Like a wave crashing over me…

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 27, 2021

Ya’ll ever get caught up in a wave of FOMO?

I do. Often.

I hate it, but it’s a part of my brain that grabs a hold of me and won’t let go.

Do you remember that car commercial from 15 years ago or so, the one where the woman wanted a new car and it became an obsession for…a car was growing on her forehead. Every time she saw a car, the forehead protuberance enlarged to a point that she bought a damn car. Well, that’s how I felt about Project 2020, or more slickly branded as MMXX by The Topps Company, Inc.

Roman Numerals for the masses. Honestly, the Roman Numerals looked great for that mostly forgettable year.

So, the draw for me to this specific set was the infusion of sports and art via the medium of a baseball card…in a magnetic holder. I love all of those things and think they are fantastic. Those three things fill the parts of my life not given to family, work and rest.

When the news of the cards were released around this time last year (…I believe…) I was already on board and decided I was going to pursue this set until I realized the cost + the quantity of cards.

400 cards and $20 each is $8,000. That’s a couple cases of cards, well one case in today’s market…but you get the idea. So I changed my focus about 20 cards into the set. I decided I was only going to buy the PC guys that were released, along with Mike Trout…just because he’s Mike Trout. So, what that meant was that every release of:

Rickey Henderson

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Don Mattingly

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Derek Jeter

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Mike Trout

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I was in. I had to be in.

I have to admit, it was fun to see the cards roll out. Almost became a burden on some days. If 2020 was a regular year, I’m not sure I would have pursued these cards so diligently. Vacation would have gotten in the way. Deadlines would have distracted me and I would have missed a date or two. But I was home every day in front of my computer every day and the forehead swelling didn’t go away. In fact, it’s still there.

Now that the frenetic ebb and flow of the MMXX cards is in full ebb mode, you can get them pretty cheap on electronic Bay. Like $5 in some cases. So, I’m going to nickel and dime my way to a complete set, well five and ten my way to a complete set and infill with my Rickey’s, Donny’s, Jeet’s and Trout’s. Luckily (I’m sure there’s a better word than lucky…) I picked up the more valuable and popular guys from that set already, so I’m hoping I can work through this fairly efficiently. Also, hoping to make some trades with a few folks on twitter to get the ball rolling.

Link to my checklist

Here’s a couple newer ones I’ve made deals with to procure for the set:

Jackie Robinson

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Ted Williams

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Mark McGwire

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With all that in mind, I’ve started a new tab at the top of the page for the set. It’s up there, to the right…second row…on the end. Click it. I have a google doc of the cards that I’ve already purchased and the ones that I’ve picked up on eBay the last couple of weeks.

So, the big question…will I participate in P70?

Thanks for reading as always!

-Cardboard Hogs

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I don’t buy clothes often…but i got a new hoodie and i love it. I got it from the guy on the left. He’s Masta Ace. One of my favorite emcee’s of all-time. Next to him is Craig G, followed by Kool G. Rap and lastly, my favorite emcee of all-time, Big Daddy Kane. They were part of the Juice Crew back in the ’80’s and made a posse cut call ‘The Symphony’. In my mind, that’s the greatest posse cut of all-time and it ain’t even close. Here’s the hoodie along with my scruffy chin and the video.

Idols…Philly to ’68

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 13, 2016

Sunday night was an incredible night for me. A night that took me back a long time…a really really long time…about 30 years ago long time but I’ll get to that in a bit.

This post isn’t just about incredible events, but incredible pick ups of a Redskin great that I wrote about a few days ago. Charley Taylor. I’ve been looking for a fairly nice condition 1965 Philadelphia rookie card for a few months and couldn’t find one in the condition that i was cool with or a price that i was cool with…until a few weeks ago when i stumbled across this guy which i picked up from COMC for around $15.

It’s a little off center and there are some subtle smudges on the surface, but for under $20 i will be quiet and happy about the purchase and addition to my Redskins team collection.

Since Taylor came in to the league as mostly a running back…or halfback in olden time terms…the stats do not reflect his stellar rookie campaign in which he caught an additional 53 passes for 814 yards and 5 touchdowns. The back of these Philadelphia cards leaves a lot to be desired…and apparently, so do my scanning abilities. I think this might have been done late at night when i was getting a little lazy and over tired…please forgive me.

The other cool artifact that i picked up from COMC was the Topps Pin Up Mini Poster. This newspaper print posters actual size is 5″x7″ and has been folded with the utmost care through the years. The image seems to have yellowed/faded a bit and feels incredibly fragile, but that could just be me being overly cautious about the print…now i need to find some of those fancy 5″x7″ pages to hold this guy or a nice sturdy top loader and a cool place to store it.

…speaking of 1968…

It was also the year that Big Daddy Kane was born…although he wasn’t born as Big Daddy Kane, he was Antonio Hardy.

As a white kid growing up in the suburbs of San Antonio, i fell in love with Hip-Hop via my childhood best friend, Rafik. Rafik and I came from single working mother homes and spent day and night hanging out doing dumb stuff and listening to music…and breakdancing…yes, i fancied myself a b-boy at one point in my life. He would visit his father in Philadelphia each Summer and Christmas and come back with some amazing new music and records. Not the latest Ozzy or Judas Priest, we’re talking…Kurtis Blow, Whodini, Fat Boys, Run DMC…etc. This music was new to me and was the coolest thing i’ve ever heard. Now, i love almost all types of music (sans Reggae and some Country…’cept Dierks). When it came to this rap thing though, I was hooked. As i got older, i got more and more in to the music and rappers, or emcees, or MC’s. The one though that caught my attention was Big Daddy Kane in 1987.

I was 11 going on 12 and Kane was the king of hip-hop in my mind. Luckily for me he went on a nationwide tour, and for some reason swung through San Antonio. No hip hop shows came through San Antonio back then, but not only Kane…he came along with other top acts at that time; Stetsasonic, Sir-Mix-A-Lot and some guy named MC Hammer…I was 12 and it was the winter of 1988. That was my first hip hop show and something that i have never forgotten.

Moving through the years, i’ve always listened to his music and hoped that i would get a chance to see him live again. Being on the west coast, a lot of older rappers don’t make it out this way…it’s a big trip for the east coast guys and i can’t imagine the draw is too enticing for them. But Sunday night Big Daddy Kane was in Portland, Oregon…and there was absolutely no way i was going to miss the show.

As per usual, i went by myself…because that’s what i do…go to things by myself. The show was absolutely amazing…a bit short for his stage performance, around 45 minutes or so…but for me, it was unforgettable. He even jumped in to the crowd for Ain’t no Half Steppin’ and got some way too far gone dude to help with the lyrics. Here’s an image of that portion of the program.

One helluva night and a night that took me back to my pre-teen years. Unlike those 30 year old memories, i was able to record some of the show…i’ve gotten into a bad habit of photographing/recording too much of the show rather than just live in the moment…but if i manage it right…i get the memories in my mind and some digital ones as well. Here are a couple of videos i took from that night.