December 2018 – Dub Mentality

Retro Review – Remembering an Icon

December 13, 2018

Today is such a special day. The federal government doesn’t recognize it as a holiday at this time but a well worded petition on change.org has been considered by your humble blogger on more than one occasion. In fact, the last couple of times this anniversary has rolled around, I have come closer to pulling the trigger. I can promise you it wouldn’t be the strangest thing proposed. Have you ever actually browsed change.org? Are we really going to “Get the White house to construct a Death Star”? Or are we going to get enough people together to “Shut Down Rotten Tomatoes”? Oh I know, let’s “Abolish the usage of the word Ma’am”!

Back to the matter at hand, so much changed 27 years ago today that I think the United States, if not the World, should pause and give December 13 the recognition it no doubt deserves. I think it will be an uphill battle being jam packed right between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but even if it didn’t result in a day off, I think it needs to be printed on the calendar. I mean, if Groundhog Day and National Bosses Day are a thing, this would surely qualify as a “calendar event”. If you were alive (especially between the ages of 10-16) on that fateful day, I can pretty much guarantee that your life was affected in some form or fashion, directly or indirectly. And we are still feeling the ripples today.

On December 13, 1991, a Japanese Video Game Company by the name of Tecmo Co, LTD released an NES Video Cartridge titled “Tecmo Super Bowl.” This was the follow up to “TecmoBowl” that was released in 1987, but had some key differences that I believe changed the way sports video games were made and enjoyed by the consumer. We will discuss some of those momentarily but I’m going to need an open mind from my readers on this one. Because I know what some of you are thinking right now; “Really? This is where that was going?Don’t you talk about TSB all the time?” The answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes. And if you don’t like reading about Tecmo, I would guess you would have stopped reading my blog a year ago.

First off, let’s just talk about the cover of the game. If you aren’t well versed in the way Tecmo released some of their games back in the day, it was pretty standard for them to put a real life photo on the box. This was an attention grabber from the get go. Most NES games in the late 80’s featured some outlandish cartoon photo that was appealing to kids but didn’t quite capture the imagination of the young teenager.

Not only was the cover a big hit back then, but I would venture to guess that it is one of the most recreated of all time! Just look at some of the examples above. These are in fact recreated because the game gets updated every year by a group at TecmoBowl.org. You can buy a copy of whatever year you want for your PC or even the NES in some cases! That’s right; in 2018, you can play the greatest video game ever created with up to date rosters and player ratings! Unfortunately, there is no Bo Jackson on the current rosters though.

Which brings me to one of the major reasons this is the greatest video game of all time; rosters. 1991 was a wonderful time to be alive and a fan of the NFL. Some of the greatest players of my generation were in their prime and right there on the 13 inch TV I had in my bedroom. A 13 inch TV sounds abysmal by today’s standards but I was actually one of the lucky few that had a color TV with cable in my bedroom at that time.

Just check out this amazing list of talent:

• Quarterbacks – Joe Montana, John Elway, Dan Marino, Boomer Esiason, Warren Moon, Phil Simms, Troy Aikman, Steve Young (as a backup), QB Eagles (Randall Cunningham), QB Bills (Jim Kelly), and QB Browns (Bernie Kosar).

• Running Backs – Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders, Neal Anderson, Thurman Thomas, Christian Okoye, Bobby Humphrey, Emmitt Smith, Marcus Allen, Roger Craig, Ottis Anderson, Herschel Walker, Ickey Woods, James Brooks, Craig Heyward, and Earnest Byner.

• Wide Receivers – Jerry Rice, Drew Hill, Andre Rison, Henry Ellard, Andre Reed, Gary Clark, Sterling Sharpe, Tim Brown, John Taylor, Mark Clayton, Art Monk, Webster Slaughter, Irving Fryar, Michael Irvin, James Lofton, Flipper Anderson, Stephen Baker, Al Toon, Ricky Proehl, Cris Carter, and Don Beebe.

