2022 Score Football Cards : A Rip Party 32-Years in the Making

 

 

1990.

            I don’t want it to seem long ago.

            But it is.

            Thirty-two years ago, to be exact.

            George Bush was president.

            The Gulf War hadn’t happened.

            Kristen Stewart was busy being born.

            These guys ruled the airwaves.

            I was sixteen.

            Christ…sixteen.

            And in the fall of 1990, when I wasn’t watching Beverly Hills 90210, I was probably going to my local drug store to buy these.

            1990 Topps Football Cards.

            AKA…the last football cards I’d buy in pack form.

            …until now.

            That’s right. I broke down and did it. I ripped packs. It was inevitable. I tried being a good boy, not opening up so many packs this year. I was conservative. I concentrated on Topps baseball base, and singles cards that I really wanted.

            But that itch…that goddamned itch.

            Then suddenly it was fall. The weather turned unusually cool at the beginning of October. Baseball was winding down for me. Congrats on another 100-loss season, Buccos!  I was sitting down for the Sunday games. I was tunning in on Sunday night. Conversations after 8pm on Monday alluded me. I raced home from work on Thursday night, replacing my Dylan and Beatles albums, with the cadence of a plethora of announcers’ voices. The football season was suddenly in full bloom. Like I said, I’d been a good boy with cards. So I said to myself, you know, give it a shot.

            So I bought a box of 2022 Score Football cards.

            My first box of football cards in thirty-two years.

            And it was…a fun rip?

            First of all, I knew what I was getting into with Panini and base football card. I’ve been around for a few years now. I’ve bought some singles. I’ve never been incredibly wowed by Panini products. Despite my extolling the virtues of Topps unlicensed football product up to the early 1980s, I’m not at all a fan of Panini’s unlicensed baseball cards. They look generic. I find most of Panini’s brand design to be kind of bland and generic.

            In case you haven’t seen it, here’s Panini’s 2022 Score design, featuring some of the usual suspects.

            And here’s the back of the card.

            It’s…not bad.

            It’s Panini.

            It covers all of the basis.

            For my return to football cards, I’m going to go ahead and say its all right. The best set of Score cards they’ve produced in years.

            Buuuuuuttt….

            I’m not a fan of the one and done with stats. I’m a sprawl guy. I like to see the whole career laid out on the back of the card. I’m glad Aaron Rodger’s is a “magician” on the field and that he’s akin to Gandalf the White (interesting choice, considering he’s more of the wizarding type). But if that’s the kind of description I’m getting, I’d rather Panini just say nothing and show me Rodgers’ stats. Looking at his whole career number, I can determine on my own whether or not Rodgers is a “magician” or worthy enough to be mentioned in the same sentence as Gandalf the White.

            Hint…he isn’t.

            Another thing Panini does with their football cards, that I’m iffy on, is giving space to past players.

            Case in point.

            In my box, I counted over 30 base cards given over to retired players. Yeah, getting a Joe Montana card is cool. It was much cooler getting one when he actually played the game, or buying a Joe Montana card from his actual playing years. Here, it seems like Panini is making up for the fact that they didn’t get to produce cards for those players. And the cards are taking up the space that could be used to produce cards for player actually playing the game. Like right now. Like in 2022. There are 53 players on an NFL roster. Panini makes room for 10 and some guy who’s no longer playing.

            In truth, Topps did the same thing.

            Guess you can’t give room to more than 10-12 team cards, if there’s only 400 in the set.

            I always wished that football card checklists expanded to 600 or 700 cards, like baseball. Yeah, maybe not everyone wants a card of the starting Right Guard. But some collectors do. Some fans do too.

            Of course, the one thing Panini is stack with is rookie cards. Everyone loves the rookie card. There are 100 rookie cards to be exact, in 2022 Score. That’s a lot of space given over to unproven pro talent…but such is the world of collecting. So, I’m not going to gripe. One thing that is cool about the rookie cards in 2022 Score, is the fact that Panini got as many player’s as they could in their team uniforms. That means one can open up a pack of 2022 Score and, like Donruss, get a Kenny Pickett card in his Steelers uniform. Unless you’re me…I didn’t get a Kenny Pickett card. Hello secondary market for me.

            But I got these guys.

            And I did get a Kenny Pickett as an insert.

            Here are some of the other inserts/parallels that are in this year’s 2022 Score.

