Category Archives: First Look

First Look: 2009 Upper Deck SP Threads

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Last year, SP Rookie Threads was VASTLY improved over 2007. This time, im not so sure, even though they dropped “rookie” from the title. UD posted a few images via facebook, and some parts of the set look great, but others look like a downgrade. Personally, I liked the theme of the product last year, with every card looking like it was stitched together like a jersey, but it seems like that idea was only somewhat carried over to 2009.

At least the letters look much improved over last year, as they are always a point of contention for me. We all know that without letters, this product probably wouldnt make a dent in the industry, so its a good thing that they were put in again. I really like the way they look this time around, especially with all the team color elements (an underrated part of card design to me).

As for the Stafford card they showed here, I think they need to take another look, as it looks awfully uninspired. However, on the other end of the spectrum, I really like the Manning, as it should be team colored and representative of the “threads” theme.

Lastly, I am wondering whether or not we may get star letters as well as rookie letters in this product. When referencing SP Authentic last time we talked, Gregg did not mention the return of the Letter autos, could this be it for lettermen this year?





First Look: 2009 Donruss Certified Football

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Ok, big preview day today thanks to the boys over at Freedom Card Board. Either way, looks like Donini decided the only change to the LCM set from last year would be a name change. Im not kidding, the rest of the cards (minus FOTG) looks exactly the same as last year. This is such a fucking cop out from the way the previews look, that I am surprised they can even submit these mock ups without leaving them on someone’s doorstep and running away to hide. The stamps havent changed, the frosh fabrics havent changed, and the whole set looks AS ridiculous as it did last year. Fuck them. Seriously. They have to think we are fucking mental to buy into their laziness and lack of work ethic.

On the other hand, this specific Fabric of the Game card looks fucking great. AS IT SHOULD. These cards are the flagship collector set of every Donini card year, and I think there may be a mutiny if the preview for FOTG sucked as much as the rest of the preview. I do see a problem for the rest of this set fitting in for the lower parallels with single swatches, as this particular card will probably be the one /5. I hope they dont fuck the rest of it up. Im not holding my breath.

I loved 2007 LCM, I fucking detested 2008 LCM, and now 2009 looks like someone just changed the gradients on the foilboard and said they were done. Message to Donini: Hire some fucking professionals rather than letting the idiots who produced the early 2009 sets continue.

I cant fucking believe I have to make these posts. They shouldnt be necessary.

First Look: 2009 SPX Football

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Well, we finally get to see what’s up with SPX, and I am still waiting to find out the exact details of the Shadow Box Card. From this preview I have two guesses. Either it will be a regular and plexiglass card put together, or the card will be like an actual shadow box with the auto area being recessed from the top of the card with some sort of acetate or glass covering it.

The rookie auto cards dont look all that great in this preview, though I am very glad that they dont spell out “SPX” anymore. Not really sure how these will turn out, but based on this Crabtree, color me underwhelmed.
The true star of this preview is the “Rookie Materials” card, which I think looks awesome. Im just hoping they dont all contain the goofy “helmet off” pics that I hate.
Lastly, doesnt look like the triple material cards look any better than last year’s, with the odd balance of the swatch windows. I wish they would all be on the same side, or balanced a little better.
This product has some potential, but I will have to see final products of the shadow boxes and the RC autos before I make a final judgement.

First Look: 2009 Score Inscriptions Football

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All you have to do to make a product relevant is include a rehash of an iconic set. If it has autographed parallels, it will be that much more relevant. The problem is that the product that is re-doing the iconic 1989 Score set is, well, Score. In 1989, Score was one of the main producers of football cards and the Barry Sanders from that set is still one of the most well known cards ever. Add in Troy Aikman, and the set becomes one of the most recognizable ever.

This year, Donini has apparently done away with Score Select, and replaced it with Score Inscriptions. Really, if they called it Score “1 Top Auto In Every Pack” I wouldn’t care. Score is the lowest of the low end, and I laughed heartily at the people who paid the ridiculous retail price on Score Select. This year, they decided they wanted to use graffiti as their inspiration, and made the design based on that. It looks pretty bad, and I would much rather have Punk Rock Paint do it than put up with this junk (now we are even for the MS Paint Comment). The 1989 set is good, but you and I both know that they will be numbered quite low for the auto versions, and most likely wont be that valuable regardless. Its kind of novelty item that only goes so far. Either way, do not even think of buying a box of this stuff until it hits rock bottom. It will be one of the lowest end sets of the year, and I havent touched a score product for a long time with that knowledge.

Thats all im going to say, there are the cards, dont waste your time.

Early Look: 2009 Bowman Draft Picks Football

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As I said in the post below, I got my hands on about 10 packs of Bowman Draft Picks football, and I must say that I actually like what I saw.

The base cards and inserts look pretty nice, parallels too. However, there are no chrome base cards in any of the packs, sadly, and the auto manupatches seem like they wont be as big of a draw as Beckett wants you to believe. At one per box with a redonkulously long checklist, you can bet a Sanchez pull is very tough, let alone /25. The group A auto rate 1:900+ packs, and the patches are more.

Basically, this is Topps draft picks with a Bowman name, and should be looked at as such. I do support the name change, but chrome would have been nice on some of these. Also, with Prestige out with NFL team names on the cards, these should have them too.

Here are some pictures of the cards, and the orange parallels I pulled of Stafford and Freeman.