Getting ready for kick-off - Part 1

Since the NFL season doesn't really officially start until your favourite team has played their first game, I'm awaiting the Bills starting tomorrow, and what I'm sure will be another season of misery and agony. But I'll keep my optimism up, at least until kickoff. Loyalty is a strange thing. It makes one keep watching a game where the winning quarterback ends up with a 15.1 rating. Of course, it wasn't a Bills QB that got the win in that classic game.

Getting back to the cards, I've been busting some Topps 2013 football this week. While the base set is the same size as Score's, I opted for Topps to build the set since there are more players in the latter, since they left the multiple appearances of various players to the insert cards. And the card packs/boxes seem more available at various blue and red sources.

Over the past week, I've picked up two hanger packs (one with a Walmart exclusive guaranteed relic), one without, and a jumbo pack at the LCS.

I'll start with the first.

If I'm going to pull a Bill, this is the one I want to see come out. At least until he implodes and makes me long for Trent Edwards. Or JP Losman. Or Rob Johnson.

Another Bill! I'm not sure what the rookie to non-rookie card ratio is for this set, but I ended up with 25 of them in this one pack, out of 72 cards. These, however, were the only two Bills cards I got in the box. No complaints, though.

My favourite photos in the bunch. An appropriate on for Tony Gonzalez and one of his claims to fame, 325 pounds of terror that has his eyes zooming in on some unfortunate Jet, and the football equivalent of the pitcher at the plate - a defensive player with the ball.

My favourite non-Bills player in this box is a Miami Dolphin? I prefer to think of him as a CFL alumni. Or is it now the Patriots we're supposed to really hate? I was raised on Dolphin hatred, so I'll keep saying that's the rivalry. At least until the owner goes off to that great luxury box in the sky, and the team moves to Los Angeles and I decide I'd rather just watch 3-down football.

Off to the inserts. I think I received one from each of the non-hit insert portion of the set. When I'm looking for a favourite from the bunch,  I'll do the same thing I did with the non-Bill pick - grab the CFL alum. Heck, the back of the card even mentions his years north of the border.

And my hit? I was expecting a manu-patch, so to get an actual relic was a pleasant surprise. It being a Cowboy, not so pleasant.