School's Out for Summer!

I've made an executive decision.  It will now be an annual tradition to break something on the last day of school.  No, I'm not talking about breaking something the way that the kids might in an excitement-driven, adrenaline-fueled act of vandalism at the school.  I mean some cards, of course.  Yesterday I stopped by the store to pick up a blaster for this end of school break, but no blaster really caught my eye.  Instead, I went with a fat pack of 2016 Score and a Fairfield repack with 10 random packs in it.  It was a bit cheaper and a better option than a blaster of 2016 Leaf Draft that I don't really care to get.

 

Let's see what the repacks brought.

Repack Pack #1-2014 Topps Chrome

Can’t argue with a new Lacy.  The Tom Savage is a refractor, and the the Aaron Murray die-cut insert looks pretty cool as well.

Repack Pack #2--2015 Prizm

This is a pretty lackluster pack.  Here are a couple of draft busts who may be out of a job this fall and an undrafted rookie who rarely saw the field last year.  The design is Prizm’s best of the last few years, though.  It’s reminiscent of the always slick Select brand.

Repack Pack #3--2014 Rookies & Stars

Last year I picked up most of the rookies from this set at a card show, but this is the first I’ve ever seen the base.  I like the simple design and deep colors of the base.  The Ha Ha is new to my collection, as it’s the Longevity parallel of the base I have already.

Repack Pack #4--2014 Score

Nothing too great here.  No superstars, a couple of decent rookies in Kelvin Benjamin and Jimmy G, and an insert of Alfred Morris make up a pack that’s not terribly exciting.

Repack Pack #5--2014 Topps Platinum

Some decent players here, but again nothing spectacular.

Repack Pack #6--2015 Topps

I’m not a huge fan of Topps’ computer-chip border and paper-thin cardstock this year.  But this pack yielded 2 new PC additions, Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson.  I also like the 60th Anniversary insert set and the Andrew Luck insert.

Repack Pack #7--2015 Topps

The second Topps pack brought me two rookies I like, including the Defensive ROY.  I love Earl Campbell. I don’t actively collect him, but I do tend to hold onto any cards of his I come across.  The Malcolm Butler card is cool simply because it is an iconic photograph and a piece of NFL history on cardboard.  Isn’t that what this hobby is about?

Repack Pack #8--2016 Leaf

First, I’m surprised that stuff this new is already hitting repacks.  Second, I guess I didn’t avoid the 2016 Leaf Draft anyway, even though I bought the repack in part because the blaster of Leaf failed to attract me.  The first pack is about as good as it gets, short of an auto.  Inserts of the top two picks, who happen to be quarterbacks?  In the same pack?  I’ll take it.

Repack Pack #9--2016 Leaf

I’ll always remember Paul Perkins from the game when he almost single-handedly beat BYU last year.  Well, he and Myles Jack.  But Perkins was an animal in that game.  Braxton Miller is a big name, but we’ll see how he pans out in the NFL.

Repack Pack #10--2016 Leaf

A couple of first-round defenders here in Bosa and Buckner.  While they’re not my favorite, I don’t mind college cards.  But I don’t like Leaf because if it’s going to be a college card, I at least want to see logos and real photos.

2016 Score Fat Pack

I picked up my first pack of just about the most recent NFL release.  I like the design.  It’s clean and the white border doesn’t steal the show like Score tends to do.  I like the licensed college photos.  I might consider building this set in lieu of the Topps flagship this year, but I think I’ll wait to see what Prestige looks like.  Prestige has the advantage of being able to us what teams drafted the rookies.  Let’s take a look at what came out of the full 52-card deck.

Some great photography here, really.  There does seem to be an overly shopped feel to it, though.  Some of the photos look more like sketches.  I only picked up two cards for PCs in this pack: Manning and Ty Montgomery.  I like that Beckham/Megatron Reflections insert, and the Evans/V-Jax counterpart appears to be a parallel.  I like the Jameis Winston Franchise insert.  It’s the first I’ve seen the set, so I don’t know if the red is standard or if it differs by team.  Either way, the card color and the Bucs uniform make for a pretty nice looking card.

I guess this post was a bit long, but thanks for reading.  I like the idea of kicking back on the last day of a long school year and cracking some wax to reward myself.  The end of the year is always bittersweet, and this just helps add some sweet.