Worst of the Worst 2004-2009 #2 - 2008 Topps Lettermen Football

Over the last five years, there have been quite a few products that havent lived up to billing. Whether its shorted hits, bad design, or lack of content in a box, there were more than I can count. Here is my countdown of the worst of the worst, and I will go into a little of what makes them so bad. Of course, for some, the shittiness extends beyond mere words, but ill at least try to capture it with each post.

The number two worst of the worst, 2008 Topps Lettermen, was so bad that it actually crossed the barrier between sports blogs. Blogs that usually commented only on Baseball or other sports picked this up because no one could fathom why Topps would ever put out a product like it. Back when this came out last year, letter hype was at an all time high, with many products trying to capitalize on the signed manufactured letters and how popular they had become. First being released in Basketball, Topps took letters to a whole new crappy extreme by creating a product that was exclusively focused on signed letters. The price was astronomical, the cards were horrible looking, and the concept reeked of Topps rushing to capitalize on a fleeting fad.

Then they decided to bring it to football, and I am still shocked to this day what ended up happening. Unlike Basketball's autographs signed directly on the letters, Football incorporated the worst looking cop out of autograph technology in the history of this hobby: sticker autos on manufactured letters. Let me repeat that so you don’t have blood shoot out of your eyeballs. STICKER AUTOS ON MANUFACTURED LETTERS. This means that instead of doing letters in a way that at least made this product stomachable for many collectors, they decided it wasn’t worth their time to even get the prime focus taken care of correctly. This horrible idea took cards that already looked like boring and unimaginative shit and made them 1000 times worse.

Oh, but wait, it gets better. They also created manufactured number patches and manufactured logo patches where the sticker wasn’t even put on the card in a normal place. Instead of going across the manupatch like the stupid letters, they were put off to the side and affixed vertically. The results were visual abortions. I have to say though, my favorite part of this whole thing was when they took all the different craptastic designs and X-fractored them to create hundreds of needless parallels. As if having stickers on your letters werent bad enough, now you had more parallels than Triple Threads, all numbered for each individual letter. Fucking gross.

Lastly, as with all Topps high end products, the price was just as much of a drawback as the product design itself. This pile of two week old camel shit cost about as much per box as a Matt Ryan SP Authentic Rookie Patch Auto. Yes, instead of buying one of the best cards of the year, you can have a 200 dollar box of turds. I have never said this in my life, but I would actually support you buying a box of Triple Threads over this. I cant tell you how much I laugh at the people who bought cases of Lettermen and thought they were getting "OMG SIKX MOJOZ!!!"

When it comes down to it, I just cant imagine who decided this was a good idea. Im guessing it was the same people who created Triple Threads, Sterling, and all of the rest of the products that triggered the golden rule of Topps. Now that Topps football is gone, we can all rest easy, but I have a feeling that Baseball is going to feel the brunt of this blow. My condolences to those fans.

Product Review: 2009 Donini Playoff Prestige Football

Here it is, your first product review of 2009, but I will warn you it wont be as eventful as you are probably hoping. Basically, the sets that are going to grace this page for the next two months are just going to be fillers in the calendar until the premiere cards are released in july with Classics. At least you can be rest assured that I am not going to hold back just because these sets swim in the shallow end of the pool.

Starting this year, I am going to be doing the reviews differently. Last year I reviewed things in Good, Bad, and Ugly, but I feel it didn’t do a lot of the reviews justice in the format I had created. This year, ill address four important parts of each set, design/creativity, autos, relics, and finally value to the collectors. It will be a five point rating scale of one Gellman to five Gellmans.

= Don’t even think of wasting money on this
= A poor attempt, but it could have been worse
= Meh. Average.
= Exceeds Expectations
= The Best of the Best.

Hopefully with this, I will be able to set your expectations for any particular set, and still have room for the rants that make these reviews so cathartic for me. With that, here is the first review of 2009, Donini Playoff Prestige.

