Comfort Cards

When things go wrong in my life, I often deal with them in pretty healthy ways. I internalize. I discuss. I accept. I move on. Sometimes when things are a bit more acutely wrong, I have to admit that I turn to comfort foods. Several years ago when I made a poor decision in a busy intersection and wrecked my Camaro (which was somewhat quickly back on the road and is still my car of choice even if it is no longer my every day commuting vehicle), I went to Arby’s for dinner and then proceeded to pound an entire box of pizza rolls while watching Batman Begins. It should also be noted I was still a bachelor at the time. Another interesting note: I also busted three boxes of 2007 Topps Co-Signers that night. What can I say? I was in a binge mood.

As many of you have doubtless heard by now, my once proud alma mater is in a complete wreck right now. I literally felt sick yesterday as things progressed and I let myself stew in the turmoil. I did have a Coke and a Snickers bar at work, but now that I am married and have a child, I actually had a healthy dinner. No pizza rolls for me. But I am still able to turn to some cards for comfort. Cards will never allegedly assault young boys. Cards will never unfathomably fire a true moral compass. Cards will never blow up in the media.

So let’s look at some shiny new cards!

As I mentioned early last week, my buddy had acquired quite a few of the new Topps Super Bowl Legends Die-Cuts. Included in the bunch was at least one copy of all three Emmitt Smiths, all of which were being directed to me. The box arrived quicker than expected last week and my buddy dropped of the entire lot on Saturday. Check out these beauties:

Each card is composed of thick, die-cut cardstock and features a very slick, polished sheen. They don’t quite remind me of the Flair cards of the mid-90s, but they are definitely in that vein.

The photographs are not the clearest, particularly on the older one like Ken Stabler and Bart Starr, but neither were any photographs taken at the time. The part I really like is that as far as I can tell, the photograph of every player is actually from the Super Bowl featured. It is especially evident on more recent ones once the NFL started adding those huge Super Bowl patches to player jerseys.

You can’t quite tell from the scans, but these cards are a bit dark in person. It doesn’t really brighten until you get the cards in direct light, then they come to life. The faux diamonds are not dufex at all and are just printed on the cardstock, but the overall card still looks pretty slick.

There are also Gold parallels #/90 and special 1/1 parallels that actually look like they have faux gems inserted and a super shiney background. We did not get any Emmitt parallels.

Even the card backs are pretty nice. This is definitely an area I feel has been lacking in the industry in recent years, so it was nice to see a well planned and executed card back.

You’ve got the original Super Bowl emblem, the final score, and a brief description of what the featured player did in the game. There are also two standout statistics, which aren’t always particularly stellar.

I think it’s interesting that Topps didn’t limit this set to only Super Bowl MVPs like it did for the Super Bowl Legends insert set in its flagship product, but I’m also not complaining about having 3 new Emmitts instead of just one.

Overall, I think these are outstanding cards. It’s a hint that a well designed set can still be produced without tons of jersey swatches or auto stickers. It’s proof not all hope is lost in the Hobby. Whoever came up with this set at Topps should get a raise. And this isn’t just an old 90s era enthusiast blubbing over a set no one will like. Check eBay for completed listings. These things are selling really well, too. If you’re interested in getting any, please check out our eBay store. We’ve already sold some of the big names, but still have a bunch in stock. And if you’re a fellow blogger, shoot me a best offer that states you’re a blogger. I like to reward my kin. 🙂

Bravo, Topps!