NASCAR Goes Digital

I was scrolling through Facebook on my phone this morning - something that I do these days with far more regularity than I care to admit.  There's not much else one can do with one hand while bottle feeding a temperamental infant in the pre-dawn hours in order to stimulate the mind enough to stay awake.  Sure, I guess I could invest in a Kindle or something and read about something that would enrich my mind instead of foster my belief that humanity is doomed, but... okay, I don't have a but.  Maybe I do need to do that, for the sake of my sanity.

Anyway, if nothing else, this early morning doom scrolling did give me some content for a blog post; so, this waste of time has not been all bad!

This afternoon is the 63rd running of the annual Daytona 500 - one of the marquee auto racing events in the United States. To the Joe, when asked to name one car racing event, they'll likely pull out the Indy 500 or Daytona 500 and I haven't missed either since 2001.  In years past, I was as fervent a NASCAR fan as I am now a Cubs/baseball fan.  Over the decades, my interest has waned and I no longer watch stock cars run around in circles for three hours every Sunday; that said, I still tune in to the major events in motorsports, seeing as they have that extra bit of "oomph" in terms of excitement.  At any rate, the old algorithm knows this, as I scrolled across this targeted ad in my Facebook feed while giving Rowan his 5:30am bottle:

Well, I should say that it was an advertisement LIKE this one.  I zoomed past it before my brain fully registered what I was looking at and, by that point, it was gone forever.  So, I dug up a similar one on the official Facebook page of JTG Daugherty Racing.  In case you were wondering, JTG Daugherty is a NASCAR Cup series team that is co-owned by former NBA star, Brad Daugherty.  That's right, Michael Jordan's new 23XI Racing wasn't the first basketball-funded foray into the world of stock cars.

But back to the ad, those images sure do look like digital trading cards, don't they?  I've tried Topps' foray into the computer-only card market with Bunt and Skate and even gave Honus Bonus a fair shot, but .jpg's of pasteboards do not hold my interest.  I haven't even looked into the whole Topshot thing that's been the talk of Twitter over the last few weeks.  However, I'd never heard of Fanaply before and this mystery piqued my curiosity.  So, I confirmed what the algorithm anticipated and clicked on the attached links.

These are the two "digital collectibles" NOT cards (according to the Fanaply website - they're very specific) featuring the two drivers racing under the JTG Daughertry Racing in the Daytona 500 and the rest of the 2021 NASCAR season.  Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is a sometimes competitive driver who has a couple wins so far in 10-year career and he is always tough to beat at the superspeedways, including Daytona.  Maybe I've pulled a card of this year's winner?  He'll start 21st this afternoon in the #47 Kroger Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Meanwhile, on the left is Stenhouse's junior teammate, Ryan Preece.  While Ricky has been around the Cup Series garage for a decade, Preece is entering what is only his third full-time season.  With a top-notch pedigree in the modified ranks, Ryan has yet to truly break through in Cup, with only five career finishes among the top ten.  That said, he's looked quick so far this month and will roll off the grid in the 11th position in the #37 Cottonelle Chevy.

So, now that I have these cards... errrrr... I mean collectibles, what do I do with them?  Apparently I can share them on social media, specifically through Facebook Messenger as evidenced by the big ol' blue icon in the bottom right of the screen.  Apparently, they're somehow limited to only 1,000 "copies" because, as their website subtly states:

Good to know.

You also might have noticed in those screenshots that these collectible not-cards aren't just a picture.  To see more, all you have to due is flip them over... and by that, I mean click the arrows:

Thanks to Screencast-O-Matic for allowing me to turn these into .gifs so you can get the full effect.  Take that blockchain!  Honestly though, that crawling car effect is pretty dang cool.  Does the holder of the exclusive NASCAR license, Panini, have a line of digital trading cards?  If so, they need to "borrow" this idea.

