The Beckett Blog

Trusted Beckett colleague and all-around good guy David Lee penned a blog two weeks back rattling off a list of the things he misses. Apparently, it struck a chord. More than 80 people have since commented on his whimsical pining, a Beckett Behind the Scenes record.Inspired by Lee’s lovable leap down memory lane, I thought I’d tell you what I miss. It’s short, simple and virtually guaranteed to appeal to absolutely no one else on this site: I miss Arena Football League trading cards. I do. I miss ‘em bad.

For two years (2005 and 2006), all three of us diehard AFL fans had real-life, honest-to-goodness trading cards to collect thanks to the fine folks at Upper Deck. We had base cards and inserts and jersey cards and autographs, just like the big boys on the outdoor field. It was awesome.And then, just like that, they vanished.
 
I know I was probably the only real customer UD had . . . for those cards; heck, I bought a whole case of the maiden 2005 product and more than my share of boxes from 2006. Of course, then along comes the 2007 season, leaving blank pockets in my binder and a huge void in my heart (OK, not really; but it did hurt).

There’s still no word on plans for a 2008 AFL product. I’m not holding my breath, though. I’ll expect the worst (no cards) and be giddy if any are released. In the meantime, I’ll have to go back doing what AFL collectors had to do back in the old days: Scouring the globe for all those obscure, team-issued sets.Hey, it beats nothing.

By the way, here’s what got me thinking about Arena Football in the dead of NFL season: For starters, my beloved Broncos are slumming in the AFC this year so I’m looking for anything to take my mind off of that. Secondly, I was talking to Donruss’ Scott Prusha yesterday and he mentioned that his company had just received autograph stickers in from Chiefs rookie (and former AFL superstar) Bobby Sippio for use in 2007 Playoff Contenders.What this means, of course, is that Sippio (a TO-type talent with a TO-type temperament for most of his AFL career) will have a licensed trading card for the first time since that glorious 2006 UD AFL set.

Aaaah, the good, old days. Sippio’s certainly no Will Pettis, but his new card will have to do for now.