            That seems to be Panini’s bag. A lot of inserts. And at 10 packs of 40 cards, they’re all at the end, you know, for those collectors bored by base cards. They can just flip right on through, never thinking about the money they spent, and only wanting to get to the bells and whistles.

            Speaking of bells and whistles…you get 4 autograph cards in 2022 Panini Score.

            Here are mine.

            All are available to trade for a Kenny Pickett base rookie card.

            And by all, I mean all. I’ll send you all four for the Kenny card.

            I know this blog post seems a little snarky or negative, but I did truly enjoy opening up a box of 2022 Score cards. I had a lot of fun sifting through the cards, looking at the photos, and yes, reading about what a magician Aaron Rodgers is…even if he IS no Gandalf the White. I’m glad that I didn’t held off buying baseball product I’m not that into, so that I could have this ripping experience. I may do it again if/when Donruss is released. I’ve even excepted the fact that I won’t get a Kenny Pickett card in that product either…I know my luck.

            I suppose the final issue I have now is what to do with the cards. I did promise myself that I wasn’t going to just have a lot of base cards sitting around. I don’t know if I necessarily want to make a Panini Score complete set. I might star some individual player PCs. Or I’m thinking of getting some team sets together. Unlike with baseball, where I’m a one team man; other than the Steelers, I tend to pull for a few more footballs teams. The Giants. The Dolphins (a Pittsburgh kid and Dan Marino fan), The 49ers (child of the 1980s), and The Bills (grew to like them when I lived in Buffalo, unapologetic Josh Allen fan).

…except when he routes the Steelers.

            38-3….COME ON!

 

Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: Going into the football card well one more time.

Ranking 1980s Topps Football Cards

 

Sentimentality.

            Nostalgia.

            It’s all gonna be here.

            Like a big warm soup.

            People like warm soups. We’ve had a few cool days here on the East Coast, so people are walking around in jackets and hats, and everyone has put their heat on. Full disclosure...it could be 30 degrees out and I’d never need the heat. That is to say, we are heading into my season. And while I’m an avid baseball fan currently mourning the loss of another baseball season,

 (yes, yes, I know...the playoffs…that time of year where the 200-300 million dollar payrolls get to shine in their most Darwinian way), my actual temperature comfort range falls right in line with another season…Football season.

            Yes, I love the fall. I love the falling leaves. I love the way the word autumn slips out of my mouth. I love to see ads for pumpkin spice this and that. And I love to watch people dress in unseasonably warm clothing simply because the dial has slipped below 65-degrees. The fall? I’m ‘bout that. And nothing says the fall like the smell of the pigskin (or Nerf, if you grew up like me), the clash of the pads, the shiny helmets, the militaristic jingoism, the breast cancer pink, the vast number of penalties, the warnings of danger…the fact that football is BACK, baby!

            My collecting is turning to all things gridiron, even though I know it’s better to buy off-season. But who can think football when its 90-degress outside?

            Maybe this guy did.

            Sentimentality? Nostalgia? I mentioned them in the beginning. And they will influence and cloud my judgement on EVERYTHING here. So…with no further ado, I give you my rankings, right or wrong, on what I think are the best (maybe not best-looking) Topps football cards of the 1980s.

 

1984 Topps:

            Admit it card lovers, you’re already rolling your eyes at this one. Regardless, 1984 Topps is my favorite set of the decade. It’s not the best-looking (although I’m gonna make the argument that it is) set of the decade, but its one of the most memorable. For me, 1984 Topps is flashy. It’s MTV with its slants and bright colors. It’s the “hippest” card Topps made that decade in all of their sports. Its as bold as the year it came from: Springsteen, 1984 Olympics, Regan in a landslide. The set is packed with some serious star power…and those rookies! Marino. Elway. Dickerson. Curt Warner. 1984 Topps also features the last card of my beloved Terry Bradshaw, playing his last game against the Jets, at their last game at Shea Stadium. 1984 Topps football, is the first football card I remember actively seeking out with the same allowance/couch cushion money that I was pumping into baseball cards. It’s a landmark set for me.

