2011 SAGE Brings The Crazy In A MAJOR Way

Today, I found out exactly how important the CLC license can be, something that I assume Upper Deck understood when buying the exclusive rights. For the first few sets of the year, the CLC license can mean the difference between cards that look normal and cards that look like a complete freak show.

Since I started collecting, I have never chased College cards from unlicensed companies like Press Pass or Sage for the sole reason that their value was always a short term situation. Besides the fact that almost all of the Press Pass autographs were signed on card, and usually featured some interesting design work, I never bought in because I was always willing to wait for the licensed cards to be released, even with College uniforms. Press Pass and SAGE values tanked immediately with the release of the first Upper Deck, Topps or DLP set, and it was always because both companies were seen as inferior to the big three. Even after Upper Deck lost licensing, they are still very much above where Press Pass and SAGE ever were, if not only because their brand recognition was far above anything the two had accomplished previously.

When UD secured the exclusive rights to all NCAA logos and jerseys, it forced the former NCAA card companies even further into unlicensed oblivion, and today, we found out a little bit what that oblivion looks like.

Feast your eyes on the most ridiculous sports based trading cards in the history of modern cards. Yes, this makes Panini Initial Steps look like Upper Deck Exquisite, and it makes Topps Lettermen look like 2008 SP Authentic. They are from SAGE’s initial release of the year, and its safe to say that whomever created these needs to be canned faster than the guy who writes the diecut windows for Topps Triple Threads.

I honestly dont know what to say. Maybe EA can create the NFL version of NBA Jam with this crap.

h/t First and Goal

19 thoughts on “2011 SAGE Brings The Crazy In A MAJOR Way”

Oh, I see. Kyle Rudolph is it? Got your own trading card do you? Well, I was ‘Big Time Hands’ before there was ‘Big Time Hands’. All I got was ‘The Nothing’. Literally. -Rock Biter, The Neverending Story

http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/Untitled.jpg

Oh, I see. Kyle Rudolph is it? Got your own trading card do you? Well, I was ‘Big Hands’ before there was ‘Big Time Hands’.

-Signed the subject of Blister in the Sun

Oh, I see. Kyle Rudolph is it? Got your own trading card do you? Well, I was ‘Big Time Hands’ before there was ‘Big Time Hands’. -Ben Roethlisberger

Oh, I see. Kyle Rudolph is it? Got your own trading card do you? Well, I was ‘Big Time Glands’ before there was ‘Big Time Hands’. -Picture on Brett Favre’s Phone

Oh, I see. Shane Vereen is it? Got your own trading card do you? Well, I was ‘Big Time Elusiveness’ before there was ‘Elusiveness’. Consider me unimpressed. -Cute Girl at NC State

I think the worst part about this is that it is just an “amped” up version of Topps Kids from the almost 10 years ago…..not only is it horrible but it is a horrible rip-off of a crappy design…..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rafael-Palmeiro-130-Topps-Kids-Baseball-Card-91-92-/140138539306?pt=US_Basketball&hash=item20a0e8692a#ht_753wt_907

These aren’t the base cards.

Honestly, these athletes look like ten year old kids. Does backyard football for the pc come to mind? It does to me. the Even panini’s horrid 2010 national treasues can outdo these cards. That is pretty sad. The designer(s) of these cards must have been high on drugs to think these cards look good.

I look at these cards and I feel like:

A. Taking a major Anti-depressant pill
B. Gouging my eye balls out of their sockets
C. Lying on the floor in a fetal position while yelling, “the colors…..MAKE IT STOP”
D. Laughing so hard that I wet myself.
E. Take the designer of these cards and punch him so hard in the nuts in order to stop crap like this from ever happening again.
F. Burn the place down where this crap was made so it’s never seen again!

Even the Amish are laughing at these cards for pete’s sake! EPIC FAIL!!!

Oh…..my……God……I’ll go with A, B, C, D, E, F and fill in the blank G!

Again….these are not the base cards people…this is just an insert set.
and…I know I will get kicked in the junk for this…..I kinda like the set!

LOL!! Interesting stuff!!

Jake Locker – “Big Time Intangibles”. On the reverse of that card, based on that photo, I’m going to say that one of them is ‘The ability to scramble around looking scared shitless’.

The Bowers card looks like a movie poster for the Predator!
I always hated Sage before, but now it’s even worse. They always looked cheap and the sticker auto often fade over time.
Press Pass was decent, I liked getting the on-card autos and pictures of my Hawkeyes in their college uniforms. I am not very encouraged for Press Pass now after seeing these pics.
Sage could give you an auto a pack for $5 a pack and I would still have to pass.
I don’t expect much for the pre-draft products, but I think I will direct my money toward the new Leaf Metal product. They are not able to use the names and logos either, but the pics don’t look as bad.