1) Conan O'Brian's Tonight Show stint WILL be coming to an official end tomorrow night (tune in...go team Conan).
2) EVERYBODY apparently goes shopping at Target on Thursdays.
I have been having an absolute blast scrolling through my daily blogs today with the sudden eruption of Topps 2010 Flagship crucifications (not a word) throughout the blogosphere.
It all started earlier today with the revelation that Topps was once again including unlisted SP's of legendary players. Topps: HOW DARE YOU ruin my whole set-building experience by including cards NOT listed on your official checklist, thus compromising my meticulously constructed excel spreadsheet and ruining my day by adding...really cool...unexpected...surprises..into...my packs.............how dare you.
"When they were Kids"? Oh dear lord! WHY show us superstar players when they were young, and innocent, and in little league, and an inspiration to children to pursue their dreams and mayb e someday turn out to be like their heroes. Kids are dumb and shouldn't be collecting baseball anyways. This hobby is for ADULTS.
"Cards that were thrown away by your mom"? Talk about a gimmick! Why on earth would they include cards from the last decade? Clearly there were no good players that have appeared in the last 10 years, I would rather have some early 90's junk wax instead....besides since this hobby is for ADULTS, clearly we already have all of these cards anyways...oh wait, I just started collecting last spring and I actually WOULD like those cards that I missed out on...damn you Topps for making that possible......how.....dare......you.
Toppstown.....I got nothin. Those suck.
I guess when it comes down to it, the product just offers to much variety for my tastes. Way too many insert sets that appeal to too broad of an audience. The price? $50 bucks? Way too freakin cheap for all of this variety. If you are going to charge 1/2 the going price of a respectable hobby box, I expect 1/2 the variety and creativity as well! And 36 packs to a box? Whoa there Nellie, I expect no more than 20 packs and 4 cards per pack. And I swear to you, those packs better contain nothing but three worthless base cards and one super-worthless quad swatch of four random players, or I am taking my business elsewhere.
Surprises are for chumps. I want my four base, my one shortprint, my one mini card, and dammit, after I pull my expected hit, that had better be it for the rest of the box!
And don't even get me started on the "cards for grades" advertisements. Just give me another card instead. And besides, this hobby is for ADULTS anyways......
Alright folks, OBVIOUSLY this post was way over the top (get it) with cynicism over the already freaky amount of complaints about an (extremely) new product. I saw the same thing with Goodwin, and with T206 and with Ticket to Stardom...though that product deserved it, sorry Joe.
Here is the deal with Flagship:
It is:
- A low-to-mid range product, a little easier on the wallet, and 36 packs to boot.
- Appealing to a wide-variety of collector, including the younger generation who the industry is desperately trying to reach out to again.
- Full of unexpected surprises, to the delight of some, and the ire of others.
- An easy set to collate without breaking the bank
- Fun to bust (GASP).
It is NOT:
- High-End five packs per box with 4 hits per pack.
- Designed for you to get rich on eBay sales
Now it is no mystery where I stand on the product...I like the stuff. Yeah, I bust Sweet Spot and (slightly) higher-end product as well, but it is nice to finally have a product come out that I can bust a mad amount of packs at a reasonable cost, get some surprises along the way, and collate a set without hunting down ridiculous amounts of SP's and super SP's (thanks a ton, Heritage).
Of course, everybody is entitled to their opionions, that is the fun of blogging! It's just that yours are wrong and mine are right! Kidding.
So everybody jump in your cars right now and go support your local Target, then let's all go get kicked out of an Applebees!
Woah, what did Ticket To Stardom ever do to you? I'll get the last laugh when it drops to $40 a box and I buy the SH#*&$&$T out of it.
ReplyDeleteI like Topps. It's fun, different, and affordable. If you don't like Topps you're un-American.
Atta boy Joe, throw a little more gas on the flames!
ReplyDeleteIt is collectable and old fashion fun.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. There is way too much negativity about a set that hasn't even been officially released yet. Everybody seems to be basing their opinions on a few photos that have been graciously shred by those fortunate enough to get a hold of some packs. I personally don't care for the design of the base cards this year but it is early and they may grow on me. As for the inserts and shortprints I am just fine with the amount/difficulty of obtaining them. Everyone seems to forget every year that the Topps flagship is an set designed for entry level and as well as a hardcore collectors alike. Also you failed to mention the Topps million card giveaway contest cards inserted in packs, I personally hope to pull a couple of these redemption cards could be fun to possibly receive a card that is older than I am.
ReplyDeleteShort prints, redemption cards, a few different insert sets . . . what's not to like?
ReplyDeleteI realized very recently that the reason I continued to by Topps backs was due to the variety. Although I do wish it was a little easier to pull one of the cool SPs, that's what makes it fun and treasure hunty.
I did venture out to my Target last night . . . nothing . . .