible with a pro-uni product this early.

Here is the break on blowout.

EDIT: Cards like this just look awful, and there may be a lot of them in the set from what are popping on Ebay. I have no idea why anyone would produced a card like this, let alone buy it. Not a good start.