Archive for April, 2010
Brag Photo: 2009-10 NHL SP Authentic Unveiled
Posted by: | CommentsWorking for Upper Deck, we get to see a lot of really unique collectibles as our previously posted “Brag Photos” can attest. Items displayed in the office and one-of-a-kind memorabilia are all very cool, but what really gets our juices flowing here are the trading cards. I mean, that’s our bread and butter. It’s what we do best.
One of the brands that consistently performs the strongest for us and the one that many collectors anticipate the most each season is SP Authentic. Our SP Authentic brand is well known for having a premium design, signatures of athletes hard-signed on the actual cards and consistently delivering value with three autographs (on average) per box.
We have pushed back the release of our 2009-10 NHL SP Authentic launch a little bit in an effort to get more hard-signed signatures in the product, thus reducing redemptions. Some players, as you can imagine, are a little busy these days with the playoffs so it’s tough for them to sign, but we’re still chasing them down. As I know that many of our collectors can’t wait for the product to hit store shelves, I decided to head down to our product staging area where many of the autograph cards are stored until they are sent off to be packaged. I was happy to get approval to quickly go through and scan some of the more “drool-worthy” cards I could find in the short amount of time I had.
So without further adieu, I am pleased to present actual cards from the forthcoming release of Upper Deck’s 2009-10 NHL SP Authentic set.
Sign of the Times
Marks of Distinction
Immortal Inks
Prestigious Pairings
Rookie Review Autograph Patches
Future Watch Autographs
Future Watch Autograph Patches
It was really cool to get to see so many of these cards, especially so many John Tavares rookies in one place. My hands were shaking a bit as I handled that box. I hope you enjoyed the preview. With more autographs coming in every day, we’re very excited to get this product to market. Maybe I’ll head down there again in a week or two for another preview. There was another product that looked pretty cool…
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All Hail Halak!
Posted by: | CommentsI had the opportunity to attend the NHL All-Star festivities in Montreal last year and it was one of the best experiences of my life. Born and bred in southern California, I can honestly say I have never felt cold like that in my life. The freezing temperatures coupled with the whipping wind put a beat down on me, but there was one thing that did warm me up: the amazing people I met throughout the week who displayed an unprecedented passion for hockey.
We were staged adjacent to the Centre Bell hosting free athlete signings for NHL fans, allowing collectors to get personalized Upper Deck cards made and giving away a variety of products. It was an absolute madhouse. To make things even crazier, the All-Stars were walking right through the area on a red carpet. Montreal locals and NHL fans were lined up ten people deep just to get a glimpse of their favorite players. The player who got the biggest reception of all was Carey Price. The promising rookie drew huge cheers when he walked through and chants of “Carey, Carey, Carey,” echoed throughout the venue.
I can’t imagine what would have happened if Jaroslav Halak would have walked through that same crowd after what he did in the first round of this year’s playoffs. He would have been celebrated like a rock star and returning war hero all rolled into one. I can only imagine what it was like in Montreal last night, but I am sure of one thing: plenty of Canadiens fans showed up late for work today.
It was rumored throughout the season that Halak wanted a trade because he felt he was worthy of being the No. 1 netminder and wasn’t crazy about splitting time with Carey Price, who the Habs were trying to develop. Very few could have predicted what would happen when Halak took the ice in games 5, 6 and 7 of this month’s series against the top-seeded and seemingly unstoppable Washington Capitals. He stopped 131 of the Capitals’ final 134 shots in the series and won three consecutive games. The Canadiens, meanwhile, became the first eighth-seeded club to knock off a top seed after going down three games to one.
I’ve often said, “There is nothing better than playoff hockey.” The only thing that makes it better is playoff hockey in HD (high-definition). Olympic hockey is close, but great playoff hockey is really hard to beat. The last three games of this series prove my point as Halak was an absolute brick wall against a torrent of superstar shooters firing at him from every conceivable angle. Nobody wanted it more and nobody came at him harder than the league’s back-to-back Hart Trophy winner, Alexander Ovechkin. He was slashing through defenders like a hot knife through butter and hitting Halak with everything he had, but was continually denied. It was like watching Brad Pitt hitting on Ugly Betty and being repeatedly turned down. On three consecutive nights out. It just didn’t make sense.
I remember watching Ovechkin at the All-Star festivities last year. Seeing him live, exhibiting so much other talent on the ice, really made me appreciate how much of a force he really is. Strange that it was at the Centre Bell, Montreal’s home ice. This shot makes it look like he can almost see what was coming from these rabid fans and the never say die Habs.