• Tight Ends – Jay Novacek, Keith Jackson, Brent Jones, Steve Jordan, Rodney Holman, Mark Bavaro, and Ozzie Newsome.

• Defensive Linemen – Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Howie Long, Chris Doleman, Richard Dent, Neil Smith, Charles Mann, William Perry, Clyde Simmons, and Michael Carter,

• Linebackers – Lawrence Taylor, Derrick Thomas, Mike Singletary, Dennis Byrd, Greg Lloyd, Jerome Brown, Kevin Greene, Cornelius Bennett, Charles Haley, Jessie Tuggle, Seth Joyner, Carl Banks, Pat Swilling, Karl Mecklenburg, Sam Mills, and Ken Norton.

• Defensive Backs – Rod Woodson, Deion Sanders, Joey Browner, David Fulcher, Mark Carrier, Ronnie Lott, Darrell Green, Erik McMillan, Eric Allen, Dennis Smith, Albert Lewis, Frank Minnifield, Fred Marion, Scott Case, and Steve Atwater.

There are big name kickers as well but we won’t go into that. There was a “clock“ one time though that was keeping up with the players from Super Tecmo Bowl that were still in the league and the last player to retire was a kicker; Jeff Feagles. He was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1991 and he played until 2009. It even prompted a story on NBC NY titled, “The Official End of the Tecmo Super Bowl Era.” The last position player in the league from TSB was Junior Seau, RIP, who played 7 games in 2009 but did not finish out the season.

You will never convince any reasonable person that Bo Jackson wasn’t the greatest player to ever appear in 8 bits. I firmly believe it and the rest of America does too. All you have to do is surf YouTube for 5 minutes after you type in “Bo Jackson Tecmo”. Some of the runs you will see are beyond legendary. One of the greatest autograph pieces I have ever seen was the Bo Jackson signed Tecmo Bowl Photo. I would trade almost anything in my collection for that piece. Bo was a very popular athlete but I really believe that a chunk of his popularity can be attributed just to that video game. Bo’s career did not last long enough in the league because of his catastrophic hip injury but that one year on TSB encapsulated what a career of watching Bo might have been like.

Tecmo Super Bowl is simply iconic. Aside from Bo Jackson, you have the viral video clips of Christian Okoye breaking 80 tackles on a single run, recreated highlights from 2018 in the 8 bit style of TSB, the image of Lawrence Taylor straddling quarterbacks after a sack, and the unforgettable Joe Montana Touchdown sequence. There was the awesome music, the cheerleaders at halftime, the injured player screen with the daunting music, the 100 yard punts, 100 yard passes, and the 3,000 yard rushing season from QB Eagles. I could type all day about the little nuances of the game if I really had the time and if I could hold your attention. But I will digress and move on to the football card set I want to review for this piece.

I had to review a football set that would really tie in with the Tecmo Super Bowl theme and it really wasn’t difficult when I started thinking about the year. My favorite set in 1991 was Score. In fact, Score was a major hit for me in both Baseball and Football during the early 90’s because of some of the inserts we’ll cover. It is also a set that makes me think of Christmas because of how many of my gifts were centered on sports cards as a kid. Score was one of the main manufacturers that our Wal-Mart carried so I got a ton of it back in the day.

I remember the Nolan Ryan and Joe Montana triple exposure cards getting a lot of publicity. I really don’t remember too many people being excited about this Dean Biasucci double exposure.

I bought a box of Series 2 so it isn’t LOADED with all the stars but it has enough to make it worthwhile. I bought Series 2 for a specific reason, which will be revealed at the end. But this box did include 3 Super Bowl Champion Quarterbacks!

Bo and Barry were in Series 1 but I’ll take any box that produces a Herschel Walker and Rodney Hampton!

Jerry Rice headlines the wide receivers. A young Michael Irvin was coming off of a 20 catch rookie season but was about to explode!

