Are You Ready for the Cardpocalypse...Grand Re-launch Celebration

It's the first day of a new month. As I look back, I've been posting somewhat regularly for six weeks now. It's been a lot of fun and I can't believe how fast those weeks have gone by. In my 'welcome back' post, I mentioned making changes to the look and feel of the blog and tossed around the idea of having a blog re-launch celebration of some sort. Well here it is! Today I'm going to discuss the origins of the new blog name and conclude with rules for the giveaways that tie into said celebration. Please stick with me, it'll be worth it.

First let's take a brief look at the history of this blog. Way back in late 2014 I decided to join the blogging community, but I struggled to find a name that I liked. During the design phase I bounced between several different monikers prior to publicly publishing the blog. Ultimately I decided to go with 'I Love the Smell of Cardboard in the Morning'. Just in case there is anyone that wasn't aware, that's a play on a quote from the movie Apocalypse Now. That has never been one of my favorite films, but several of my friends and I tended to spout the original line frequently back in the day. I was happy with the name overall even though it was quite lengthy to write out. Fast forward to May 2017. I began dipping my toe into the corner of the Twitter-verse dedicated to the hobby and encountered a similar name related struggle. I knew that I wanted to link my account to the blog and therefore wanted the blog name and Twitter handle to be related. Thus, @CardpocalypseNC(the NC had to be added due to availability issues) was born. Since the blog was already established I chose to leave it intact in its original form. My blogging presence slowly dwindled due to the death of my laptop and subsequently the iOS Blogger app. Without a reliable means of content management via my tablet or phone, I shifted focus towards social media. I recently uncovered a solution that allows me to easily and reliably manage the blog using my mobile devices. This brings us up to date. As I considered what changes to make on blog, a new name was somewhat of a no brainer and definitely topped the list.

So, what exactly does Cardpocalypse mean? I'm glad you asked. It's not an allusion to some future time when the collecting world will come to an end(either personally or more broadly speaking). Apocalypse can be defined as revelation(in the non-Biblical sense) - the unveiling, unfolding, or uncovering of something(s) previously unknown. Bearing this in mind, cardpocalypse means the uncovering of cards previously unknown. In more specific terms - opening packs, boxes, or mail day packages where the contents are a mystery. I love all of that and I know many of you do too(hang in there, it'll all tie together)!

While out on a recent grocery gathering mission, I decided to grab these 2 fat packs of Donruss. I felt it was probably against my better judgment but after weeks of the shelter-in-place order I craved some pack ripping therapy. In other words, I was ready for a Cardpocalypse!

The lack of logos still irks me, but these were a fun break nonetheless. I was happy to see three Yankees in the first pack. One of the Gleybers is a photo variation, but I haven't researched which one yet. I enjoy the nickname variations and of course I dig the different types of shiny parallels.

These highlights alone made the pack two better overall. I wasn't as excited about them since they don't fit my collection, but that excitement level picked up when I saw this peeking out from the middle of the stack.

I love this! It ticks so many boxes for me. Great design? Check. Great photo selection? Check. Desirable player from favorite team? Check. Moment of escapism in the midst of a quarantine? Check!

Okay, here's the part you've all been waiting(or scrolled down the page) for! Throughout the month of May, I'm going to send out packages so a few of you can experience the Cardpocalypse for yourself. Here is how it's going to work.

- There are 5 Sundays this month.

- Each Sunday I will post nine cards that are up for grabs.

- Any reader may stake a claim on one card each Sunday. The window for claims each week will close at 8pm Monday(this will be at least a 24 hour period).

- Multiple readers may place claims on the same card each week.

- At the close of the claims window, I will create a list consisting of 'reader name/card claimed'. This list will be entered into the random.org list randomizer. The list will be shuffled 7 times. The 'reader name/claimed card' on top at the end of round 7 will be the winner for the week. I will send the card claimed by the winner along with some mystery cards(efforts will be made to fit the winner's collecting preferences) to round out the package. Weekly packages will be dropped at the post office on Thursday of each week.

- Any reader can only win once in weeks 1-4. Week 5 will have multiple winners(number TBD) and previous weekly winners will be eligible to enter again.

- Cards offered each week will be categorized by sport. Week 1 will be baseball. Week 2 is football. Week 3 basketball. Week 4 will be a mix of MMA/Pro Wrestling/non-sport. Week 5 is 'Anything Goes'.

Hopefully I've done a good job describing this to you all. Week 5 will have some additional rules/guidelines to accommodate the multiple winner aspect. I will detail these in a post a few days before May 31. If anyone out there is taking precautions against the virus by not accepting mail at this time, I will gladly hold winnings until I am given the 'all clear' by the winner. Please reach out if you have questions about any of this. Get ready, there's less than 48 hours until the Cardpocalypse! Thanks for reading.