The Origins Of A Cardboard Addict: Entering A Prism Realm

1995. What a year it was for me especially in the hobby. My collection was booming and my love of football was ever expanding. Of course I hadn't fully given up yet on my dream at that point of becoming the next Green Power Ranger either despite my pick up of sports love.

I had just earned a few bucks from oddball jobs for my grandmother and her friends and I was in the mood to shop. At that age, two $5 bills was like a million dollars burning a hole in my pocket. It needed to come out and give me something I needed.

I didn't know of a Walmart at that point in my life, but we did have our version of one just twenty minutes away in Ames. I have spoken about the place before on here and finding the goods in the card section they had, but this time I had my eyes on a new Power Rangers figure.

I needed a villain to play opposite of my heroes and I had been wanting the Lord Zedd figure for a long time. It only made sense for me once I had enough cash to snag one.

As I was in the toy section looking for the greatest villain in Power Ranger history, don't argue with me on this one as I will win,  I stumbled upon one lone pack of 1995 Prism Series 1 Football just sitting there looking at me. I knew I had my mind set on getting that Lord Zedd figure, but I had to at least pick up this pack of cards to examine right?

So I picked the pack up and noticed that it was opened from the top. It was as if someone had opened it to see the contents, didn't like it,  and slid the card back in. So I did the same. I pulled the card out and it was this Junior Seau. But, it wasn't the player that caught my eye, even though he was one of the greatest linebackers to play the game, it was the rainbow foil stargazing at me. It was beautiful. The name was just as catchy. Prism.

The design and the name made me think about what I wanted to do most as a kid, enter a new dimension through a portal and see a whole other world. Maybe be the hero or defender of that new world. I could enter that new dimension like Junior did on the card through a Prism. How amazing would that be?? I could jump into this card and be a hero in another world. Super De Duper!(yes that was my inner Barney-the purple dinosaur- coming out. I definitely don't talk about this much, but I can do Barney's voice pretty well. I was once almost hired to do a kids party because of this hidden talent)

The back of the card wasn't as eye appealing as the front. I at the time thought it was Junior escaping the Prism he had put himself in. Go into the Prism in the front, come out into a new world in the back.

The card grew on me so much, it had to go into the cart.  However the $2.99 price tag cut into my Lord Zedd budget and that would mean I would sacrifice grabbing him again. *sigh* Luckily what I didn't know was that my parents would grab me one for Christmas that year. I just wished I still had that figure like I have this Seau. I guess that's why it's on my want list (along with other 90's toys you can check out on  my tabs).

That was the only pack of Prism I ever found at Ames. That one lone pack that had called me to buy it. I never even discovered the product anywhere else local in 1995, must have been a hot one!

Since then however, I have picked up a few packs here and there to try and chase the base set that is 216 cards. With the one prism-card-per-pack, there is also a team filler card that comes in the pack, that will not be easy. I have a long ways to go still with roughly less than 20 towards the set. I also still need the gold parallel for my Rodney Hampton PC. Those fell one every few packs so hopefully I can add one soon. 

In the mean time, I will be forever chasing this base set like many others from my childhood.

Here are a few that I have towards my set chase

Emmitt Smith. One of the greatest backs to play the game. Probably the second best I have ever watched. Barry Sanders blows Emmitt away.

Michael Westbrook was one of the key rookies to chase in 1995, but he wasn't the one I was after. I much preferred Kerry Collins who was the top pick.

Now that you know my childhood dream of becoming a hero in another dimension, I bet you are wondering if I ever used the card try and go to a new universe, I can say that I didn't because I didn't want to damage the card attempting. However, a few of my Power Rangers figures may have had to go back in time through a Prism to save the world a few times. Especially from Lord Zedd.