For the upcoming Father’s day promotion, Panini has announced that there will be special cards that contain relics from last year’s NBA finals. When I first saw the cards, I really wasn’t expecting much, as I am not at all a supporter of what the Panini design team has been all about. To my surprise, the cards turned out great, much like the Super Bowl cards from last year’s Black Friday promotion. Topps has also used Super Bowl relics and World Series relics in cards before, and I must say, I love it. It’s a perfect idea for the card manufacturers to use the biggest game(s) of the year in their production, and use them frequently.

Here are some awesome recent examples:

Topps Five Star Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl Pylon Logo

Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl Pylon Logo Auto /2

Clay Matthews Super Bowl Pylon Logo
Topps Allen Craig World Series Bat Relic Auto

Topps Albert Pujols World Series Champions Jersey Relic

Bottom line, non-rookie relic cards have become uninteresting by every stretch of the imagination. Even three color patches from any sports’ biggest names rarely break into the territory they used to, and that says something about the state of jersey cards in the hobby. Adding in relics from the championships of the respective sports helps to fix a good portion of that apathy towards relic cards. Don’t get me wrong, the games present a limited supply of things to cut up for the sake of making cards, but money is the answer. I would much rather a card company spend more money on Super Bowl and World Series relics than another game used jersey of Braylon Edwards or Tim Wakefield.

The one drawback to the way these cards have been used, is the availability in normal products. Topps has added championship relics to Five Star football and Topps Baseball, so not many complaints there, but Panini is the complete opposite. These relics are being funneled through promotional tactics, instead of being used in products to boost values. Although I absolutely LOVE the Black Friday and Father’s day promotions, don’t get me wrong, why not use the relics in products like National Treasures or even crappy releases in the beginning of the year like Prestige? That makes no sense to me.

Again, I am commenting on these types of swatches like they are available in the same fashion as game used jerseys and other stuff, so I understand the limitations of a widespread relic program. However, one subset in one product can be amazing – as Topps proved in Five Star Football this past year. We need a Super Bowl or World Series commemorative insert in a 18 pack box product, with a very low numbered amount having these relic pieces.

Rejuvenation of product content has become a focus of mine, as I think we are losing traction. Low end set builders want more sets, and high end chasers like me want more unique ways to add a piece to our personal collection. Both genres of collectors require that this be done through packed out content that caters specifically to them. In Baseball, its more difficult because of the makeup of the population. In Basketball and Football, I think it’s a high end rookie group. Everyone can appreciate stuff from the biggest games of the year, and I hope it can help to bridge a portion of the gap.