REVIEW:2016 Topps Soccer And Autograph Giveaway!!

For the first time in my hobby career, I take a dive into a full hobby box of soccer cards. Now, it's not like I haven't ever opened soccer cards as I have opened plenty of packs before, but never a full box.

Let's see how things went.

 In every box of 2016 Topps soccer you should find the following,

• 24 Packs Per Box, 8 Cards Per Pack
• Insert per pack
• Two Autograph Cards per Box
• One Jumbo Relic Card per Box
• Boxes just under $75

Usually, I am not a huge fan of base cards designs like this with the player name in the middle of the card. But, with it being Soccer and the excitement that it brings fans and the announcers, I can feel the game with it being done this way. It's bright and bold.

 

I am a big fan of the open photography and team logo slant at the bottom of the base.

There are 200 cards in base set featuring veterans, rookies, team cards and “24 Under 24” up-and-coming players.

 

Topps also has a few subsets in the base set. These are the rookies

 

Here are the 24 under 24. This one is ranked #1

 

Team cards are here.

 

It also wouldn't be a Topps product without some form of base card sp's especially photo variations. These ones were easy to spot in packs as they were face down as you went through each card. They also fall roughly 3 per box or 1:8 packs. I think it's a nice addition and not really overdone.

 

Up to this point, I am pretty happy with what I see til I realized this whole time I was skipping over the parallels. I found these to be unnoticeable and really hard to distinct in the packs as the only thing separating them from the base was a shade of color in the background. Some of the backgrounds I really found myself looking because the photo angle had some purple or blue in the back adding on an extra challenge. In the end with comparing base and supposed parallels I got it figured out. I think either an added foil or changing the border on the bottom would have helped make these be a bit more distinct.

Here are the parallels you can find:

Blue: sequentially numbered
Orange: numbered to 25 (I pulled a rookie one below)
Red: numbered to 5  (only in retail so it adds a fun chase there)
Black: numbered 1/1
Printing Plates: numbered 1/1

 

Now onto the inserts. Last years product included the All-Stars in the base set as Sp's. I liked that more but these still work. My favorite design of the group was Presence Of The Pitch. Really like the stadium excitement in the background.

Just like the base cards, the inserts as well have parallels.

Here ya go:
Orange: sequentially numbered
Red: numbered to 5
Black: numbered 1/1
Printing Plates: numbered 1/1

 

I didn't find any in this box break.

Now onto the hits!

There were two autographs per box and I got just that. Both were base card ones and one was a parallel. Yes, the autographs have parallels too.

 

Green: sequentially numbered
Orange: sequentially numbered
Red: numbered to 5
Black: numbered 1/1

 

This is a green numbered parallel.

 

You can also find Admired Alumni Autographs and Focal Point Autographs and parallels.

 

Every box also has one memorabilia card. Great pull here of Clint Dempsey and it's also a patch (some dirt on it) and it's orange parallel #d to 25. 

 

Parallels for these memorabilia cards include:
Orange: sequentially numbered
Red: numbered to 5
Black: numbered 1/1
Printing Plates: numbered 1/1

 

Other memorabilia cards you can 
Team Colors: Designed to showcase a prime patch piece of the MLS Shield. HOBBY ONLY.
Sketch Patches: Artist-drawn player sketches that feature a multi-color jersey piece. Numbered 1/1.

Overall, there could be some value to find in here with the price point, three hits per box the Sp's and multiple parallel levels. If you are a fan of soccer, this is a good place to start collecting.

 

Now onto the contest.

You are entering to win THIS CARD:

 

IF WE CAN GET 25 ENTRIES ON THIS, A SECOND PLACE WINNER WILL TAKE HOME SOME PARALLELS/INSERTS

 

Now onto the small print.

1. Please make sure to take a minute out to thank Topps for providing this box for me to review and to host this/these nice giveaways with. Follow them on all social media sites and visit their site, HERE, as well.
2. ***VERY IMPORTANT***MUST BE A U.S. RESIDENT to enter or have a shipping address in the U.S. Shipping costs have gone haywire and I can't afford to ship everywhere.This is always hard to do as I appreciate all readers but I hope you all understand non-U.S. readers.
3. Random winner will be chosen after 7 randoms
4. Card may be shipped PWE. I like to forewarn on this.
5. LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW telling me your thoughts on this product
6. EARN AN EXTRA ENTRY FOR SHARING THIS CONTEST ON YOUR BLOG AND/OR ON TWITTER. Make sure to leave your link in comments too so I can count it. If not, I won't be able to give you the credit. Commenting with it is very important!!
7. Sport Card Collectors or it's owner (person who runs the blog), WILL NOT be held responsible for lost, stolen or damaged mail. Sorry had to add this in since someone tried to scam me once about this.
8. Contest starts today, ends on Saturday, MAY 7TH 2016. Winner will be announced in a separate post on Sunday MAY 8th. 
9. Don't forget to thank the above sponsor of this contest and I won't mind a thank you as well :)

Good luck to all that enter and thanks for reading!

