looking ahead...

[rainmanb]

As I look forward to football card season getting into full swing, I was checking out the football pre-sells

a couple random thoughts...

Not much new out there on the Donruss front... not that that's a bad thing. Their products are pretty solid in my opinion. I'm probably good for a couple boxes of Classics and maybe Threads. I wonder if Donruss in going to do Gridiron Gear again this year (probably, I'd say). IMO Threads and GG are basically the same product - same price point, pretty much the same configuration, same sort of content. I sorta wish they'd just pick one of them and focus on it. The only thing threads has going for it is the painted Gridiron Kings insert. I think those are pretty cool. Maybe one of these years I'll focus on putting together a complete set of 'em.

What's the deal with these gimmicky Upper deck products? Football with Rock stars... Football with Movie Stars... I don't get it. Prolly just not for me. What do the rest of you think?

The one product I was really intrigued by was Topps Stadium Club. I'm a sucker for these throwback products (frankly it's the only thing that topps does that gets me excited). I little more expensive than I usually go for but looks like there could be some good value there. Might be a fun set to put together... or it could be pretty lame (Beam Team, anyone?). I don't know...I curious what other people think...

[PBamber16]

I also agree with the rockstar/filmstar card theme idea. They have inserted AU's of these type of people into 08 UD Spectrum Baseball, and I wish they would just stick to players from the relevant sport instead of putting in cards of people I have no interest in, or even know!! As for the Donruss products, I really liked last year's Gridiron Gear, and I'll be intrested in what it looks like this time round! But all the DLP products are solid like you say, so should be some fun collecting from those sets. The early DLP releases (Prestige and Elite) I like, so things look good so far!

[Scotti]

I've been a fan of Donruss products for awhile now. With high-end packs (Leaf Limited) that are still affordable for the common man, #'d inserts, solid sets and an improvement of sets that needed it (Rookies & Stars), Donruss just has it all.

I agree with the gimicky inserts. I was a bit put off with the Boxer and Politician inserts in the new Topps Baseball Co-Signers and I really have no desire to open any of the gimiky UD stuff either. At least Donruss keeps this kind of stuff in it's own set.

[OnePimpTiger]

I agree with what everyone has said so far. I would highly prefer Upper Deck and Topps do a set like Donruss Americana and limit the musicians, actors, politicians, etc to that set. Apparently Americana was pretty popular, so maybe they'll start heading that way.

Donruss is always good, but the sets are pretty similar. Gridiron Gear (my fav), Threads, Classics, and Elite are all aimed at the same market....they're all within the same general price range, same amount of hits give or take...only the design really differentiates them. I'm not really complaining, as I like them all pretty well...I did the base sets of GG, Threads, and Classics last year. But maybe the could make them a little more different...focus on keeping GG a little higher end and maybe let Threads settle to the lower side of mid-end products. Then they could keep Elite and Classics around the same range, but have Elite focus more on current players and Classics more on the Legends. I really liked the UD Legends set in 2006 and think it would be cool if Classics went more that route of mostly legends cards.

I hadn't heard of the Stadium Club before now...I always liked them and I'm pretty excited to see them coming back. If they have a nice design and w/10 hits per box, they could do really well. I'll definitely be looking forward to that release.

[PBamber16]

I agree with what everyone has said so far. I would highly prefer Upper Deck and Topps do a set like Donruss Americana and limit the musicians, actors, politicians, etc to that set. Apparently Americana was pretty popular, so maybe they'll start heading that way.

Donruss is always good, but the sets are pretty similar. Gridiron Gear (my fav), Threads, Classics, and Elite are all aimed at the same market....they're all within the same general price range, same amount of hits give or take...only the design really differentiates them. I'm not really complaining, as I like them all pretty well...I did the base sets of GG, Threads, and Classics last year. But maybe the could make them a little more different...focus on keeping GG a little higher end and maybe let Threads settle to the lower side of mid-end products. Then they could keep Elite and Classics around the same range, but have Elite focus more on current players and Classics more on the Legends. I really liked the UD Legends set in 2006 and think it would be cool if Classics went more that route of mostly legends cards.

I hadn't heard of the Stadium Club before now...I always liked them and I'm pretty excited to see them coming back. If they have a nice design and w/10 hits per box, they could do really well. I'll definitely be looking forward to that release.

I agree with your ideas on what Donruss could do to mix up their products a little bit. The nostalgic feel of Classics definitely lends itself to having legends of the game featured on the card's, where as Elite has a more modern feel to it, espeacilly the 2008 Base set, which suits players of the current NFL and the more colourful, modern uniforms. Good ideas! Would be great if Donruss possible took these up. It would possible also work financially for DLP, as hobbyists would buy Elite for their fix of current Gridiron stars and Classics for the memories of the past and the HOF's, rather than just buying one set and getting a mixture of both!

[Scotti]

I'd love to see a football set like baseball's Legendary Cuts. It sounds like Donruss's Classic line would be an easy change.