Obviously, Fanaply is trying to jump on the bandwagon for the booming trading card market.  Actual adults are fighting off hoards of kids over Happy Meals in search of special Pokemon cards and sports card prices continue to skyrocket as stock bros look for new avenues to get their fix.  With so many exclusive licenses in the trading card market these days, an enterprising company has to get creative with how they nudge their foot in the door.  Digital "collectibles" - definitely not cards, guys - represent one such avenue into this suddenly lucrative industry.

Normally, Fanaply's true "groove" appears to by music-themed digital collectibles.  According to their website, they've been around for about a year and a half and offer an service through which "artists can create limited digital collectibles in the form of a digital card, so that fans can commemorate specific events, memories and milestones and be recognized for their support. This could be something like a card confirming the attendance of a specific event (think Travis Scott’s Fortnite concert), being the #1 listener to an artist on a specific day, or being one of the first hundred fans to watch a video premiere on YouTube."  As far as I can tell, these NASCAR releases are their first foray into the world of sports.

Above are some examples of their more musical offerings.  They have stuff from just about any genre you can think of, but I chose a few of my favorite artists because this is my blog, after all.

Like any other digital card, I still don't know what I'd do with these things, so I will not pursue any more of them.  But that's just me - if you are into this sort of thing, check Fanaply out by clicking this link.  My snarky sarcasm has been bleeding through this whole post, though just because digital cards are not for me doesn't mean I don't want Fanaply to succeed.  More options in this hobby is always better!  In the words of Sly Stone, "different strokes for different folks and so on and so on."  

I wonder if Sly and the Family Stone have a Fanaply card?

Has anyone else ever heard of Fanaply?  This Facebook advertisement was the absolute first time I had ever even heard a passing mention of this company.  Does anyone out there on the blogosphere collect these digital cards or are now interested in doing so?   What are your feelings on digital pasteboards in general?  I encourage you to weigh in by visiting the comment section below - I'd love to hear what you think!

In the meantime, digital trading cards don't officially count towards my roster collections; so, the slot for Ryan Preece in my all-time NASCAR drive binder remains unfilled.  It's pretty tough to put a .gif in a Ultra Pro page.... we just don't have the technology yet.  Although, I don't think blockchain could stop me from printing out my Fanaply single and turning the digital into the physical.  On the other hand, I already have a Stenhouse card from his days at Roush Racing, so I don't have to worry there.  

And to think, all of this came out of scrolling Facebook before sunrise.  I guess Facebook might ruin democracies, but at least it helps with blogging and collecting?

Finally, it's time to wrap this post up.  The Daytona 500 is just about to kick off and I want to give this race my full focus.  I'll be rooting hard for the aforementioned 23XI Racing and their driver, Bubba Wallace, who has quickly become my favorite.  I'd love for him to win one of motorsports most important races and cause the less-desirable element of the NASCAR fan base into a absolute tizzy.  But, if it can't be him, I guess I'll lend my support to the faces found on my new Fanaply digital collectibles.

Go Bubba, Ricky, and Ryan!

New Kids on the Block

I think we can all agree that the baseball card market could use some more players.  Maybe it's just because I grew up in the era of Topps, Upper Deck, Fleer, Donruss and a seemingly innumerable amount of off-shoot brands, but I've always felt that variety is the spice of life.  I mean, Topps is the industry standard and, more or less, produce top-notch collectibles; however, competition breeds creation and innovation.  As it stands, the market feels kind of... I don't know... stale?

Every year, for the most part, we get the same brands, the same players, a few ridiculously high-end sets, while the lower-end collector constantly feels forgotten.  I think we can all agree that there's enough room in this hobby for some new content, products for both the uber high end and the dime box low end, and love for the Kris Bryants and Bryce Harpers, as well as the middle relievers and back-up catchers.

Sure, Panini and a rebooted Leaf have hung around to fill in some of this gap; but, since Topps has an exclusive license with Major League Baseball, they're logo-less products just can't quite measure up in full.  Other upstarts like Platinum Series Baseball have come and gone, without being able to take foothold.  Enter Honus Bonus Fantasy Baseball.

