I added nearly 300 Cubs cards to the collection from 2017 alone but feel like I still have at least that many more on my makeshift want list. I couldn't keep up! It is a far cry from just a couple of years ago when the Cubs "team" sets were only 3-4 cards and maybe an insert.
I don't know how to talk about the World Series celebration cards without sounding pretentious, but there were quite a few to choose from.
There were a couple of World Series Highlights cards in Series 1 Flagship but this Topps Heritage card was the first one on my radar as something special. So much so that I contemplated buying one of the larger versions Topps sells on their website to frame up and potentially get autographed around the border and pant legs. I think blue signatures would really pop on this card design. That idea faded but writing this has me thinking again. Hmmm...
The Cubs had quite a few Topps Now cards again this year but the presentation of the World Series Trophy, the raising of the Championship banner and receipt of the Championship rings back in April were my favorites of the bunch.
This Postseason Celebrations card out of Topps Update was a late comer to the competition but gets bonus points as falling into my "I Was There" niche collection. The photo used comes from the championship parade I attended with a few million of my closest fellow Cubs fans. I wonder how many other cards have a player chomping on a cigar?
And speaking of the parade, Topps Stadium Club had a slew of SP photo variations from that day.
Ten of them to be exact. Almost a perfect binder page, but Topps took it one card too far. Unfortunately, none of these ten are in my collection yet so they are relegated to runner-up status. Although I was generally aware (and that's enough to convict in the NFL) of some of these SP cards existing, I hadn't actually seen them until recently to know how they would fit in my collection apart from just being Cubs cards. For me, SPs are welcome but not necessarily sought out. Until now. This will probably be a main goal for 2018 now that we have a new defending champ and prices may die down a bit.
Back to Topps Now for a minute, there were a few more that fall into the "I Was There" category.
In Washington on my dad's birthday...
And my second postseason game (after the 2015 Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh). Back in Washington, amazing, and then heartbreaking as the Cubs fell in the late innings.
Lots of quality cardboard with personal meaning right there. My pick for Favorite Card of the Year might seem anticlimactic in comparison!
The Stadium Club cards are something I think are on every Cub fan's want list. The prices on those have never really come down to where I can justifiably purchase even one.
ReplyDeleteThey're on my radar and my goals list for 2018, so we'll see how it goes! You need them for your WS binder too!
Delete