Mail Day Saturday:The Project Pedro MEGA TRADE

Remember that Project Pedro Blog massive trade I whispered about a few weeks ago, well, the trade was finalized and I received my goodies earlier this week.

Inside of this box was by far the biggest trade I ever pulled off and possibly one of the best mail days I have ever received in a trade. I will not reveal it all today. In fact, the next 10-12 blog posts will break down the Top 12 card(s) in this trade. Today's you can call the pie crust, the good stuff, but not the cherry yet. That's what number one is for. So sit back and enjoy.....

Up first, some Star Wars cards were tossed in for the PC including these three inserts.

Up next, he picked me up this 10 card set at an LCS. With all of the Griffey's featured in today's post alone, I have surpassed the 800 different Griffey plateau. A milestone that has taken longer than expected but I will have an exact number when all of these posts are up. Yes, I am leaving you thinking more Griffeys are on the way.

Some much needed base fillers. I never realize how many more I need. The Bowmans Best at the bottom is an insert with Johnny Damon.

Die Cut, shiny and a Legend. All around sweet.

Powerdeck needs. Where did creativity go in today's collecting??

There is just something spectacular about this card. I can't explain it but I really dig it.

And finally, this card is pretty slick. 1996 Leaf Steel that is printed on a metal surface. Maybe Steel? Hahaha.

 

Yes, I know. If this is just the beginning and these are this awesome? What's to come you may ask...well...just wait and see. Tomorrow kicks it off!

While I am at it, for an extra plug-in, I extremely suggest you add the guy to your blog read list. Great guy, awesome and trusted trader (you can't trade for Griffey however we have a deal where I get first dibs haha) and if that's not enough, does occasional giveaways including "Cheap Wax Wednesday" boxes. Check him out, HERE.

OH, and if you want to see what I mailed him before my gallery begins, he posted about it HERE.

Nuttin But The Hits:2016 Contenders Football Hobby Box

My first 2016 football card bust is usually SA-GE Hit, but this year I broke that streak and tried a box of 2016 Contenders Draft.Cause, well, it's Contenders.

Let's see how my first football break of the year went.

Box Breakdown:

• 4 RUSH WEEK
• 4 CLASS REUNION
• 4 COLLEGIATE CONNECTIONS
• 4 PASSING GRADES
• 48 GAME DAY TICKETS
• 24 SCHOOL COLORS
• 24 OLD SCHOOL COLORS
• 5 Autographs
• $130 Per Box

My first pull, a sweet Cracked Ice of Carlos Hyde. These are numbered to 23.

 

Now onto the autograph onslaught. I don't believe I did that great,but with any rookie card, you just never know. Who knew Tom Brady was going to be great? It all depends on the player, team and position the player is put in.

Jarran Reed. I never get very excited when I pull defensive players....

 

DJ Foster

 

Kelvin Taylor

 

Tre Madden

 

And finally, Alex Collins which is a College Bowl Ticket parallel. These are numbered to 99.

 

 

Overall, a bit disappointing for now. But, you just never know when these guys can step up and make plays. 

What is your usual first NFL product to open around draft time? How did your team do in the first round? Thoughts on Contenders Draft also welcomed!

Are You In? CONTEST REMINDER!!!

I currently have a contest going on for a really nice Zack Wheeler auto-patch card numbered 1/25 and if you haven't  entered yet, you will be missing out.

So far there are roughly 40 entries, yes, 40. There are bonus entries to earn as well for Twitter RT's and especially Blog plug-ins.

You can enter to win this card,

HERE

And here is what the card looks like you will be missing out on if you don't enter.....

Good luck to those that do!

2016 NFL Draft Card:Carson Wentz

Congrats to Carson Wentz on being drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.

2016 NFL Draft Card:Jared Goff

Congrats to Jared Goff on being drafted by the St. Louis Rams!

2016 NFL Draft Card:Ezekiel Elliott

Congrats to Ezekiel Elliott on being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. What a match up that will be for teams. Could be an early consideration for ROY just for placement.