After the loss last night, Ovechkin said: “It’s a terrible feeling right now. You know, it’s hard for me, but for everybody. We know we can win, but we don’t win it. It’s pretty hard.”
A lot of people are saying that the Canadiens are not that good. I’ve heard some fans say, “How can a good team allow so many shots on goal?” Well the fun thing about the NHL playoffs is that a good team can ride a hot goalie all the way to the end. Remember the 2003 playoffs when Jean-Sebastien Giguere took the Ducks as a No. 7 seed on a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Finals? The Ducks lost, but because of Giguere’s efforts he took home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff’s MVP. Halak himself may just be on a similar path.
Now another superstar is set to hit Montreal for the next round of the playoffs. He’s a player who I remember seeing plastered on the outside of their arena last year for the NHL All-Star Game and one of the league’s brightest stars. Can David, I mean Halak, slay Goliath twice? You never know. But one thing’s for sure: when the puck drops, everyone in Montreal will be holding their collective breath with hopes that Halak can deliver them to the Promised Land.
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I Must Confess, I Miss Don West
Posted by: | CommentsThere are so many things I love about the trading card industry, but more than anything else, it’s the colorful characters we come in contact with that leave the most memorable impressions. Back in the glory days, I don’t think there were many characters more interesting or fun to watch than Shop at Home Network’s Don West. Before there was Vince Offer (the ShamWow! Guy), there was Don West. I can remember being up late on a Saturday night and he came across my television screen like a tornado. It was almost as if he had spent the previous three or four hours before the show slamming espressos locked in a basement watching MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball.
Even though I had been collecting for most of my life and then moved on to work for Upper Deck, West was such a great salesman that he frequently had me with the phone in hand, wondering if this really was the steal of a lifetime. I’m sure I wasn’t alone. We did have some dealings with him at Upper Deck, but I never met him. And now I understand has now moved on to serve as a commentator for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
The other night someone sent me a YouTube video of West’s old show for a chuckle, and it brought back all those wonderful memories of those can’t-miss specials he would pitch. He had a tendency to operate under the premise that EVERYTHING he had was limited and EVERYONE was buying it. While he usually wasn’t precise about how great an “investment” he was hawking, there is no doubt the show was entertaining. Check out some of these old clips showing West in his prime with his on-screen partner Eddie Lewis.
So just how big an impact did West have? If imitation is really the sincerest form of flattery, then he had a pretty big impact. Check out Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan and someone I can’t quite make out playing “Ronnie” doing their best impression of the Shop at Home show on “Saturday Night Live.”
Will Ferrell as Don West on Saturday Night Live
Who was that playing Ronnie? That’s right, Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr.
The star of Iron Man 2 once appeared in a sketch on SNL about Don West.
Thanks for the entertainment, Don. I’m sorry I never made that late-night purchase, but I’m sure plenty of others did. So, who out there bought the Shaq Plaque?
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Not a Slam Dunk Yet
Posted by: | CommentsWatching the NBA playoffs over the past two weeks, it’s become painfully obvious that no single team is head-and-shoulders above the rest. In fact, after watching the Lakers get spanked twice in Oklahoma City (the second loss by 21 points), it’s actually been a lot of fun following the early action. You see, I hate the Lakers and I’m not a Kobe Bryant fan, so to see him get called for fouls (any fouls) is a welcome sight. Too often the “Jordan Rules” apply to guys like Kobe, LeBron James and even my guy, Paul Pierce, so to see the league’s elite personnel getting hammered by the zebras from time to time is very cool indeed.
We are watching history once again and it’s not a total stretch to predict the Cavs squaring off against the Thunder in the Finals. Granted, I don’t think that eighth-seeded Oklahoma City will actually win the Western Conference, but wouldn’t that be great to see? After all, 21-year-old wunderkind Kevin Durant did win the scoring title this year (30.1 ppg) and his teammates do appear hungry, especially after feasting on the prime-time Lakers at home. Tonight’s game might spell a different ending as Kobe does seem a bit miffed with all the “no calls” coming his way lately. But we’ll just have to see how things play out in L.A. After blasting the Lakers by a combined 26 points, you better believe the Thunder feel adequately rejuvenated.
I bet the Lakers and Phil Jackson wish they had Magic on their roster.