Design/Creativity

The normal cards in this set don’t look THAT bad for this early in the season. The white background on the base cards looks like it does this set a lot of favors. However, that is really the only plus in design this set has. Pretty much all of the other subsets look like they had some trouble being created as you can tell that Donini cant get past designing their cards backwards. Donini designs cards with the auto jersey subset as the main design, other companies seem like they do it differently. What I mean is this, instead of starting with a base card, adding a relic window and then adding a place for the auto sticker, Donini starts with the Auto Jersey card and subtracts without repositioning. This leads to floating jersey windows and off balanced base cards. Please, go look through your donruss cards, the only difference between your auto jerseys and your jerseys are the presence of a sticker. There is nothing else different on those cards. I guarantee it. Really, it makes me angry because you will always pay for 4 jerseys a box, but really they are just an afterthought.

A redeeming part of this set is the auto RC base cards, which look pretty good. I always love when companies use autos as base parallels, and in the early releases, this is a major staple of each set. However, with the other subsets being pretty awful, its tough to justify an entire product based on the base cards and the one auto set.

Rating =

Autograph Cards

As I said above, you buy Prestige because it’s the first. Its become so expensive though, I may have to sway you away from buying it because you DO NOT get what you pay for. The RC base autos in this are quite good as I have mentioned, but the other autos leave a lot to be desired, especially the signature manupatch cards. I don’t understand why these are making a comback, but alas here they are. I think that because all the subsets are obviously designed backwards, your auto cards, other than the base parallel sigs, will look very goofy. Prestigious Picks takes that to a whole new level. If you are lucky enough to pull the auto jersey parallel of those subsets, they look fine, but they are also quite rare (numbered to 10 or 5). Basically the autos here fall below my expectations, mainly because they havent fixed the design abortions from last year.

However, they have included base auto parallels of the vets too, which save them from a total waste in this department.

Rating =

Relic Cards

The relics in this set are either going to be college jerseys or vet jerseys, and they will not look pretty when you pull them unless you get very lucky. Based on this, you are going to get windows for the relics that are more than halfway up the card, or over so far to the side that it interferes with the general design of the subset. This set would be so much better if they did it more like UD draft with a focus on the autos (5 per box!) instead of throwing in more jersey cards that wont get you 5 bucks on eBay. If you are lucky enough to pull a patch, which is VERY rare, they will be 2 color at best, as I don’t see Donini using their 'A' material this early.

Rating =

Value To The Collector

This set never holds its value because its purpose is to be the first on the market. You will pay 80-100 dollars for the top autos now, but half that as the year moves on. Even if you are a college collector, you should wait for Elite as it is a much better product that holds value more. Add in the fact that you could be paying up to 100 dollars for a box, and you are going to shoot yourself in the face when you get 2 dollars of a return on your cards. Without a doubt, you need to wait to buy some of the better stuff, and luckily its only a few months.

Rating =

Overall Impressions

That’s about it for prestige, but the flow has started so start beating your wallet into shape if you can. UD draft is coming on the 26th and Bowman DP is coming around that time as well. Its exciting to have cards coming again, but hopefully we see better stuff with improvements over the last year. This product did not deliver on that one bit.

Average of the Above =

First Look: 2009 Icons Football

Last year, Icons was one of the most popular releases because of the tiny price tag and the large number of hits. I am not surprised to see it back this year, mainly because it will fit much better into the economic situation of the collectors this time.

Gregg has an interesting approach to this set, as he said that the non-autoed manufactured letters are inserted because collectors are growing tired of the 2 dollar jersey cards that these cards are replacing in the boxes. I think the viewpoint has some merit, but not with my collecting habits.

At least the design looks pretty nice, and I think that this set will be just as popular as it was last year, despite my criticisms of the set construction. I also think it fits much better into the early part of the year rather than the latter, as the companies become more aware of what actually works post rookie premiere and what doesnt.

Suggestion For 2009 Football Products

Listen, I know that I am not going to be able to stop card companies from using Event Used "Relics" in their cards, so I have given that up. The thing with event used, is that they could literally give a rookie a jersey that is covered in patches and logos, and really, we wouldnt know any different. It could be that easy, and the cards would look exactly the same. On top of all that, the jersey would only be worn for as long as it takes the player to put it on and pull it off. That is what event used is, and I hate it. There is no connection to a game, and there sure is no connection to a player. Dont believe me? Here is a great article that describes what happens at the rookie premiere.

Dont get me wrong, I think that the rookie premiere is a great thing. It gets us pics of the RCs for card releases, and is a great time for the companies to get on card autos and to stock up on their stickers to use. Without the RC premiere, our card year would suck. Yet, as with every good idea in this hobby, there is a ridiculously bad thing that goes along with it.

