Seriously, look at this card. Doesn't it look like Topps put together a whole set of "night cards"? These Topps "Black" cards, or whatever they're calling them, sure do fit the whole night theme.I swear I had no input into this decision at all. I wasn't in on any board meetings. Topps didn't call for advice. Topps hasn't visited my blog to my knowledge (although I'm sure it's possible), and I'm sure that even if they did, they wouldn't take any of my suggestions seriously (although I wish they would).
What I'm saying is, even though I didn't like the underhanded way Topps had planned to foist these black cards on the collecting public, I kind of like them. This is the first time I've seen these in person, because not only do my local big box stores not have the specific blasters that carry these black variations, they don't HAVE ANY BLASTERS AT ALL.
Two weeks of this crap I've been going through. But tomorrow is the big day. I expect to find Heritage. I expect to find throwback Topps. It will all be there. And that bleepin' box of 2008 Upper Deck Artifacts that has been sitting there since JULY won't be.
That's my fantasy anyway.
Meanwhile, I have the friendly blog community, which is filled with people kind enough to find blasters in their part of the country and hold blaster breaks. Take THAT, distributors. Dan of Grand Cards held a great blaster break a week or so ago with three of the Topps black blasters. I put in for the Dodgers, and I made out quite well.
I received 12 Dodgers, including nine of the black cards. I know several people have weighed in on the look of the black cards. Here's my take. First of all, I have to agree with Scott of Hand Collated. They do smell. You almost have to stick them up your nose to know what I'm talking about, but the smell is there.
Secondly, you can see the background in the photo, it's just darkened. It's as if they invited the player into the stadium at night, turned out all the lights, then turned a spotlight on the player. That's why they remind me of night cards.
Anyway, here are the rest of the Dodgers I got:
Joe Torre, The Man in Black.
Black Is Slimming? Not on Andruw.
Black and Blue. The blue really stands out on these cards. So you're drawn to Berroa's glove.
Black Friday. Brad Penny is scheduled to make his spring training debut this Friday. The Red Sox hope it's a profitable one.
Coming Out of the Darkness. Hiroki Kuroda is emerging after last season's up-and-down debut. I'm looking forward to a brighter season. I can feel it.
Rafael Furcal. Back in Black. Hope the back is back, too, Raffy.
Fade to Black. Maddux's farewell card. Too bad it's another photoshop fiasco.
Finally, James McDonald. Black is beautiful.I also received three other cards -- a Legends of the Game Roy Campanella card, a gold card of Juan Pierre, and this gem:
Fantastic. Dan, excellent stuff. I could not be happier with the way the break went for me. I hear you're doing another one. I'm in!
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