1998 Collector's Choice Series 2

Well. 49 cents buys you something like this on a popular internet auction site. Collector's Choice was apparently the low budget Upper Deck offering during the 90s and also offered up Starquest inserts, which are hanging around in this year's products. This pack was a result of a mildly amusing eBay strategy in which I periodically search for the lowest price+shipping auctions of packs (and occasionally boxes) and see if I can come up with something cheap that I've never or rarely purchased. Note the spot where the originally price sticker was obviously removed from. I wonder if this was ever a $2 pack or something of the like.

This pack is threatening to make me "crash the game", so let's take a look and see what results.

498 - Russ Davis (Davis had a breakout season in '97 but his legacy hasn't really endured.)
369 - Damion Easley (First currently active player of the pack.)
389 - Kevin Appier

448 - Bernie Williams (My favorite Yankee since Don Mattingly)
466 - Jermaine Allensworth (My first "who?" of the pack)

439 - Rich Becker (The card backs are fairly standard for Upper Deck, but they include an annoying cartoony baseball nerd with Did You Know facts.)

508 - Tony Saunders (A flashback to the rainbowy Rays unis)

523 - Jose Canseco (Wow! Here's a document of the forgotten Canseco Blue Jays Years.)

273 - Juan Gonzalez Golden Jubilee (Gonzalez actually went to spring training with the Cardinals this past season, but mysteriously became injured before it was time to set the rosters.)

525 - Jose Cruz Jr. (This card is silver/grey instead of the usual white. I don't feel like figuring this out, so feel free to clue me in if you know why. It's probably a parallel, I'm guessing. This feels like a Wax Heaven pack all of a sudden.)

486 - Orel Hershiser (Okay, to be honest, I just chose to show this card to make Dodgers fans feel a bit uncomfortable. I'm mean.
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SQ25 - Nomar Garciaparra (Hell yes! I love QSUTEASRT cards!)

Super Bowl Prediction: 1999 Topps vs. 1996 Collector's Choice

The Patriots are down a touchdown in the fourth quarter and they need to step it up. Bellichick pulls out a curveball, an old pack of Collector's Choice to help out Brady and company. The Giants have their own trick up their sleeves, they abandon the cardboard for a high gloss foil stamped late 90's pack of Topps.

1996 Collector's Choice
100 Charlie Garner
126 Wesley Walls
38 Stantley Pritchett Rookie class
96 Drew Bledsoe
17 Pete Kendall Rookie Class
M12 Emmitt Smith MVP
S7 Morten Anderson sticker
197 Leslie Shepherd
157 Mike Sherrard
247 Phillipi Sparks
217 Chris Calloway
297 Scott Mitchell
300 Tony Bennett
323 Leroy Hoard

This is my favorite Collector's Choice set. It comes pretty close to the '91 set for looks. Plus the pack has 12 cards plus two bonus cards, wheee!The photography is pretty sweet, there's lots of neat shots here. Sparks is leaping for an interception, Calloway's getting mugged by an Eagle, Sherrard has a great "I didn't do it" look on his face and Bennett signs autographs (in full uniform) for the kids in some neighborhood. The Patriots get a Bledsoe card in this pack which is immediately nullified by three straight Giants. Sherrard has a "Signed by Broncos" label though. I have to give a TD to the MVP card of Emmitt and an awesome sticker of Morten. Hell, I'm giving the Patriots a 2-point conversion since the sticker shows holder Dan Strysynski as well.

1999Topps
288 Keenan McCardell
356 Checklist
195 Glyn Milburn
303 Leslie Shepherd
249 James Jett
194 Ted Johnson
341 Donovan McNabb SP RC
306 Terence Mathis
276 Trent Dilfer
299 Robert Brooks
218 John Avery

Donovan McNabb short print rookie! Freakin' Sweet! That's worth two touchdowns at least. The rest of the pack ain't so great. The design is kind of ugly and there's not much in here other than Donovan. Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson looks real mean though, he knocks out one of McNabb's touchdowns. The Giants have one last trick up their sleeve. Terence Mathis is one of my favorite Falcons of all time, plus he went to the Super Bowl the year this set came out. That's worth a last minute field goal to win it for the Gnats. Hey, I calls 'em as I sees 'em and Topps was just better in these pack breaks. So if the cards are correct we'll have a barn burner today with New York giving Boston another complex with a last second field goal. Bet on it! Old crappy wax is never wrong!

FINAL SCORE: Giants 44 Patriots 42

Ted Johnson sez: WE WUZ ROBBED!!!