Solid tight ends were hard to come by in the early 90’s in the sports card world but these 3 were very solid on the field.

Reggie White and Richard Dent! What more is there to say?

I was thrilled that LT was in Series 2 and Junior Seau was an added bonus!

Deion Sanders and Darrell Green were two of the fastest players in the league while Rod Woodson and Brian Jordan were two of the hardest hitters.

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Emmitt Smith in a #25 jersey. I wonder who #22 was that year in the Pro Bowl? And how about a Marcus Dupree Card? Remember him from the 30 for 30, “The Best That Never Was”?

The Hall of Fame Inserts were not as appreciated when I was a kid as they are now. Big Earl makes an appearance!

I had totally forgotten about this insert set until ripping this box. I loved these back in the day! David Fulcher may have been the best defender on TSB. I also have Joey Browner as one of the most underrated NFL players in history.

The sackmasters got their own insert called Sack Attack. All of these guys were studs but look at that top row!!

The artist cards were big back in ’91. These were the NFL Leaders in various categories. Some of these were obvious, like Thurman Thomas with the most all-purpose yards and Barry Sanders most rushing. But I was stumped by Steve DeBerg so I had to read the back. He lead the league in QB Rating, if you can believe that!

Dream Team was one of my absolute favorite inserts in the baseball set because they were black and white. I did like these too but not quite as much. This is one of my favorite André Rison cards though.

More Art Cards! These were the Team MVP’s and I pulled the whole set in the box I ripped. Another Rison for the PC and the addition of Bo is always welcome. These are some great cards!

Here are the highly touted rookies from the ’91 class. Russell Maryland was the #1 overall pick in the draft. Ricky Waters May have had the best career of these players but I remember each of them for various reasons. Todd Marinovich was the Todd Van Poppel of the group.

Here is the reason I bought Series 2! The Brett Favre RC is the most valuable card in the set, though not very valuable on a monetary scale. I often think about what would have happened if the Falcons had kept him. Is Favre why we are cursed? Is it like The Bambino and the Sox or the Goat and the Cubs? Is it Favre for the Falcons?

I really enjoyed revisiting 1991 Score and there were some things I had forgotten about over the years. The Favre RC is a good pull but the inserts like Team MVP, League Leaders, and Dream Team make this set what it is. The base design is very much “Early 90’s” but the inserts were so much fun back then. At $10 or less, the price is so reasonable on these boxes, you really can’t pass them up! The only knock I have about the set is one I could have with the whole era. But when you study this checklist, it seems to stick out more than normal. The sets that were broken up into Series 1 and 2 completely eliminated your chances of pulling certain stars like Bo Jackson AND Jerry Rice in the same box. I don’t understand how the Series’ were truly split up when it comes to the veterans but I like the opportunity to pull anybody in the league when I open these boxes. For that reason, I have to give 1991 Score a “4” on the Dub-O-Meter. What say you?

J-Dub

Scoring Scale

1.Let me be the sacrificial lamb so you don’t have to buy these cards. Just read the post and thank me later.

2.There is worse but there is much better – not worth the effort though.

3.Middle of the road – I wouldn’t talk you into buying these but I certainly wouldn’t talk you out of them.

4.You should probably go out and buy a box and enjoy the rip – I did! It has some downside but worth the ride.

5.Stop reading and find a box to buy and get to Breaking! What are you waiting on?

New Release Review – Memory Preservation

Time certainly does fly by. We can call that a cliché or whatever, but the older I get, the more I realize it to be the absolute truth. I still can’t believe it when I realize I am only 2 months away from being 42 years old. It isn’t because I think that I am somehow supposed to defy time and stay the same age forever. It is just hard to wrap my head around being on this earth for 15,330 days. I’ve reached the age where instead of wondering what I will be when I grow up, the question becomes whether I will live another “X” number of years to match those that I have already lived. If I were to double my life from today, I would be almost 84 years old!

