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It's December 27, and I'm feeling a bit reflective as I look at this past year of the hobby. My collecting has switched paths a few times this year, and has ebbed and flowed. Thinking back over it all, here's what I enjoyed, and what annoyed:
Topps Chrome: It has always been a fun product to open, but this year it was taken to an all new level, with the value that came out of both hobby and retail packs. From hard-signed autos by a lot of the rookie class, to Red Refractor autos, to the Atomic Crystal refractor, there was a lot to love out of this year's Chrome product. I was very fortunate to have the Vikings draft a player in Christian Ponder, who provided a lot of cards to chase for me. Gellman has said that he rarely buys non-autographed cards, but Chrome is the exception for him. Same goes for me this year.
Topps Inception: another beautiful product, and it came at a great time in the year, as well. When there wasn't a lot worth busting, this came out and blew me away. My favorite Ponder card in my collection is easily the silver ink auto I jumped on when it released.
Topps Five Star: OK, it's technically a 2010 release, but it came out during 2011... and it's such a nice looking product that it's not worth splitting hairs over. The mix of hard-signed veteran autos and patch/autos, the inscriptions, and even booklets, which I normally don't get too excited about - everything about this product was awesome, and I'm really excited to pick up singles from the 2011 version in 2012.
Chad Greenway: yes, I did sell off a good chunk of my Greenway collection in 2011, but it was still great to see him featured in products outside of Topps' flagship set. He had base, patches and autos in a handful of products, and I'm hopeful that this will carry over into 2012 - I would love the chance to put together a Chrome rainbow of his.
Leaf Football products: Leaf showed us that you don't have to have a license to make great looking cards, and Leaf Draft was an incredibly fun rip. I loved that BG included Ricky Stanzi in the set, and was glad to track down his cards, despite the airbrushing. BG, if you're reading this - if you include Marvin McNutt in your set for the 2012 draft class, I will go broke getting those cards. Take that however you will.
But with all of the good, comes some bad. It's nice that there wasn't a lot of bad this year, but some is worth mentioning...
Combine photos: Ugh. Chrome was such an awesome set this year, but if your rookie wasn't at the Premiere, you were going to be stuck chasing cards of your guy in a t-shirt and shorts. Not exactly the image I wanted a collector wants immortalized on cardboard.
Collectors greed: Sadly, this season has really revealed the greed, selfishness, and lack of gratitude some collectors have. From Guest Cat on here screwing with other peoples' auctions, to the lack of appreciation shown towards gifts sent by other collectors, it has been a bit of a letdown, and it's a shame because this community truly has a lot of generous people. It's unfortunate that we don't remember their generosity as easily as we remember the garbage that our lesser members pull around here.
Chrome's skyrocketing prices: What started off as a fun rip that didn't cost much, turned into $110 boxes, and Toys 'R Us charging $28 for a blaster. I understand the laws of supply and demand, but I never thought it would get this carried away. I suppose it's a tribute to a great product, and I can be more prepared for it next year. With the Vikings in line to (hopefully draft) Kalil from USC, there probably won't be as much pressure for me to buy, buy buy.
Panini: Please, just make one product I can care about. I love the older Leaf Certified, and Donruss Elite, and know that nothing can be done about the college license issue, but just make a card I care about. Very little of their products appealed to me this year. I'm looking forward to Limited, like I do every year, but it was a very unremarkable year for Panini. And those Gold Standard silver ink autos looked like total dog crap. Nice try, poor final product.
Upper Deck: For not doing anything with their license worth noting. No Masterpieces, no information on SP Authentic, or the SPx cards inserted into it. I don't even know if we'll see Exquisite. It was a snoozer of a year for a once-great company. I will hold off on judging until I see SPA in person, and know if Exquisite will be happening, but it's really not looking good for them.
So, what did everyone else enjoy or detest about this past year?
Topps Chrome: It has always been a fun product to open, but this year it was taken to an all new level, with the value that came out of both hobby and retail packs. From hard-signed autos by a lot of the rookie class, to Red Refractor autos, to the Atomic Crystal refractor, there was a lot to love out of this year's Chrome product. I was very fortunate to have the Vikings draft a player in Christian Ponder, who provided a lot of cards to chase for me. Gellman has said that he rarely buys non-autographed cards, but Chrome is the exception for him. Same goes for me this year.
Topps Inception: another beautiful product, and it came at a great time in the year, as well. When there wasn't a lot worth busting, this came out and blew me away. My favorite Ponder card in my collection is easily the silver ink auto I jumped on when it released.
Topps Five Star: OK, it's technically a 2010 release, but it came out during 2011... and it's such a nice looking product that it's not worth splitting hairs over. The mix of hard-signed veteran autos and patch/autos, the inscriptions, and even booklets, which I normally don't get too excited about - everything about this product was awesome, and I'm really excited to pick up singles from the 2011 version in 2012.
Chad Greenway: yes, I did sell off a good chunk of my Greenway collection in 2011, but it was still great to see him featured in products outside of Topps' flagship set. He had base, patches and autos in a handful of products, and I'm hopeful that this will carry over into 2012 - I would love the chance to put together a Chrome rainbow of his.
Leaf Football products: Leaf showed us that you don't have to have a license to make great looking cards, and Leaf Draft was an incredibly fun rip. I loved that BG included Ricky Stanzi in the set, and was glad to track down his cards, despite the airbrushing. BG, if you're reading this - if you include Marvin McNutt in your set for the 2012 draft class, I will go broke getting those cards. Take that however you will.
But with all of the good, comes some bad. It's nice that there wasn't a lot of bad this year, but some is worth mentioning...
Combine photos: Ugh. Chrome was such an awesome set this year, but if your rookie wasn't at the Premiere, you were going to be stuck chasing cards of your guy in a t-shirt and shorts. Not exactly the image I wanted a collector wants immortalized on cardboard.
Collectors greed: Sadly, this season has really revealed the greed, selfishness, and lack of gratitude some collectors have. From Guest Cat on here screwing with other peoples' auctions, to the lack of appreciation shown towards gifts sent by other collectors, it has been a bit of a letdown, and it's a shame because this community truly has a lot of generous people. It's unfortunate that we don't remember their generosity as easily as we remember the garbage that our lesser members pull around here.
Chrome's skyrocketing prices: What started off as a fun rip that didn't cost much, turned into $110 boxes, and Toys 'R Us charging $28 for a blaster. I understand the laws of supply and demand, but I never thought it would get this carried away. I suppose it's a tribute to a great product, and I can be more prepared for it next year. With the Vikings in line to (hopefully draft) Kalil from USC, there probably won't be as much pressure for me to buy, buy buy.
Panini: Please, just make one product I can care about. I love the older Leaf Certified, and Donruss Elite, and know that nothing can be done about the college license issue, but just make a card I care about. Very little of their products appealed to me this year. I'm looking forward to Limited, like I do every year, but it was a very unremarkable year for Panini. And those Gold Standard silver ink autos looked like total dog crap. Nice try, poor final product.
Upper Deck: For not doing anything with their license worth noting. No Masterpieces, no information on SP Authentic, or the SPx cards inserted into it. I don't even know if we'll see Exquisite. It was a snoozer of a year for a once-great company. I will hold off on judging until I see SPA in person, and know if Exquisite will be happening, but it's really not looking good for them.
So, what did everyone else enjoy or detest about this past year?
