Over the last couple of days, Panini has been pimping the newest super high end product release, Momentum, hitting shelves in the next couple of weeks. After seeing this preview, I have to question how there can be such a separation between their products in terms of design. On one hand, we have great looking products like Prestige and Elite, and on the other hand, we have products like this. Not only are the cards ridiculously hideous, but the price of the box is beyond ridiculous considering what they are offering. Considering that this product going to go head to head with an established and popular product like Topps Platinum, I am questioning the potential that this dog has in the grand scheme of this year’s card season.
My biggest gripe has to be the design of the cards, which is saying something when this costs 200 bucks a box. My biggest gripe should be the price and configuration of the product, but the cards are not easy on the eyes at all. I am almost 100% convinced that there are two design teams at Panini, one that has been responsible for the advancement we have seen in some of the products, and another that has been responsible for the continuation of last year’s visual diarrhea.
The box hit triple relic autos are awful. With the way each element is stacked on the card, its like Panini’s designers thought they should play card design tetris. C’MON LONG STRAIGHT PIECE! Am I right? The players are cut off at the waste, tiny little picture trapped at the top, and single color relics that are separated into three pieces to make collectors think they are getting more than they really are. The use of the foil from Totally Certified last year is totally uncalled for, as a flat gloss would have made piss poor into just poor.
Moving on, the rest of this junk is utterly forgettable, as there is no special content that piques my interest. Everything is something we have seen before, which would be much more easy to accept if it wasnt so ugly. A few cards show signs of the A level design team, but many of them are plagued by boxy and busy looks.
I thought of a very simple way of looking at this. Back in 2007 and 2008, Upper Deck released a Super High end product called Premier. Like this product, it was hampered by stickers and poor design
, and yet Panini still thought it was a good idea to base the product around. Its like Premier and Totally Certified got drunk
, went slumming, hooked up, and this is the baby. Funny enough, both were awful products, so its confusing to say the least.
Lastly, the base cards might be the worst looking I have seen in decades. I cant even put into words how terrible they are, and that’s why I am going to end this paragraph here. Yuck.
So far, based on the reaction I have read everywhere other than Panini’s blog is that collectors feel the same way I do. That isnt a good way to start the promotion of a product that costs as much as this does. I would rather take my chances on 2 boxes of Finest, than one of these. Its looking that bad to break.
Here are the pictures:
LMAO the rookie team threads card is almost the exact same design/layout as the 2007 topps premier quad GU auto. piss poor….
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2007-UD-PREMIER-FOOTBALL-DWAYNE-BOWE-QUAD-JERSEY-ROOKIE-AUTO-175-/290718866874?pt=US_Football&hash=item43b031ddba
This stuff looks absolutely terrible… Quite possibly twice as bad as the second year of Premier (the worse of the two). It’s a shame too because you’d think with U.D. out of the picture they’d at least try to give Topps a fight (even though as things are right now they’d never win) but NO!!! They just keep making junk like this…
As Dennis Reynolds would say, “God awful. Take a lap.”
I personally don’t think they look all that bad. Sure the commons are horrible. But the inserts look just like everything else being released anymore. It’s not an improvement on them, nor is it worth $200. I think if it were selling for about $80-$90 a box, I wouldn’t be terribly upset with breaking a few.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2012-Topps-Quad-Auto-LUCK-GRIFFIN-III-BLACKMON-RICHARDSON-4-10-/290770174340?pt=US_Autographed_Trading_Cards&hash=item43b340c184Topps-/110946374593?pt=US_Football&hash=item19d4eb53c1
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tim-Tebow-Von-Miller-Moreno-2011-Triple-Threads-TRIPLE-AUTO-JERSEY-27-Topps-/110946374593?pt=US_Football&hash=item19d4eb53c1
Besides the fact that the Topps is on card, there isn’t much difference in these 2 cards. And the triple threads is pretty much the same card in my opinion, except that I like the Panini a little bit more.
Like I said, I don’t think it’s worth $200. But is it all really that bad and that different that it requires a whole article bashing every aspect of it? To me it looks like 75% of the products released every year
What’s the point of putting 4 pieces of jersey of the same color onto a card anymore? Hasn’t the overwhelming demand for 90’s inserts taught card companies that people want great great designs and photos not crap memorabilia. The fact that it looks so banal is ridiculous when you consider what you can buy with $200 these days.
Uncensored… My guess is that Panini won’t be sending you product to preview any time soon. That said, your perspective is refreshing as virtually every reviewer takes pains goes to great lengths to avoid offending Topps, Upper Deck, & Panini.
With regard to Momentum, this is just one of 18 Football products Panini has slated for release in 2012. While it’s unfair to call the whole product a dog, in my opinion, I also dislike the RCs. The design is curious; why the 3 windows if it’s a single color swatch? The large patches are sweet, and I like the fact that Panini is working to boost the value and regard for un-auto’d jersey cards. They did the same thing with a Hoops release couple months back.
Will collectors support this latest $200-220 10-pack box? As a collector who typically purchases at least 1 box of every product, aside from absurdly priced Nat’l Treasures, Exquisite, and similarly priced products, I would be more comfortable with this product being weighing-in at $140 or so. I do like a number of the design elements and the attempt to reinvigorate interest in Jersey cards is laudable, but price dictates success or failure. A loaded rookie class featuring the strongest crop of Quarterbacks since ’83 will ensure that Momentum moves forward…but perhaps not at the pace Panini would prefer.
I think the base cards would make for a cool insert set in another product. I say another product, because I don’t know that Momentum even has a reason to exist. In an election year where the topic of abortion comes up a lot, I think we can ALL agree that Panini needs to abort some of their product lines. But, back to the base cards…they are new and unique and could be a fun collectable set.
Call the set “Game Faces” or “Sideline Sketches” and give it more of a hand sketched look.