 

1985 Topps:

             God, did you hate them back then but absolutely love them now? Or is it just me? Back in 1985, I didn’t know what to make of these cards…or anything really. Black borders. Horizontal photos. Cards didn’t come horizontal in the 1980s. That was something the 1950s did. Yet…there we were. No real room for action shots. No real room…for anything. That late summer of 1985, I was laid up in a leg cast and the most I could do with football was watch pre-season on TV while all the neighborhood kids played Nerf outside. Football card were the closest I could get to anything. And Topps gave me…these? But the years have warmed my heart. I see, now, what an unusual and bold set 1985 Topps football actually is. Over the years, it has become one of my favorite football sets. I recently passed up the chance to buy the set, and I feel STUPID, STUPID, STUPID.

            I don’t think Topps has taken this kind of chance with cards since then.

 

1980 Topps:

            Another sentimental favorite. In the same year that I discovered baseball cards, looking through a pile of cards from a friend, I discovered that they made football cards too. And football loomed large for a 6-year-old in Pittsburgh in the late summer of 1980. The Steelers were getting ready to begin their season, after having won their 4^th Super Bowl in January of that year. I can’t begin to describe to anyone outside of that city what the names Bradshaw, Greene, Harris, Stallworth, Swann, and Lambert (to just name a few) meant. They were legends. They were almost Gods. And the 1980 Topps set was pretty cool itself. I like that the thin borders leave a lot of room for the player photograph. And the team name, player name, position; they exist in a nice football-esque orb at the bottom center of the card. 1980 Topps is the penultimate set that didn’t have a license to show team logos…but that doesn’t hurt the set. In fact, Topps football from its inception to 1981 did a very good job of making collectors think and feel the authenticity of the cards, even though there was something glaring missing.

 

1983 Topps:

            This set could very well have easily been up there at the top of the Topps. I just think 1984 and 1985 have a little something more. But I LOVE 1983 Topps football cards. These are the first Topps cards that I ever remember opening. NOSTALGIA. Not like 1984 Topps, where us kids went to Thrift Drug with our own money, but 1983 Topps was more in the vein of mom needing something to shut me and my brother up, baseball was out of season, so here’s a 25-cent pack of something, kid. Again, this is another set that Topps gives over to photography without trying to spice things up. Topps was so minimalist in 1983, that the team’s name is just a bold white outline, whose color is filled in with the photograph. And those photos are sharp too. This is the first set that I remember being clear photographs, instead of the grainier photos that we always seemed to get on cards.

 

1987 Topps:

            This is another one of those sets that could’ve been near the top for me. Its fourth…so I guess it technically IS near the top. But you get what I mean. I wanted to chalk my love of this set to me being 13 at the time of its release, and at 13 you could throw any card in front of me and I’d declare it genius. That statement takes nothing away from 1987 Topps, Fleer and Donruss baseball which are all, in fact, absolute genius. But I love the 1987 Topps football design all the same. Again, it’s another card that’s giving way to the photo of the player. Some in-action. Some seemingly taken when friendly games of catch were going on. The “dueling” flags at the top really do it for me. Just a catchy design the whole way around.

 

1986 Topps:

            Like 1985 Topps, 1986 Topps football card was another design that I wasn’t really wowed by as a kid but have come to absolutely love. I don’t why I didn’t like those green borders with the yard markers, except to say that I might’ve been a pretty conservative collector as a kid. I know see 1986 Topps as one of the more inventive sets of the decade, if not thee most inventive design. I mean, you do sacrifice some room for player images so that those green borders can have a chance to stand out…but I think it’s worth it. The player’s name and position information is crisp and clear in a small box, also incased by the border, at the bottom of the card. The team banner adds a nice little classic touch. I didn’t realize it then, but Topps had a pretty nice design run going from 1983-1987.

 

1982 Topps:

            Probably should be higher up for me on this list because I really do like the 1982 design as well. Topps’ first design in which they had the rights to team logos. And they make it know by having the team helmet joining the team’s name in the bottom left-hand corner of the card. The pennant adds a nice touch too. It’s a classic football card the whole way round. But…and maybe it’s just me. A lot of the photos feel grainy and out of focus. Or far away. The Lawrence Taylor rookie card looks like someone took a zoomed photo of him from the stands.

 

1988 Topps:

            A big set for me because of the Bo Jackson rookie card, but not of the more appealing to me. Although I do admire its simplicity. But there’s something about the colored border that takes away a lot of the player image and make the cards look a little bit claustrophobic. The helmets stand on their own at the bottom of the card, just left of center, to denote the team’s name. the NFL was big business by the late 80’s, and helmet alone could tell you who that team is. It’s a solid card.