With apologies to the remaining Western Conference tandems – Spurs/Mavs, Trail Blazers/Suns, and Jazz/Nuggets – I need to move my rant over to the Eastern Conference where I truly believe this year’s NBA champion resides. And no, I don’t think the winners of either the Magic/Bobcats or Hawks/Bucks series will vie for the coveted ring in June. Instead, it will come down to either my beloved Celtics, who currently own a 3-1 advantage over the Heat, or the LeBron-led Cavaliers, a team that’s never won it all, but has come awfully close.
In theory, the Cavs are younger and – you would think – hungrier than the aging Celtics, but you can’t ever bet against the Beantown Leprechaun. I watched guys like John Havlicek, Dave Cowens and Jojo White perform miracles out on the parquet floor during the ‘70s and then proudly witnessed new miracles being staged by magicians like Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale during the ‘80s. A certain team from Chicago did own the ‘90s, but the Celts have tasted victory in the new millennium and this year’s Eastern Conference winner will go through Boston. I’m certain of it.
Now let’s kick back and see who wants it more. Who’s your team? I’d like to know.
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Collecting Sports Cards and Memorabilia After Marriage
Posted by: | CommentsRecently I saw on our Facebook page a collector named Lucas ask a question that was a little different than the normal questions we get. He asked, “So I’m getting married in 12 days. How do you propose I balance marriage and the hobby successfully?” That’s a great question as collecting trading cards can be something that your significant other may not embrace. So how do you get the lady in your life to support the hobby you love? Or at the very least, tolerate it?
The responses on the Facebook page from our fans were pretty funny. One collector said, “Tell her if she’s going to keep collecting shoes and purses, you’re gonna collect cards.” Another said, “They collect make-up. Have you priced that stuff? One eyeliner pencil can be 20 bucks alone.” But employing some of these responses with the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with sounded like a sure-fire way to ignite an argument. So to help Lucas out, I thought I would share some advice I’ve received from collectors throughout the years on how they get the buyoff from the women in their lives to understand and appreciate why they collect.
The collectors I’ve talked with who’ve had the most success with getting their significant others to give the hobby their okay are the ones who have actually gotten their wives involved. If she’s a sports fan, share the hobby with her as she would likely love it. Show her the unique cards Upper Deck makes of her favorite teams and players. Let her know this is a way to support your home team(s) and favorite players. Odds are she likely has an innocent crush on some of the better-looking players as well. Share some of those cards with her. Most seem to be a sucker for Derek Jeter and Sidney Crosby…
If that’s a no go for you, then tug at her heart strings a bit. Let her know that collecting cards is something you did with your father and helped create a special bond between the two of you. Tell her it’s something you hope to do with your kids someday. Everything you collect will one day belong to your kids and it’s important to you to be able to pass something special down to them in the future with which to remember you. You can even tell her that you may sell some of the collection later on to help with college. If she sees it’s something that will benefit her children and a way to build the relationship between you and them, you’ll likely get her support.
Showing your wife how collecting will bring you closer with your kids is a big plus!
The next advice is of critical importance. You need to avoid anything that causes conflict. Have a budget for your trading card or memorabilia purchases and stay within it. If you want to make a bigger purchase, make sure to talk it over with her and go through the pros and cons of the investment. If you are going to make that large investment in a card you need to have, maybe you should sacrifice something and sell off a couple items from your collection to offset the cost. I hear a lot of horror stories about collectors who don’t stay within their budgets and then when the Mrs. finds that certain credit card receipt, well, let’s just say it’s not pretty.
Another thing that tends to drive the ladies nuts is when your collection takes on a life of its own and starts consuming more and more space in the house. If you can, try to keep it in one room and get buy-off from her that this room is the only place where you’ll display and store your collectibles. Keep your “mancave” as orderly as you can. When they walk into a room and it’s nothing but disorganized boxes, you better believe you are going to catch an earful. Look at displaying some items at your office or even renting a storage unit/safety deposit box for some of your collectibles. It’s a little tough not to have them within arm’s reach, but it’s worth it to avoid having to sleep on the couch.
If you keep your collection like you are trying out for an episode of "Hoarders," be prepared for your wife to have "the talk" with you soon.
If all else fails, let her know there could be worse things you could do as a hobby. Collecting cards and memorabilia is not destructive like drinking, gambling, etc. It’s a fun hobby that helps bring you closer to the teams and sports you’re most passionate about.
Lastly, my father says the two most important words in a successful marriage are, “Yes dear.” As he’s been happily married for more than 40 years, I think he may have something there. So if she’s adamant about you pulling the reigns back, you may just have to do that. But tell her that instead of collecting all of the different card companies’ products, you’re going to just focus on one brand that you really love: Upper Deck. Good luck, Lucas!
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