Karine's Thoughts

I came back to the hobby in early 2007 and boy had it changed since I left it. Back in the days when I was still collecting the game-used phenomenon had yet to hit the masses and the emphasis was still on completing sets. That was back in 1995 or something like that... Fast forward to 2007 and being stuck at home after yet another knee operation, I decided I needed to find a hobby if I didn't want to go completely bonkers. Having moved to England in 2002, I was missing hockey dearly and taking up collecting again seemed like the best option as it would keep me busy and take me closer to the game I loved so much.

Needless to say, I immediately starting buying wax and busting it at a vertiginous speed. Not knowing exactly what to expect I was stoked to pull my first ever game-used card! Little did I know these were now common occurrences; I soon found out though by looking online and reading up on the hobby right here on sportscardforum. After observing for a few months, I decided to take the plunge and sign-up. This was the best decision ever, the rest of my rehabilitation off work just flew by! From then on, collecting became the number one mean to cheer myself up when needed.

We're now in 2009 and unfortunately, the problematic knee is still messing up...As a result, I am once more stuck at home with a tens machine and a ice pack. Some might think being off work is a good thing but I can promise you that sitting there for days doing very little gets old quite quickly. So, there I was last weekend, up at 2.30 AM and unable to sleep because of my painful knee in a rather deflated mood I must admit. I came to the conclusion that I had to do something to cheer myself up and even though my financial situation is far from being ideal, an hobby shopping spree seemed like the best course of action.

Where to buy though? Thinking back to my experience at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland this summer and what I pulled when I got a box from Dave and Adam's over there (see picture below), I decided to get a few boxes from them.


What to get though? The 2009-2010 big releases have yet to hit us so it looked like 2008-2009 was the best option for now. That still left me with quite a few choices. Remembering what I traded the above Crosby for in Cleveland (see picture below) I decided to gamble on one box of UD Black. Two packs at two cards per packs for $177, it's a bit pricey but hey, I could maybe pull something like my current favorite Brodeur card.


This wouldn't be enough to keep me entertained for a whole day though...So hoping to pull some excellent ITG Memorabilia cards, I opted for a box of Between the Pipes. Can you blame me? I still need a Brodeur and a Roy Supersized glove.



While I was at it, why not pick up a couple of boxes of my favorite 08-09 product, Legends Masterpieces? I did just that and with 4 boxes in my basket, I decided it was time to check out. Four days later, the bell rang at 10.00 AM, it was DHL delivering my boxes! How quick was that? As I got the parcel from the courier, I was full of hope s and wishing for massive mojo. I tried to wait and do live breaks on the site once more people were online but I just couldn't do it! I told myself "How about just one box and then I'll wait for the others and share the break".

I decided to bust the box of black as it was the smallest one pack number wise and I wasn't really ready for what was going to happen. Sure, I was hoping for a big pull but I didn't imagine that something like this would come out of it:




I immediately logged on to UD's website and redeemed this beauty! Could I stop busting after that though? No I couldn't! I just had to open more. Already completely satisfied with what I had pulled I attacked the Masterpieces boxes. They didn't yield any major hits and a few of the borders were damaged, like Masterpieces are so often unfortunately. As that break wasn't as much fun, well I couldn't stop so I moved on to the last box, Between the Pipes.

It started with low level pulls and nothing for my personal collection, as I progressed through the packs, I started to fear a below par break. With only one pack left, I had almost lost all hope of a great pull. But then! Look what the last pack revealed:




Only the best possible pull in the whole product! So there you have it, yesterday truly was my best day ever in the hobby. Once again it came through with flashing colors to cheer me up when needed! Now, I can look forward to receiving my redemption and getting the sweet made to order card.

If only I could have more days like that...

Thanks for reading,

Karine