Taking their moniker from one of the most famed names in baseball history, fittingly, Honus Bonus Partners certainly has lofty expectations.  Again, in an era of exclusive licenses, HBP does not have official permissions from the MLB head honchos; although, like Panini, they did manage to secure the MLPA's nod.  As such, these new kids on the block seek to blend two bedfellows who actually don't seem so strange together:  baseball cards and fantasy baseball.

Featuring a vast, 500-card checklist (with Career Milestone and Sketch Card inserts), Honus Bonus cardsare available as a traditional, pack-based product.  However, as a fresh face in the market, their list of physical vendors is not yet expansive.  As such, the easiest way to get your hands on this product (currently) is through their online store.  Unfortunately, you're limited to a 24-pack box or 20-box case -  too much of an investment for this guy to sample a product.

Luckily, for those who create an account on their website to play the fantasy game, get a free 30-card online sampler for their troubles.  That's where the Kyle Hendricks "card" you see above comes from.  Think of it as their very own version of Bunt.

The actual cards feature scratch-off codes which, when entered into their system, unlock that player and their digital card for use on your fantasy roster.  Personally, I've never been much for fantasy sports - but, if it incorporates cards, it's going to attract my eyes.  As you can see above, along with the reigning NL ERA champion, I got a thorough sampler, featuring one card for each of the 30 teams in the MLB.

There's a reason for that, in this fantasy game, one must play one player and one player only from each of the clubs.  You can't stack your roster with both Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo with Jon Lester on the mound; nope, your roster must incorporate one member of the Marlins, Padres, White Sox, et al, as well.

Now, if you have a particularly keen eye, you might have noticed that I have 31 cards and two Philadelphia Phillies.  That's because after you receive your initial sampler, you can request one additional, randomized free card, per request, in order to continue to build your roster reserves.  They're doesn't appear to be a limit on those requests either.  Since the physical product is fairly elusive in it's early stages, this could prove to be quite helpful to prospective players.


Luckily, the first period for official game play in Honus Bonus doesn't officially begin until May, so you have until April 30th to build those lineups.  Whether you choose to do so with real or digital cards is up to you.  For the full rules and regulations for HBP, I highly suggest you visit their official website, as there no way I can adequately condense them into this blog post.  I will say that there are some significant monetary prizes up for grabs.

 Here's a pair of short-term, former Cubs

As for the design of the game cards, they feature white borders, plus a nameplate and an inner frame which remind me of an olden days movie theater.  The colors of this frame are apparently assigned at random, with no team correlation.  Speaking of colors, the player pictured is actually completely devoid of color, gray-scaled on a full-color background.  I can't say I'm a huge fan of this choice, as it really takes the focus of the observer away from the subject at hand.  Perhaps a gray'ed out background with a colorized player  would have been a better decision?

Furthermore, the fronts provide no first names or team affiliations for the players, not even the generic city designations provided by other, unlicensed products.  I presume the physical cards will have these details on the backside, but the digital copies don't permit you to turn the cards over.  At least, I hope this information is available on the real cards.

All in all, these cards feel a little jumbled, but I like the movie theater-esque borders.  Not bad for a first effort, though some correlation on the colors used would have really been swell.  At any rate, I can tell you that I'd like to sample the actual, physical product before I form my final opinion on Honus Bonus baseball cards. 

One thing that the blossoming Honus Bonus Partners, LLC has going for it is their captain - Steve Charendoff.  If that names sounds a touch familiar, that's because Mr. Charendoff also currently owns Rittenhouse Archives, Ltd., one of today's foremost entertainment-themed trading card companies.  I think it's safe to expect that this mogul knows a thing or two about the market.

Whether or not this mashup of trading cards and fantasy baseball will succeed has yet to be seen (obviously).  If you're a true fantasy guru, the fiscally responsible thing to do would be to simply build your roster through the online freebies.  If you're a dedicated baseball card collector, obviously your interest would be piqued by the actual cardboard game "pieces."  In the wise words of Dodgeball's Pepper Knight, "That's a bold strategy, Cotton.  Let's see if it pays off."