 

1981 Topps:

            The last year Topps would have to contend with not being able to show team logos on cards…and they do another great job of not making the collector really notice.  I’ve always found the design to be a little bit dull…the football card version of 1961 Topps baseball. It’s simple and gets the job done…but it’s kind of meh. That said, anyone want to pass a Joe Montana rookie my way…I wouldn’t say no.

 

1989 Topps:

            This one bored me when it came out and it bores me now. There’s a design on the border, yes, but so what? It’s not symbolic of anything other than maybe Topps had a bland design and wanted to spruce it up a bit. Jazz that card up with some color blocks. Was someone who used to work for Donruss working for Topps in 1989? Feels like it. The player name/team/position seem almost inconsequential to the card. The team name is small too. The whole thing looks like one of those auto stickers that are places on cards now in lieu of having the player sign the actual card. The one good thing I can say is that there’s plenty of room for photos, which is nice, because by 1989, Topps football was showing more on-field action in their base cards, instead of leaving that for In-Action cards.

 

Overall, I’m a big fan of 1980s Topps Football cards. Granted, they were the only game in town for the better part of the decade. But the cards had style. Sadly, the 1980s would be the last decade, for some time, that Topps granted its own individual design their football cards. By 1991, all of Topps cards would become uniform for baseball, football, hockey, and eventually the re-introduction of basketball cards. I’m sure it saved Topps money and time, but, as a collector, it seemed dull and uninspired.  I liked the uniqueness of the designs of the various sports. Maybe that’s why I stopped collecting football cards after the 1990 season. Or my money was going elsewhere…and something had to go.

 

Thanks for reading! Happy collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: Football cards…again. I bought new 2022 football product to rip for the first time in 32 years!

Upon my "Triumphant" Return....I give you...The Box O' Buccos!

 

Hey.

            Hi.

            It’s been a bit, hasn’t it?

            Sorry, I had to galivanting across the ocean, in my attempt to have an adventure like the ones I had before The Plague struck in 2019. I went to London, Stratford-Upon Avon to visit one bard, and then to Liverpool to visit a few other bards of the musical variety.  And it was pretty fun.

            I saw some cool stuff.

            Maybe crossed a favorite street ten or even times

    

            Like these lads did once.

               Drank in some cool pubs.

            Was here for this...so basically I had no news from the outside world until I returned to the States.

            Even brought him a souvenir or two.

            Aaaaaannnnnddd…I bought home this.

            Sigh.

            Twenty-nine months of dodging and Covid-19 bullet and my delusions of travel grandeur had to bring me right into the belly of the beast. And by belly, I mean a Virgin/Atlantic flight that sat on the tarmac for a good forty minutes before take off with no ventilation, no air conditioning and no one (save me, my wife, and a couple others I counted) wearing a mask. Such is the nature of our times. I’m still a pretty dedicated mask wearer, but no mask can withstand seven hours on a flight with bad ventilation.

            My wife went down three days after we returned.

            I went down two days after her.

            So home has been…fun? Since we returned. We’re both on the mend but Covid, if you haven’t had the “joy” of experiencing it, is quite the virus. At times it felt like I had different colds going at once. Oh, this is like having a chest cold. Oh, this is like having a stomach virus. Oh, a sinus infection, I know what that feels like. Wait, I can’t remember the conversation I just had. Sure, I’ll spend 8 hours in bed…that seems normal. Oh…now the sense of smell is gone and the coffee has tasted like burnt water for three days and every meal I’m eating has soy sauce on it because I want to taste SOMETHING.

            But I digress.

            It wasn’t all visiting Beatles homes and dead playwright’s graves while I was in England, still healthy. As I strolled around, I gave some thoughts to where I wanted to head collecting-wise this fall.  I know I missed some hoopla while I was gone…some BS with Topps Chrome that I still don’t fully understand. I shouldn’t say I gave some thoughts, so much as continued to dedicate myself to the idea of collecting all things Steel City (i.e. Pittsburgh team) related, as opposed to chasing every bit of cardboard in every release. While playing tourist in England and running from a plague that would eventually come for me, I came up with creating this.

            I give you the Box O’ Buccos.

            Needs some decoration...I know.

            The Box O’ Buccos is my attempt at getting a PC going on Pittsburgh Pirates players whom I was already in legendary awe of, or was in actual awe of when I saw them play as a kid, and some more current players, while not in awe of (hard to be in awe of 20-year-olds when you’re hitting 50), I think could have their place in team lore. It’s all about history, folks. When I was in London I was inundated with HISTORY. And history is a big reason why I collect cards.

