One of our country’s Founding Fathers, John Adams, believed that today, July 2nd, would be considered this nation’s Independence Day. Adams once wrote to his wife Abigail: “On July 2, 1776 the Association known as United Colonies of America officially became the United States of America.”
Adams went on to write, “I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other from this time forward forever more.”
It sounds like John Adams really knew how to celebrate. What he failed to realize however is that there would be a brief debate over language in the Declaration of independence and that it would take some time to have it written up on parchment so that it could be signed by the Founding Fathers. Thus it is July 4 that the Declaration of Independence was signed, but it was today that the blueprint for this country’s future was agreed upon.
So much has come since the days of John Adams. Despite decades of peace and prosperity, our country continues to battle in foreign wars. Brave young men and women continue to serve this great nation at home and abroad. You may question whether we should be involved in these conflicts in far away places, but you certainly cannot question the courage of our troops. Far too often their sacrifices go unnoticed, especially for those serving on foreign soil so far away from those they love. How lonely and worrisome must their nights be wondering if all is well back home and if they will make it back safely to those they love.
What if you could give those brave men and women a little piece of home? What if you could help take their mind away from all those worries for just a bit? Wouldn’t it be nice to just say thank you for their service?
For the last several months, Upper Deck has been working with Operation Gratitude, a non-profit organization that sends 100,000-plus “care packages” annually to U.S. service members deployed in hostile regions around the world. Upper Deck is asking collectors to donate sealed packs of trading cards to Operation Gratitude that will be included in these care packages. Believe it or not, trading cards really help bring a little piece of home to those serving abroad as it helps them reconnect with their favorite sports. Just read this soldier’s story if you don’t believe me.
To donate you can either visit a participating donation center or send the packs directly to Operation Gratitude at the address listed below:
Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard
Attn. Upper Deck’s Million Pack March for the Troops
17330 Victory Boulevard
Van Nuys, CA 91406
In the coming weeks we will be doing more to help promote Upper Deck’s Million Pack March for the Troops by sharing a special set we produced for the National Sports Collectors Convention in Baltimore this August. Many of your favorite athletes served honorably in different branches of the United States Military. And some in the set, like LeBron James, are just plain patriotic. Check out a couple sneak peeks of some of the cards we put together featuring them.
To incentivize our fans to donate to this worthy cause over the Independence Day weekend, we will be giving away FIVE game-used memorabilia cards of the player everyone seems to be talking about right now: LeBron James. These cards are from Upper Deck’s recent “Greats of the Game” Basketball set.
For your chance to receive one of these special cards, all you need to do is take a picture of your donation package addressed to Operation Gratitude or of you giving packs to a store owner at a donation center and post them on the Wall of our Facebook page. We will randomly select five different winners to each receive one of these cards on Tuesday, July 6 at 4:00 PM PDT. So please, donate today! For more information on Upper Deck’s Million Pack March for the Troops, please visit www.millionpackmarch.com.
Popularity: 24% [?]
All Smiles at the Staples Center
By · CommentsWhile hockey’s annual amateur draft is all business for the NHL suits tasked with filling out their organizational depth charts, the fun of the experience is best reflected in two groups of people: the young men who have come to (hopefully) see their lifelong dreams fulfilled, and the fans who make the pilgrimage to witness the big moment for the next generation of hockey’s stars.
Who's being drafted first? Edmonton Oilers fans clash over their top overall pick.
It’s a safe bet that Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin have bright futures ahead of them very shortly, as do many of the other first-round picks, but there will also be several less heralded players from later rounds who will emerge from the margins to establish themselves as solid NHL players. That’s why many youngsters taken even in the sixth and seventh rounds were in attendance Saturday to put on a jersey, shake some hands, have their pictures taken and meet with the media. It happens every year, and that is why from Hall at No. 1 to Zach Trotman at the 210th (and last) pick, the draft every year is all about what might be.
Step up to the the tape. No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall gets ready for his Upper Deck close-up.
It’s the same reason why scores of Edmonton Oilers fans made the trip to Los Angeles this past weekend to witness the first NHL Draft ever held on the West Coast of the United States — to see their team select what they hope will be the franchise’s next superstar.
I spent plenty of time on the weekend at Upper Deck’s booth on the Staples Center concourse, handling wrapper redemptions that the company was doing exclusively for this event and schmoozing with fellow hockey fans and card vendors. And I also spent a lot of time behind the scenes helping Upper Deck photographers as they took pictures of the recent draftees.
The redemption booth was busiest on Friday during the first round, then again when Kings captain Dustin Brown stopped by to sign autographs on Saturday. While the majority of folks who turned out all weekend were Kings fans from the area, there were plenty of people who came from more far-flung locales. One such group had come all the way from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (Sidney Crosby’s hometown) — a “billet” family who had made the 3,600-mile trip to support the young man who’d lived with them for the last several years, and in the process become part of the family, on his big day. Steve, the billet father of young Mathieu Corbeil-Theriault, who was taken with the 102nd pick by Columbus, wore a wide grin as he described the experience of the trip as akin to being “a kid in a candy store.”
Sign here please. L.A. Kings Captain Dustin Brown made plenty of fans happy at the Upper Deck booth.
And that was a scene repeated over and over again. Working down at our photo station, a co-worker pointed out how cool it was that every kid walking through the door sporting a new NHL jersey was doing so only moments after their dream of a lifetime had been realized. Because some of these kids will go on to be stars, many will make a lot of money playing a game they love, and still some will never play a shift in the NHL. But one day they will all be able to tell their grand-kids they were an NHL draft pick once upon a time.
Popularity: 21% [?]
The Time of His Life!