Was kinda hoping he would drop to the Giants :P

Reminiscing 90's SPECIAL EDITION:1988 Kenner Real Ghostbusters Peter Venkman Screaming Heroes Figure

Alright, I have some explaining to do. Yes, this segment is called, Reminiscing 90's. Yes, this is a toy from 1988. Yes, I do know the difference between 90's and 80's. However, I am making a case for this toy and keeping the segment still 90's because I watched the show mostly in the 90s and it ran from 1986-1991. So in order to make sure I do this right, I am keeping the toys as their real years, but I am coming up with random year of either 1990 or 1991 for the posts. That way it's as close to realistic as I can get and keeping tradition going with the posts.

I think my timing on this upcoming Ghostbusters mania is good due to the new movie releasing this year. I still don't know how I feel about that movie yet as I am one for originals, but we will see.

Thanks for reading and enjoy!

Key notes for April 28th 1991:
April 28th 1991 was a Sunday
George H.W.Bush was President
Most Popular Movie released in April of 1991 was Toy Soldiers
Most Popular Book around this time was The Seeress Of Kell by David Eddings
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single on April 28th 1991 was Baby Baby by Amy Grant.
Most Popular TV Shows: The Astronomers and Sleepers

FEATURED TOY:

Peter Venkman was known as the leader of the Ghostbusters by some, I still think Egon was as I put in my previous post, but he was known for his quick wit and cynical demeanor. Not to mention his liking of the ladies. In the movies he was portrayed by the great Bill Murray and on the Real Ghostbusters cartoon he was voiced by Lorenzo Music and then by Dave Coulier.

I got this toy as part of a lot I purchased on eBay. This one is missing a few pieces, but still a cool piece and in pretty good condition.

 

FEATURED CARDS:
So when I had to come up with a theme for this one, I thought some cards that may display some of Venkman's qualities may help.

 

Bo looks like he may had spotted a lady friend...

 

Tom Glavine looks like he will have a few witty words to say after this slide.

 

John is seems to be holding a low opinion of his defender as he is driving right by them carrying the basketball like a football.

 

Drew appears to be very pessimistic about making his jump or having fun trying to do so. Look at his fake smile...

 

What other cards would you have included on here? You can link some in comments if you would like. Which players do you think had the personality traits of Peter Venkman in the 90's? Can't wait to hear that.

Thoughts on that and today's toy are always welcomed!

Cramer Vs Me

My never ending sorting project, I posted about this project last year, has me sorting my entire collection by teams and key players now after years of sorting by brand, number and year. Sometimes when you go back through everything you find some cool pieces you had forgotten about. One of the many cool things I found were these 1980-1983 Pacific Cramer baseball cards.

This product was issued over a period of four years by Cramer Sports Promotions, who was the forerunner of Pacific back when they existed. From 1980-1983 you could buy packs of these and try to put sets together. Every year had a section of the set to put together, cards 1-30 were issued in 1980; #'s 31-60 in 1981; #'s 61-90 in 1982; #'s 90-124 in 1983 and finally cards #121-124 were issued on the 1983 wax box. The set consisted of mainly big namers and Hall of Famers.

As for design, the cards have a sepia-toned photo on front with a black frame. Some had a brighter tone then others, almost a  yellow look to them. Overall they had a very old appeal front and back.

Here is the handful of them I found in the boxes. I also later on found some in a binder that went in a trade with Project Pedro Blog.

Some of the key players I found in the stack

Maris in an Athletics Uni.....


The real Home Run King!


 

Can't go wrong finding these kind of names in a box. They are worth much in terms of value, but they are something I plan on holding onto just because. I like the oddball kinda finds and you will see that when I roll out other things I found in my sorting project that is never-ending.

How many of you collected these? Anyone put a set together?

@skunkman1998 Bombards Me Part 2

Yesterday I posted Part 1 of my mail day from @skunkman1998, today is the second half of it.

Part 2 starts with unopened older packs. Good mixture of football and baseball.

These are sweet!!!!! I really enjoyed Upper Deck throwing it back to '97 on these inserts. They have the same design and feel, but the player head doesn't have the hologram component. I still like it anyways.

Broadway looks pretty good in Prizm.

Some Knicks. They look better on cardboard then they do the court. Zinger! The Anthony Prizm Red/White/Blue parallel is nice.

No Yankin your chain here, a great mixture of Yankees inserts from a variety of players.

Mantle! All three are new to that small PC. All of my Mickey's are modern day. Some day would love to add some vintage there.

A couple of shiny inserts.

DJ! Haven't added to my Jeter PC in a very long time. Really like Bowman Platinum.

A couple new Griffey Jr's here. They will be featured in upcoming Collectin Griffey segments.

And to end it, Some incredible looking Walt.

 

A big thanks goes out to Tim for this amazing mail day. He covered all PC areas in one small box. I look forward to our next round of mailings. 

Anyone got thoughts on today's mail day offerings?