I rode home today in the pouring rain and was extremely unprepared for the down pour. By the time I got home I was covered in dirty road rain. That kind of dirt that cars kick up and gets all over your clothes, socks, shoes and backpack. I did have a sweet mud mohawk on my butt and a thick layer of mud coated on my pastey white legs. I was freezing and I was tired…the only thing I really wanted to do was clean up and get ready for the Spurs game. As i typically do first thing, i went to check the mail…and saw a yellow bubble mailer! Suddenly i feel great and excited to see what it has to offer…It’s a Panini Redemption and This one only took 119 days! That less than 4 months!
YAY! Sarcasm!
This redemption is of Joe Adams from the Carolina Panthers, Colbey, numbered 28/49 with a decent sticker auto and a portion of his jersey used at the Rookie Premier with the NFLPA. I like that they mention where the jersey came from, maybe this isn’t a new thing, but it’s the first time I noticed it. The scan doesn’t really do the card justice as it is crazy shiny and reflective, cats love these sorts of things. Leaf Limited was one of those small but spendy box breaks that I jumped on this year. I was quite impressed with the high quality of cards and player selections. This is just another example of a great card.
Redemptions can be a pain as many bloggers have mentioned, but when they come in unexpectedly and make your cold grey day sunny they are wonderful.
The final piece to the Panini America order that i received last week is two boxes of Limited Football. If you read the previous post you noticed there was an asterisk next to the order…well for some reason or another i ordered one box of Limited and was sent two. Not really sure why, i assumed it was due mainly in part to Panini’s love for their customers and a way to buy a great review…i kid! Either way, i am greatly appreciative of the extra box and will now take the time to review what i received!
Limited is another one of those one pack, great hit or not so great hit products. With each box, you receive 7 shiny cards in one pack that looks like it should have some pop tarts in it. I’m really hungry and it’s way past my bed time…Looking at the back of this box i see a significant amount of inserts and parallels…significantly more than the Crown Royale box. The base set contains 235 cards with 100 commons, 50 legends, 50 phenoms and 35 material phenoms. I’m going to guess that a phenom is a rookie…possibly a second year player? i don’t really know, just spit ballin here. Either way, it’s going to be a difficult set to collect with the amount of boxes i plan on buying…unless Panini wants to keep sending me some free product. BIG SMILEY FACE!
Card Design – 4.5 of 5
Gotta say i really like the design of these cards. Love the grid action in the background, very architectural…which is great since that’s what i do for a day job, makes me feel comfortable. Plus the grid pattern fades to silver at the bottom of the card which is can or cannot be sexy…this one is sexy. There is a constant theme on the cards, whether they be parallels or base cards. One thing i’ve noticed about a lot of cards from Panini is that they like to have the edited photo on the front of the card and the unedited game action photo version on the back. Kind of like this, makes for some nice consistency…plus a great way to show off the staffs great photoshop and photo editing work…oh crap, i’m seeping in to the other portion of the review…
Photography – 4 of 5
As i was saying…the unedited photos on the back are great! The photos are once again crisp and focused on the player which i truly do enjoy. One interesting shot is the Jack Lambert card and how sharp it is. The Mean Joe Green card from the Leaf Signatures wasn’t nearly as crisp as this one…wonder why? The photos were probably taken from around the same time…thoughts? Love the photos. Panini managed to get to the knees for most of the players…but still no feet…wonder how Rex Ryan would feel about that?
Hits – 4.5 of 5
Oh the hits. As i mentioned in my last post, you have to look at the hits you got, not the hits you wanted…or else you will be a miserable person. As my mom would say, ‘suck it up buttercup’. That said, I pulled a redemption Jumbo Jersey Signature of Joe Adams. First off, i have absolutely no idea who Joe Adams is…haven’t googled him yet, maybe i missed something this year, but this guy is way off my radar. Second, i really HATE redemptions. HATE-HATE-HATE! It’s like waking up on Christmas morning as a kid at 8am and being told you have to wait to open your presents after your grandparents arrive…and they aren’t coming until 3pm…your just standing there looking at your wrapped gifts wondering what in the hell it could be! Just waiting…It is what it is though…at least i didn’t pull another Dontari Poe auto! On the flip side of the redemption…i pulled an Andrew Luck jersey card numbered to 25, pretty dope. Not a big Luck fan only because he doesn’t play for the Redskins, but a great card and a great guy/player. I pulled a couple other autos that are OK, nothing too exciting. BUT i also pulled a Len Dawson game used card. My first look at the card was, great…a jersey from an old guy…but then i looked closer, you have to do that kids, look closer! It’s a game used helmet! A GAME USED HELMET! I didn’t even know that was a thing with cards? Had no idea they were doing this and I think it’s wonderful. The card is pretty cool. I keep tapping it with my nail, probably not a great idea, but it’s just so cool.
Len Dawson Stadium Stars Game Used Helmet 13/55
This Thing…
Case Keenum Phenom Auto 191/249
Vincent Jackson Autograph 2/25
Vernon Davis Limited Threads Jersey 14/25
Andrew Luck Blue Chip Jersey 5/99
Review
That’s it, both boxes have been looked at. I really like this product…a lot. The cards are fantastic and the hits i pulled were not bad at all…except for the redemption…but i’m dealing with it. As with Crown Royale, not sure if I will purchase any more of this product due mostly to the cost but I can definitely see myself buying one next year. If i could offer up only one suggestion, it would be that they wrap the cards in something a little nicer than the silver package…but that’s really it…well that and try to minimize the redemption cards. -HTTR!
