Over the last few years, its rare that I bought into base Topps over a product like Topps Chrome. I am not a set collector, and I do not collect Topps products because of the brand, and most of the time the Rookie Premiere autos are the only draw. This year is different. This year, Topps is adding more content to their flagship product that is proving to make buying a case of jumbos worth my (and everyone’s) while.
First, they are going to be offering the sister program to the Million Card Giveaway for their vintage football products. This has the potential to be cool, but vintage football just doesnt have the appeal as vintage baseball. Im not saying there arent cards that are awesome (Topps Montana or Rice RCs), but its not going to generate as much buzz as baseball. Is it cool? Yes. Is it the difference maker? No. They are inserted at 1:6 Packs, and function exactly like the MCG.
Second, for the first time, the rookie premieres are serially numbered, as has been covered numerous times here on SCU. It should help us all avoid complete traveshamockeries like these
, and it will finally solidify the print runs in case there are questions about how many there actually are. I sincerely hope Topps has this down to a fucking science, because I hate having to question every goddamn RPA from past years.
Third, for the first time, as well, they are including sketch cards in the product. Sketch cards have become extremely popular, and I see exactly why after seeing some recent examples out of baseball. This is a great addition and should be ridiculously cool to chase.
Also, they are finally changing the autograph program in their boxes, this time offering the red zone autos instead of the lame and terrible performance highlights autos that have plagued the product for the last few years. Hopefully they are on card, but probably will be stickers. Either way, they still look to be a million times better than any of the others from past years. They are also doing the Ring of Honor Drew Brees autos, and also an auto set that features top draft picks from previous years. Im sure there will be more content in terms of autographs, and so far things are looking much, much better.
Lastly, they are bringing back the Variations that were so popular last year, and I think that the variations are what make some of the rookies in this product worth chasing. I immediately went after the Peterson variation in both this set and Chrome last year, both of which I think were great ideas.
If Flagship Topps is looking to be this good, I can only imagine what is in store for Chrome.