A Championship Exclusive

The UEFA Champions League final was played yesterday and sadly I didn't get to see it because I was at work. I was able to watch the highlights of Real Madrid winning the CL trophy for the 11th time, a record. Best I can tell, it was an exciting match, but I always hate it when any tournament or championship match ends up going to PKs. To me, it becomes as much about luck as anything else at that point. Like it or not, yesterday's match did in fact come down to PKs. When all was said and done, one of the best players in the world toed the line with a chance to put the game on ice. That's exactly what he did. Love him or hate him, Ronaldo was the hero. I thought this was the perfect time to show off a card I picked up from Listia a little while back.

Though it may be tough to tell, this is a really cool acetate card that is part of the series that Leaf put out at last year's National. The only thing I dislike about this card is the lack of logos. Having it in hand makes me think I might chase after some of the other subjects from this set. It has a pretty eclectic checklist ranging from soccer to baseball to Al Bundy, the pride of Polk High football. Thanks for reading.

It's Almost Like I Was At The National

Ever since I've come back to collecting as an adult, it has been an unofficial goal of mine to make it to The National some day. Thus far, there has always been a reason I couldn't/shouldn't go from proximity to finances. This year was no different. It was just not feasible for me to trek to Chicago for a card show, even if it is the biggest card show of the year! Fortunately, I am a part of this great community and I've been able to live vicariously through all of the posts from fellow bloggers that were able to go. One of those bloggers that was able to go was one of my frequent trade partners, Brian from Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary. Recently, I found another packed PWE from him in my mailbox. As usual, it was chock full of great cardboard!

It's tough to see in the scan, but that Soriano is from 2003 Fleer Avant. I never opened any of that product and this is the first card I've owned from it. I vaguely remember the set being one of the more high-end products of its day. I really like the matte frame on this one(think modern day GQ framed parallels, but nicer). I'm loving the Opening Day reminder of David Wells' perfect game! I know I've seen this one before, but I don't think I've owned it until now. While it's not a true RC, I was thrilled to see that Ian Desmond Star Rookie come out of one of the stacks. That's a really interesting point of view to shoot a photo. This was a strong start, but from here it only got better!

I was never the biggest Giambi fan, but I dig the curtain call shot with the Yankee Stadium fans in the background...and it's a refractor to boot! At first glance the Severino and Bird Onyx cards are your typical prospect cards missing logos in the mold of something you'd see from Panini. However, upon closer inspection, these were distributed at The National! I am a sucker for 'exclusive' cards, whether they're from The National, a stadium giveaway, or from Panini's 'holiday' promotions. I had no idea these existed, so I couldn't have even went searching for these on eBay. It's a bonus that these two guys are currently putting up decent numbers in the majors. In fact, Severino pitched a heck of a game against the Braves over the weekend!

As I was basking in National exclusive card glory, I flipped to this. For the first time in a long while, I actually did a double take. As most of you know, I've been putting together the 1968 Topps Game set over the past few months. I knocked out the other big names like Aaron, Rose, Mays, and Clemente pretty quick. The Mick was the last huge name that I needed. I searched every vendor at the last card show I attended, and there was no Mantle to be found. I bid on multiple eBay auctions and lost each one. Just as I was getting geared up to out some bids on a few more, this card peeked out of the middle of this awesome PWE. The more I looked at it, the more I was impressed with how clean a copy it was! This officially brings me down to two more cards to finish the set. I emailed Brian to thank him(over and over). It was then that he informed me that he had gotten a great deal on a set while at The National. He therefore had an extra that he was happy to send my way. Just incredible. I think my jaw is still on the floor!

I may not have made it to The National, but thanks to this generous PWE, some treasures from the biggest show of the year have made their way to my collection. A million thanks to you Brian! I hope I can someday return the favor.

Russell Wilson - NC State Alum...Kinda

Remember when Russell Wilson wore the NC State Wolfpack uniform? Most fans don't. In the time that has passed since I walked that campus, he is one of the few athletes that I could collect because he went to the same school I did. Mario Williams is currently one of the few non-Bronco NFL players that I actively acquire and it is for that exact reason. To this point, I haven't added Wilson to my list because I've been holding a grudge. It all started when he opted to transfer to Wisconsin, forsaking my beloved Wolfpack. Some time went by and I began to consider collecting his cards(and cheering for him). Then he led the dismantling of the Broncos in the Super Bowl and my grudge was renewed. Earlier this year, I began to soften once again. I had no choice but to cheer for him in the Super Bowl against the Patriots. Heck, I even thought he was going to win a second straight championship(like everyone else in the free world). Well, we all know what happened there. However, the way that he handled that loss was admirable. I was once again considering adding him to my player collections, but I needed something to kick start the collection. I had accumulated a few sporadic base cards, some random inserts, and his Bowman Chrome Rockies card from a few years back. I certainly didn't have anything I could consider to be the card that ties him into my collecting habits. Earlier this summer at The National, that all changed. Panini happened to release this gem in their National Convention exclusive set:

It's Russell, it's baseball, and he's wearing an NC State uniform. This is a great card! It's probably my favorite Panini card that I own. The fact that it is an event-specific exclusive card just helps complete the parallel that has finally pushed me over the edge into officially collecting Russell Wilson cards. As most of you know, one of my other favorite NFL players also played baseball for a team that I really like and one of my favorite cards of his came from an All-Star FanFest exclusive giveaway and shows him in the baseball team's uniform. That other player is, of course, John Elway. Anyway, there you have it. I guess I'm officially on the lookout for the Seahawks quarterback. It's probably for the better, holding grudges isn't very healthy anyway!