By · CommentsWhen 12-year-old Zeke Estrada of Anaheim won Upper Deck’s 2010 NHL Entry Draft Runner contest earlier this month, he was asked to provide his top three choices regarding which NHL team he’d like to help out on Draft Day. In preference order, his answers were: New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens and Anaheim Ducks.
Well, not everything turned out as planned for Zeke as he was instead recruited to assist the New York Rangers with their Draft-Day proceedings. But in the end, he didn’t mind one bit. As his father George Estrada put it: “Zeke had the time of his life!” Check out the pics below showing Zeke in action at L.A.’s Staples Center during last weekend’s NHL Entry Draft, courtesy of Upper Deck.
Besides being a part of NHL history, Zeke managed to score a few autographs along the way while the Rangers picked up another enthusiastic supporter. Nice job, Zeke!
Yep, that's NHL Hall-of-Famer Mark Messier posing with Zeke last weekend at Staples Center.
Here's Zeke hanging with his big brother, Dominik, prior to Zeke's excellent adventure on the inside of the Staples Center in Los Angeles last weekend.
Also, the Orange County Register did a story on Zeke’s experience as well, check it out!
Popularity: 23% [?]
Brag Photo of the Week: Michael Jordan Curve™ Display
By · CommentsWhen you think of Upper Deck, the first two athletes that normally pop into your head are usually Ken Griffey Jr. and Michael Jordan. We are blessed to have relationships with some of the greatest athletes in sports, but those two have been with us since the beginning. And Upper Deck continues to bring you their authentic collectibles through innovative new products that no other manufacturer can bring to the table.
This week we conducted a signing with Jordan to get some trading cards signed, but also some compelling new memorabilia items for sale exclusively through Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA). MJ lent his legendary signature to a variety of unique items like shoes and game-used floor pieces during the session. Before this signing, he had only signed the 6”-x-6” floor pieces (shown below) which are limited to 123 and sell for $1,599.99.
There is a new item we are bringing to the market next week for “His Airness” called the Curve™ Display that we are very excited about. It features a custom-cut 3”-x-10” piece of the United Center Floor upon which MJ played during his career with Chicago and where he provided the Bulls’ faithful with some very memorable performances.
The game-used floor pieces are all guaranteed to be red, from a more premium piece of the floor. What’s more, 25% of the edition will be two colors and 5% of the edition will be three colors to enhance the collectible nature of these prized items. And they were all signed by Michael Jordan this week under the watchful eyes of UDA staffers.
The signed floor pieces will then be housed inside the clear Curve™ Display from UDA with an image of MJ doing what he does best: soaring to the basket. More limited than previous signed floor offerings, this edition will only have 100 copies available, but it will be significantly less expensive at just $999.99. These highly sought-after pieces of history will be available on the Upper Deck Store next week.
Popularity: 27% [?]
U.S. Victory Equals Pure Elation
By · CommentsThis morning I found myself jumping, screaming, shaking and hugging a bunch of dudes. Today I felt pure elation.
Everyone has already heard about the absolutely terrible call against the United States Soccer Team in their World Cup game against Slovenia. The ref called off the game-winning goal of what would have been America’s greatest comeback. The team never got an explanation, and had to face their next opponent in a do-or-die situation. Our boys delivered in a way no one could have imagined.
Give us your thoughts on Donovan's amazing goal today and you could win this card. Just click on this card front image and check out our Facebook contest.
The “Yanks,” as they are known around the world, have given up more early goals than any other team in recent history. In the sixth minute of their final group match against Algeria the curse nearly continued. Fortunately for Tim Howard, the American goalkeeper, the crossbar saved the day. One bullet dodged and still more than 80 minutes to play. After that eye-opening moment we never looked back.
Through the entire game the U.S. kept attacking. In the 24th minute Clint Dempsey had a beautiful right-footed goal off a volley, but yet again the ref put down his gauntlet and called Dempsey offside. Arguments can be made about whether or not the call was legitimate, but the resolve of the team was too strong to let it bother them. They kept going. Shot after shot. Near miss after near miss. Surely there had to be a breakthrough.
As the game started to wind down I became more depressed. I was going to have to wait another four years to watch my team battle. This time was worse because the refs had killed us in not one, but two games. I thought for sure there wouldn’t be any stoppage time because the flow of the game had been pretty continuous, but then the fourth official indicated there would be four more minutes. I was shocked and saw only a slight sliver of hope.
In the 91st minute the camera cut away from the U.S. net to show an Algerian player. The camera returned to action just in time to see the ball hit grass and Landon Donovan run on it like a mad man. With perfect skill he threaded the ball to Jozy Altidore who gave a perfect pass in the box to Dempsey. From only six yards out he took the shot, and again, like so many times before, the keeper made the save. This time though the ball just bounced off his gloves, and fortunately for us, Donovan hadn’t stopped running after his pass. He showed up just in time to put the ball left of the goalie and into the net. GOAL!
This card will go up tomorrow's on UD's Facebook page as another cool keepsake giveaway!
This is the part where I jumped out of my chair, screamed wildly, felt tingles throughout my whole body and hugged a bunch of guys. I couldn’t believe it. We won!
This was one of the most historic wins for our country. The United States had never won the third game of group play in the World Cup. They had never scored in extra time. They had never finished top in their group. Today was the day history was made for the United States Men’s National Soccer Team.
After the game Donovan went to the podium for his press conference and cried. On Sunday the Yanks take on Ghana, the same team that kicked them out of the first round four years ago. Redemption time? Yeah, I’d say so.
If you haven’t seen the highlights from the game, turn up your volume and click on the link below. In soccer you have to believe. After this…why wouldn’t you?
Popularity: 15% [?]