The event used "relics" are bad, but the event used footballs are the worst fucking idea that has ever graced the windows of relic cards. Basically, a guy from UD, DLP, and Topps, on their specific day, stands by a tent and throws football after football at the RCs, they catch them and throw them back. Thats it. Fucking insaneulous.

Just for some background, I am against game used ball cards in general. They are just stupid, unless they have an autograph ON THE RELIC. In my mind, the ball is the least important piece of memorabilia in the game itself, with helmets, pants, jerseys, shoes and even gloves, all above it. They use so many balls, it takes the aura away. With event used balls, you are so far down the totem pole, that you are in the dirt the totem pole is buried in for stability. Plus, with all the fucking relics that come out in a year for a specific player, is there really a need to use the balls?

DLP uses them more than anyone. They are public enemy number one with these testicles of the card industry. Absolute, Gridiron Gear, among others, all have ball relics in the MAIN hits for the product. That sucks the sweaty sac of the Bills' backup left tackle. Ditch it for good.

In a perfect world, we would be satisfied with RC autos until they got some game used shit from the first few games. Everyone plays in pre-season, even Brock Lesnar, so dont think that there wont be anything. At least that way, we get some player important stuff that can actually be considered a "relic."

2008 National Treasures: The Great, The Annoying, & The Rejects

National Treasures to me is one of the most exciting products for football. It is a product that offers a chance at some really great looking cards and some really great pieces of history. The 2008 Edition is due to release on January 28th and many football collectors are excited I am sure (even at the IMHO gouging price of $400-$500). As the collecting world waits, Donruss has started to release some more images that look great, but also point to something really annoying that should not be happening in the high end products of sports cards. Let me break down my opinion

THE GREAT









I always love the chance of getting a cut auto. This year the Historical Cuts are amazing once again and the aesthetics of the cards is unbelievable. Mother Teresa would be an amazing pull. This year the addition of the Heisman Cuts is great. It is a chance for football fans to pull some cuts from some of the greatest "yearly" college football players.

THE ANNOYING







What's that you say? All those cards look awesome. You are correct. They are beautiful cards and I commend DLP for once again having some amazingly sweet looking cards. However, on to the annoying aspect. Each one of those Tony Romo cards is a 1/1!!! That is right each one of them is a 1/1. I know Gellman has written on this before, but when this crap starts dropping into National Treasures, then I start to get really annoyed. At least in the past runs of NT they have changed the foil embossment for the different print runs. And with "laundry tag" and other such "premium" patch cards they usually have been in a run of #/10. Not here though. We have three 1/1 auto cards and the only difference is what piece of the jersey they plopped in the "material" window. Not even a change of picture or embossment foil color change. This is annoying to me. If the only thing you are going to change is the piece of material, then for the love of everything sane and logical would you please number the above cards #/3!!! Don't play us like idiots. (Side question: Does anyone else feel like this is just a manufacture equivalent of the Ebay 1/1 sellers? There the sellers say the numbering or the "patch" make it a 1/1 because there is nothing like it. To me it seems like that is just what DLP is doing here except they legitimize it by "stamping" 1/1 on the back. I ain't buying it!) Annoying, but that doesn't even compare to the following "horrible" reject product that should cause box busters everywhere to puke.... Ladies and Gentleman I give you the following:

THE REJECTS









That is right folks. Manufactured Patch Autos! Never should DLP reuse a concept from a mid-end to low-end product in their "premium" set. Manufactured Patches are horrible in my opinion. As you can see some of the autos look alright, but as you can also see above some of them look horrible. Nobody likes sticker autos, but this can end up even worse then those annoying sticker autos because the autograph looks horrible. DLP has taken a pretty cool concept in "nickname" autos and paired them with one of the most pointless manufacturer moves in creating manufactured patches. These do not belong anywhere near the National Treasures set. As a side note, is it just me or does it seem that "manufactured patches and/or letters" are becoming the new "sticker" auto? This allows them to get the autograph before production like stickers but it seems that the vast majority of collectors think these are somehow better than sticker autographs and I don't know why. At least on the stickers the autographs can look bold. HORRIBLE!

