Super Bowl Prediction: 1988 Topps vs. 1991 Upper Deck

Yeah! Super Bowl Sunday! Beer! Food! 47 hours of pregame shows! Commercials! Inveterate gambling! Who has time for a game? Not me, I need to start the chili and get the TiVo ready in case Tom Petty has a 'wardrobe malfunction'. I don't want to be worried about some meaningless game people will forget all about next week. In this weeks convoluted excuse to rip copious amounts of wax, I'm going all Nostradamus on ya and divining the final score of the game using cards. Not Tarot cards, football cards. The Patriots will be represented by the Evil Empire, Upper Deck while the Wild Card Giants get old Topps packs. I'll crack open one pack per team per quarter and work out the scores through the stars and inserts pulled. It's real scientific so if you want to bet your house on it or something go ahead, it's a lock. First Quarter: 1988 Topps vs. 1991 Upper Deck.

1988 Topps
259 Dallas Cowboys
119 Albert Bentley
364 Paul Palmer
374 Garry James
15 Steve Cox
284 Harry Carson - Giants
363 Christian Okoye RC
307 Mickey Schuler
1000 yard club 27 Marcus Allen
192 Lorenzo Hampton
10 Kelvin Bryant
299 Nolan Cromwell
209 Kellen Winslow
2 Vencie Glenn Record Breaker
389 Major Everett
52 Charles Haley

A card featuring Herschel Walker right off the bat, not bad. There is one Giant in the pack, Harry Carson. He's a Hall of Famer to boot and worth a touchdown for the Giants.The Christian Okoye rookie is pretty sweet as is the Marcus Allen 1000 yard club insert. Kellen Winslow and Charles Haley ain't shabby either. I can't quite give the Giants another TD for them though, but this pack is worth a touchdown and a field goal.


1991 Upper Deck
299 Curtis Duncan
429 Steve Wisniewski
370 Pat Leahy
234 Renaldo Turnbull
185 Stephen Baker
14 Rob Carpenter Star Rookie
292 Willie Gault
426 Jack Del Rio
399 Mark Murphy
243 Felix Wright
125 Dexter Carter
39 John Gesek
GB1 Barry Sanders Game Breaker

No Patriots in the pack, which quite frankly isn't very good other than the Barry insert. Jack Del Rio is the big name in the pack, ugh. Not a great rookie card either. The photography is heads and shoulders above Topps though. The colors are bright and and the action shots on the front and back of the cards are actually interesting. There's no comparison to the mug shots on the Topps cards, the only ones that come close are the Allen insert and Herschel evading a runner.My favorite pic is actually a mugshot. Mark Murphy looks like a mutant contemplating the best way to eat your brains. Dexter Carter's levitation trick on the back of his card is a close second. I can't award any points for the base cards in this pack, but The Hologram insert of Barry Sanders is an automatic touchdown.

First Quarter: Giants 10, Patriots 7