That doesn’t mean I have actually figured out what I want to be when I grow up, because I don’t know that I will ever either figure that out or actually grow up. Growing up and growing old are two different things I want to do those exclusive of each other, if at all possible. That is why this blog is so important to me at this stage of my life. It forces me to stay in touch with a younger version of myself. It forces me to remember why I am where I am today and some of the ways I’ve gotten here. It also forces me to take stock in where I am going and whether or not I want to keep going in that direction.

Is it surprising to you that these seemingly random sports card reviews actually help me take a mental inventory of who I am, where I have been, and where I am going? I say with 100% confidence that I would be writing these whether you were reading them right now or not. I am super thankful that you are; but some of my most important pieces were read by 10 people while some of the most random were read by 1,000. Writing is as much to me about self-motivation, nostalgia, and future growth as it is about what I actually think about 1989 Donruss and Nolan Ryan. I learn from myself when I write; it’s just not learning about cards for me as much as it is learning about how my brain works.

When I sit down to write, it is sort of like turning on the TV in my brain and watching old home movies from growing up. I visualize what I was doing when I focus on the subject I’m writing about. I try to recreate the full experience, even though my mind has slowly started to blur what may have actually happened. I still have the strong concrete pillars and foundation of my childhood; but the paint on the shutters are peeling and the carpet is starting to fray in the high traffic areas. And this blog is the only way I can occasionally spruce things up a bit. The blog is the toolbox that I have laying around the house that I have to pull out when screws need to be tightened and pictures need to be re-hung.

So really, that is why I write these sometimes pointless pieces. It is therapeutic, invigorating, and often just the right cure for what’s ailing me. And the older I get, the more ailments I have. You may sometimes think that my giveaways and constant sharing is all about traffic counts or exposure; and sometimes that is part of it. But the traffic and exposure part is what has put me in touch with likeminded people who share the same stories and many of the same memories along our walk through life. And while there are moments in my life that I will never actually get back, I am not eager to let go of the memories either. I need those memories; regardless of how important or trivial they can sometimes be. So it is important to write about them in an effort to create a dialog with a stranger that may have experienced the same moment as me 25 years ago, some 500 miles away.

I have to try and treat these moments all with the same amount of respect. A memory I have from high school graduation might just have the same amount of importance as a toy that I got from a cereal box when I was 10. Just this past Halloween, I found a box of Boo Berry at the grocery store and right there in the store aisle, I pictured myself sitting on the old shag carpet in front of our console TV, watching Saturday morning cartoons. It was one tiny memory that, for one fleeting second, made me forget about the bills I had to pay or the cholesterol pill I had to take or the calls from work I had to return. And that is what life has become at the age of 42; balancing a day to day life of responsibilities with occasional fleeting seconds of happy-go-lucky nonchalance. Well, it’s obviously more than that, but that is life to me at its most basic; living in the now but never forgetting my past.

That is also what cards do for me at this age. They help me remember when my biggest worry was whether or not I was going to get my neighbor to trade me one of those 1990 Kevin Maas Upper Deck Rookies, and how much it was going to cost me. Sports Cards are an immediate window into the past for me; whether a junk wax set or something newly released. And for the latter, no set has done that for me in baseball this year, quite like 2018 Topps Gallery. I do love Archives and Heritage but Gallery really made an impression on me, pun possibly intended. I picked up some last weekend when I went down to visit my parents and I didn’t realize how much of an impact the set was going to have on me.

First, I have always enjoyed Topps Gallery, but I guess the mood I was in was perfect for the rip this time around. The set itself is a beautiful, artist rendered collection of cards that has a checklist infused with current and former players. Just like 2017, its first year back on the market in a decade, it is a Wal-Mart Exclusive, which carries its own set of pro’s and con’s that I’ll save for a deeper dive into the industry as a whole one day. The border design is mostly a whitish-gray with printed brush strokes around the edges. All of the images are painted by various artists and have a super professional look to them. These are really like classy miniature works of art.