All this being said, I am still excited for National Treasures because it has some really great looking cards as always, but DLP somewhat has disappointed with some questionable manufacturing production.

The Aura Of The Letterman...

...Is so great that people are actually spending money on Topps Sticker Shock Letterman Football without a Topps executive holding their family hostage. Personally, I would rather take my money out back and put it in a big pile, squat over it, take a huge watery dump, and then light it on fire, before I would even entertain the thought of throwing down 175 dollars on a box of this purest of the pure pieces of shit product.

Instead of spending 175 dollars on a box of Letterman, you could:

-Buy a TV
-Buy a blu-ray DVD player or half of a PS3 (worth it!)
-Buy an auto of just about any rookie from any set so far
-Buy an auto of just about any current player in the NFL
-Buy 3/4's of a box of 2007 or 2006 National Treasures
-Buy every base RC of Adrian Peterson
-Buy a nice piece of memorabilia
-Make a car payment
-Buy tickets to any concert or show
-Buy a plane ticket to many places
-Give your money to a charitable organization like JDRF
-Buy a reasonably graded Montana RC (PSA of course)
-Buy a complete set of at least 10 base sets from 2008
-Pay for your license tabs for your car
-Buy holiday presents for your family
-Save it

Rather than doing any of the above, all of which are better uses than buying even a pack of Topps Letterman, people are still buying boxes and cases of this. I know, I know, there is a sucker born every second in this hobby, but personally, that is no excuse for thinking this crap looks cool enough to drop that much cash on any of it.

Its a rule: Topps products over 100 dollars suck. There is no way around it.

Product Review: 2008 Topps Finest

Right now Topps has a big goose egg when it comes to great products so far. Chrome was okay, if not only because of the price point, TSC and RC Progression were two of the worst sets ever produced, and Finest aint that much better. I would say I am boycotting Topps products, but really they are giving me nothing to WANT to purchase. Funny enough, Finest was so bad last year, that I didnt think it would be produced again. Then after seen what seemed to be a cool sell sheet, they pull a bait and switch (a common thing these days) and give us utter crap.

The Good

I think the Finest Moment autographs arent bad this year. However, I would always want to pull a base auto of my guy than a subset - with few exceptions. Of course, once you see the base autos, you may want these instead.

Normally, I dont like X-fractors because its so tough to look at the card without getting a headache. However, this year, they arent that bad, only because the photo is normal.

Also, the 1/1 gold Xfractors are usually really nice. The Peterson from last year was one of the best looking cards out there. Of course it went for 1500, so yeah, not getting that one.

The Bad

What is with the color schemes for these cards? Its a bunch of pinks and teals and I could not want these cards any less. Everything looks bad with these awful colors and I hope that next year they maybe decide that colored parallels are not the way to go with these cards.

The base RC autos look ridiculous, although they dont have recessed windows from what I can tell. I usually go to the money vacuum on wednesdays to see people break the new stuff, but no one touched this crap. Therefore, I only have scans and pics to go off of. Seriously though, the off centered autos only work when there is not a visible border underneath the sticker, or the border is around the sticker. Both are not true with these, and it looks like someone slapped on the stickers with no regard for human life. Also, I may just boycott Topps until they jump out of 2004 with these foil stickers. Awful.

Lastly, the price point on this product is baffling. Its understood that you will get two no namers and one better auto per master box, so why are they charging like they give you three better ones? Topps products must be priced by the same guy who picks Beckett's prices out of the pricing hat. Fuck that.

The Ugly

Besides 95% of this set being beyond ugly/stupid, there is one set that stands out above the rest. The NFL equipment patch autos from each RC could be worst looking and most poorly conceived cards in history. Topps went out and manufactured their own little NFL patches to put in these cards with an auto. Instead of making them 1/1s and using the event used crap they have laying around, they made their own and numbered each to 15. Are you fucking kidding me? Not only are these cards ugly, but they now contain manufactured patches. Wouldnt it be funny if they just put the patch over the guy's face? Or maybe put the sticker over the patch like they did in Paradigm. Who green lights this shit?

Overall, if you have to make a decision on a product coming up, either buy a box of Absolute, or 3 boxes of chrome instead of this stuff if you must buy a topps product. To those of you who look back, over the finest cards from the years before the meltdown and cry, I feel your pain. These used to be the best in the hobby, now they are one of the worst.