            That said, creating a PC box for your favorite baseball team (despite their putrid record) can be a daunting task. First, why? If you’re already collecting team sets, why even have a box for player cards…wouldn’t you want ALL of the players to be included. I know. I know. But I did start with some of the more obvious Pittsburgh Pirates. No self-respecting Box O’ Buccos should be without Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Bill Mazeroski, and Honus Wagner (trust me, there’s no T-206 in that box). Of course, I had to add the Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke’s of the world. A little bit of The Cobra, Some Johnny Ray. Some Otter.

            Some…but here’s where it gets tricky.

            Those players I mentioned first. Clemente. Stargell. Now those guys were Buccos for life. It was a different time, sure; and I’m not fooling myself thinking that if Roberto Clemente played during the same era as Barry Bonds or Bobby Bonilla, that he wouldn’t have ultimately ended up in a Yankees uniform. Same with Stargell. But with all of that considered, Clemente and Stargell cards are a parade of Black and Gold. The same cannot be said for most of the other players I want in this Box O’ Bucs.

            I love Dave Parker.

            But here’s the reality of Dave Parker.

            Of Barry Bonds.

            Of Bobby Bonilla.

            My Andy Van Slyke rookie cards are not of him decked out in Pittsburgh Pirates gear.

            Even some of the smaller Buccos I want to include got their start somewhere else.

            Or ended somewhere else.

            Yeah, Mike Easler made the cut.

            With the Darwinian economic landscape of major league baseball, its an inevitability that small market teams (unless you’re the Reds with Joey Votto) are not going to keep a player on their roster for the bulk/all of their career. I’ve accepted that fact. I don’t like it. But I’ve accepted it. So, the question becomes: what to do with players like that that I want to included in the Box O’ Buccos. Do I just keep their Pirates cards in the box? Keep it Black and Gold pure? I guess that works. But I want my Andy Van Slyke rookie cards with the rest of his cards. Same with my Bonds and Bonillas.

            Should I true Box O’ Buccos be only the players who played their career with the Pirates. Well, we’ve already discussed the complexities of that. How about a time limit? You appear on five or more cards as a Pirate, and if I deem you worthy, you make the cut. That would certainly cover the Bonds/Bonilla/Van Slyke issue. But then is it just their Pirates cards, or are we doing this career retrospective thing again.

            Sigh.

            Ultimately, I decided that if I want you in the Box O’ Buccos, I take you warts and all…or on a card with a different team and all.

            Hey, it’s history, right.

            Speaking of history, the first Black player in Pittsburgh Pirates history, Curt Roberts, he made the cut.

            Or does Carlos Bernier (who also made the cut) have something to say about that.

            You can read about that controversy HERE and in many other places.

            I have my own controversy brewing: To Jason Thompson or not to Jason Thompson, that is the question!

            (We're probably gonna Jason Thompson)

            All in all, the box is shaping up, despite feeling like death while assembling it.

            I actually envision a five-row massive Box O’ Buccos at some point in the future. Probably when I buy all of those Jason Thompson baseball cards. And I do plan on decorating the thing…maybe see if some of the old Fleer stickers still have what it takes.

What is great about it, is that the Box O’ Buccos feels like a fun project to be taking on in collecting right now. And I need fun in The Hobby. I think this year, more than the others so far, I’ve begun to question why I came back. I know if I go back and read what I’ve written, a return to collecting was meant to quell some anxiety. And collecting still does…when I don’t get anxious over the money I spend. But a lot of the players going into the Box O’ Buccos; they’re so-called common cards. So it’s also a cheap and fun way to build and comb through my own history with the Pittsburgh Pirates by putting together a giant box full of players who were special to me as a fan.

Isn’t that what this should be all about?

And bring on the Steve Nicosia cards while we're at it!

Thanks for reading! Happy collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: I am TRULY, for real this time, ranking 1980s Topps football cards.

Hiatus Time

 

Hello All

    For those of you who came here expecting to me see obnoxiously ranking 1980s Topps football card, I

do apologize. I've been planning a trip I'm very excited for and time got away from me this week. The 

rankings will come soon, as with other posts. But Junk Wax Jay will be on hiatus until Friday, September 

23rd.  Take care folks and I hope to come back with some more card stuff to share and discuss.

--JG