Pack Attack: 2010 Donruss Classics Hobby (x9)

I was out of town for work the other day and happened to find a small card shop in a strip mall. There wasn't a great selection of next wax (not a single baseball product I liked) but I couldn't resist a rare chance to open some hobby packs. After some deliberation, I settled on half a box of 2010 Donruss Classics Football. Here's what I pulled:

Mike Alstott Legends Timeless Tribute Gold #6/50: Alstott was one of my favorite players growing up; his combination of power and speed made him one of the few fullbacks in football who got more than a few carries a game. I always made sure to trade for him in franchise mode on Madden. Donruss/Panini has ruined the serial number, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy pulling something "limited" to less than 100.

Chad Ocho Cinco Dress Code Jersey #223/299: I still laugh every time I see the name Ocho Cinco on a football card, so I was delighted to pull a jersey card of ole number 85, even if Panini has no idea how to design a jersey card.

Tom Brady Sunday's Best Jersey #90/150: I know I'm supposed to hate Tom Brady because he's basically the Derek Jeter of football, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Hopefully I can trade this for a nice Mark Sanchez jersey card.

Overall Thoughts: I didn't do awful for 9 packs (I also pulled an Anthony McCoy RC #/999, and Eddie George Legend #/999 and a Antonio Gates Dress Code #/100) but I don't think I would consider buying classics again anytime soon. Panini has started to improve as a card manufacturer, but not to the level where I would invest in a whole box. Let me know if you are interested in any of the cards. Thanks for looking!

Pack Attack: 2009 Topps National Chicle Football

I stopped by Target after work in hopes that I might find a blaster or a few packs of 2010 Upper Deck. Alas, it seems these things take a while to make their way to Central Washington and there was no UD in sight. Well obviously I couldn't leave empty handed (I had to spend money!) so I grabbed a 2010 Topps Rak-Pak (pulled a Ken Griffey Jr., Ichiro and Josh Johnson--quite happy with that pack) and a single pack of 2009 Topps National Chicle Football from a fresh box. The preview images from the baseball set had caused quite a stir and I wondered if the football set would be met with the same response. Well, here's what I got (not including a Mahamed Massaquoi mini rookie and a Caroline Mikkelson "Era Icons"):

Adrian Peterson base card

Tom Brady base card

Amelia Earhart Era Icons Relics: What! Well, not having any idea what was in this set, I was quite shocked to pull a card of the first lady of flight, especially one embedded with a 1935 stamp. Era Icons relics fall 1 in 177 packs and, oddly enough, packs with those relics are only supposed to contain one card (this one certainly had a few more than that). I don't think I will buy any more packs of this set but I'm certainly happy with the one I got; this card has been selling for around $30 on eBay (new Griffeys ahoy!)