Hobby boxes have 5 cards per pack and 20 packs per box. Blasters have 4 cards per pack, 7 packs per box, plus 1 additional pack with 4 Artist Proof Parallels. Finally, Fat Packs have 12 cards per pack.

Cards 1-150 are considered the base set with the usual influx of variations to be found. They include:

• Artist Proof (4 per blaster)

• Canvas (2 per fat pack)

• Private Issue /250 (1:13 hobby box)

• Green /99 (1:86 hobby, 1:108 blaster, 1:36 fat packs)

• Blue /50 (1:171 hobby, 1:213 blaster, 1:71 fat packs)

• Orange /25 (1:340 hobby, 1 :426 blaster, 1:142 fat packs)

• Printing Plates 1/1 (1:2,133 hobby, 1:2,661 blaster, 1:882 fat packs; each with Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow versions)

• Red 1/1 (1:8,826 hobby, 1:10,733 blaster, 1:3,616 fat packs)

• These numbers provided by Ryan Cracknell at www.beckettnews.com/news/2018-topps-gallery-baseball-cards/

Short prints are found in the checklist from 151-200 and they include a mix of current and legendary players. There are also autographs and inserts to cover, which we will later.

There aren’t many “horizontal” cards but this Mattingly makes me wish there were more!

This Victor Robles is a cool photo with the glasses on the hat to give it a blue tint.

This Big Mac is an Artist Proof. I know I’ve seen this picture before!

The other half of the Bash Brothers is here as well. My Uncle Speedy pulled an autographed version of this card last week!

There are current players in the set, trust me. But I can easily get lost in these veteran player cards! Such a great image here!

There was no chance I would leave Bo out! If he gets pulled, he gets featured on this blog!

I’m not sure why some of the cards feature a colorful background other than artist choice I suppose. But this Ortiz is pretty sweet!

It’s always nice to add a new Chipper to the collection as well. I’d love to have the autographed version of this one!

Here is the first of your MLB Rookies of the Year. Ohtani was the American League representative.

And here is the National League ROY, Ronald Acuña. What a season this guy had!

This Hammerin’ Hank is one of the SP’s in the set. Classic photo!

Another SP is Jackie Robinson. One day, I’ll add some originals of Jackie but for now, this will have to do.

These are the Fat Pack Exclusives.

I’m not completely sold on the Heritage Inserts but I do love this Albies.

Another insert is the Hall of Fame cards. Nice to have a Jackson in the Halos uniform.

Masterpiece is an insert set that includes Black and White Images. These are ok but not my favorite cards.

Here is a Green Parallel numbered to 99. These are nice with a little added color.

The Blue Parallels are also numbered to 99. Eddie Murray is such an underrated player by today’s collectors.

Orange is the lowest numbered parallel I pulled. This Correa is numbered to 25.

Gallery includes box toppers, which can be found in the form of “Original” pieces. No such luck with this one but still a cool piece.

This is the base autograph. It looks just like the base card but with the added autograph sticker, and is not numbered.

This Green Parallel is numbered to 99!

And finally, The Big Hit! I mean, The Big Hurt! This bad boy is numbered 4/5 and is one of the sweetest baseball pulls of the year for me. This is an unbelievable addition to my collection!

So there you have 2018 Topps Gallery. I love the set but I’m afraid future boxes are going to be hard to find. My local Wal-Marts are already out and they don’t usually restock exclusives. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and certainly keep an eye out at other Wal-Marts. These can be found online but they are marked up on the secondary market, as usual. I like the various options you have and the exclusives that are found in each offering. The designs are the best of any set for me in 2018, excluding designs they have recycled from previous years. I found good value in the boxes I opened and this is certainly a base set I can get behind. I give it a “5” on the Dub-O-Meter and will definitely be on the lookout for more!