Perhaps the fantasy tie-in is the niche that HBP needs to corner it's own share of the card market, where other hopeful brands failed.  No matter what, I'm certainly pleased to see something new pop up and you can expect a follow up post if and when I track some actual packs or singles down.

Good luck, new kids on the block!  Just take things "step by step" and "please don't go."

Custom Cars and Custom Cards

This is about a week and a half late, but a couple weekends ago, the wife and I made our annual pilgrimage to the mechanized circus that is the Chicago Auto Show.  Neither one of us are what you might traditionally refer to as "gear heads," though I think everybody has a certain affinity for fast cars.  Not to mention, in years past, it made for a handy setting to preview potentially purchasable automobiles, which is how we ended up with a 2016 KIA Soul in our driveway, last summer.

Plus, there's tons of free swag.

Seriously, with all of the tote bags that the manufacturers hand out every year, we haven't had to buy a reusable grocery bag in three years.  Instead, Toyota, Ford, KIA, etc. all get free advertising while I do my shopping at Aldi.  It's not just tote bags though; this year, I also ended up with pens, stickers, coupons for Chicago street parking, a deck of cards and my own, custom baseball card:

Wait, what?

Yup, this year, the Chevrolet, the official vehicle of Major League Baseball had a photo booth set-up in order to create custom trading cards for show-goers.  I found one of these customs, lost and trampled on the sidewalk, while we were making our way up to McCormick Place and I instantly knew where our first stop was going to be.  What can I say?  I'm just a giant man-child.  Also, I'm nowhere near as intimidating of a mound presence as Randy Johnson, try though I may.  I only wish that I had opted to wear my Cubs jersey that morning, instead of a beat up, old Sex Pistols t-shirt.

Apparently, Topps was in on this game as well; as you can see, their logo appears on the upper right corner of my card.

The backside of these cards featured a boilerplate advertisement for Chevrolet; thus, their incentive for printing up these free goodies.  After all, they do now have a permanent advertisement in my baseball card collection, so I can't say that this was a bad idea by their creative team.  Not that Chevrolet truly needs to worry about brand penetration, anyway.

As quality of the giveaways, they were instantly printed onto thin cardstock (slightly thicker than normal computer paper, but not much), with perforated edges for quick separation.  In other words, about what you'd expect for something you didn't have to pay so much as a penny to obtain.

Here's a peak behind the curtain, as they ushered me in front of a green screen for my closeup.  Just off camera, there was a shelving unit and some bins filled with sporting equipment to use as props - I didn't just show up randomly with my own glove, after all.  In addition to baseball, other options included soccer, basketball, something else that I can't remember (probably football), and Batman... yup, Batman.

As you can plainly see, my wife opted to go the Batman route.  The day after our little excursion to the Auto Show, The Lego Batman movie was due to open in theaters, nationwide; therefore, they were promoting their film hardcore and, apparently, Chevy was a sponsorship partner.  In addition to their offering of Batman customs, they also had a full-scale replica of the Batmobile made entirely out of Lego bricks and the opportunity to construct your own mini-model.  In short, they were heavy on the Batman.

Also, I just have to say, The Lego Batman movie was absolutely hilarious and, if you're a fan of the Batman franchise or superhero movies in general, you need to see it.

A rule that my wife obviously believes in.

Now, as I mentioned, there were countless other giveaways, freebies and swag items strewn throughout the various manufacturer stations.  Unfortunately, there were no more trading cards to be found on the show floor, but there were some similar items.

One of the major draws for me at this event is the inclusion of race cars in some of the displays.  Most of my early teen years were spent watching NASCAR races religiously every Sunday and any other form of motorsport I could find on TV.  Furthermore, to this day, I still make it out to Indianapolis every May to take in time trials for the Indy 500.  Cubs baseball might be my favorite sport, but auto racing is definitely high on my list as well.

Therefore, I couldn't help but stop to fawn over the rallycross Beetle (driven by Scott Speed) at the Volkswagen spaces and the NHRA Top Fuel dragster (piloted by Tony Schumacher) that was part of the U.S. Army display.  Unfortunately, I did forget to snap pictures of these impressive examples of automotive and racing innovation; but, I was lucky enough to score the above Speed decal and Schumacher hero card, gratis.  I don't know what I'm going to do with them, but they were cool and free, so...

Anyway, that about sums up our experience at the Chicago Auto Show in 2017.  We saw some impressive automobiles, dodged and dived through thick crowds, ate some junk food, got tons of free swag and, most importantly, got our faces emblazoned on our very own baseball cards.  I'd certainly call that a successful afternoon.

Custom baseball cards at the Auto Show... life is just full of surprises.

Digital Horror on Ice

Hockey season is officially underway - I'd be a heckuva lot more excited if the baseball playoffs weren't still ongoing and the Cubs weren't doing what they're doing.  Nevertheless, I still tuned in last night for the Blackhawks' season opener against the hated St. Louis Blues at the United Center, for the first two periods anyway.  After that, I flipped the channel to the latest episode of American Horror Story (what an episode that was, by the way) with the score knotted up at two a piece.

I certainly made the right choice, as the wheels fell off in the third, as the Hawks racked up penalties and allowed three goals to score in that final period.  Yikes.  That's even scarier than what I watched on AHS!

With hockey season ramping up, Topps officially released their latest digital card-trader app - SKATE.  While Upper Deck might have the exclusive license for physical hockey cards, much like their loophole with HUDDLE and the NFL, Topps has discovered that said license holds no power over digital cards and they've now cornered that market on the ice as well.  Tricky, tricky Topps.

Now, I know the collecting community is well-divided on the topic of digital cards (are they even truly cards?) and I rarely pay them any attention.  However, I'll try anything once and a ton of freebies are thrown at you once you download the app.  Thus, as I did with BUNT, I decided to give it a shot.

If you're at all familiar with the BUNT or HUDDLE apps, then you are also familiar with SKATE  - there's no new ground to cover with latest card-trader.  One using "coins" to buy digital "packs" of cards from the app's store.  One can accumulate coins through daily rewards and not spend an actual dime of real money; or, if one is so inclined, you can also plop down actual dinero and earn more coinage in a quicker manner.  I, for one, will never spend real money on fake cards, but that's just me.

There are various different packs available, based on inserts and chase cards.  That said, since this app is super duper new, there isn't a lot of variety yet.  Nevertheless, in order to help you get your collection started, each new user is automatically gifted with 25,000 coins and a whole bunch of free starter packs.

The silver packs are the starters and the red ones are the starters with rookie cards to chase.  All told, one gets a ten card, regular starter and the option to download five free, five-card rookie packs and two three-card rookie packs from the store.  No guarantees on there actually being any rookies included, however.

And so, while I wasn't lucky enough to pull an Auston Matthews (four goals in a debut?  holy crap!) rookie card, I did find a few Blackhawks players hiding in my starter packs:

The Toews you see at the top of this post and again here was the first Chicagoan to emerge and it's a green parallel (because of course there are parallels).  The base design is sharp and I love the crackled ice effect used for the nameplate.  The only complaint I have is that it's sort of difficult to read the player's first name.  Otherwise, I sure wouldn't mind seeing this design used on a physical release... stupid exclusive licenses...

The one big thing that digital cards have going for them (besides instant gratification) is the ability to include real-time statistics on the "flipside," as you see above.  Even if it just reminds me of the lopsided score I channel flipped to get away from.

I also came away with a couple of non-parallel, base cards and I definitely think that they work better with white in the nameplate than with garish green or whatever other parallel colors are available.

That's a pretty sweet image choice for Artem Anisimov, showing the pure joy and ecstasy of a goal-scoring celebration.  Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Niklas Hjalmarsson is bearing down on the puck with intensity in the photo used on his card.  Here's hoping these guys put together a couple of big seasons for the Blackhawks in 2016.

Finally, while that was the extent of Windy City skaters in my starters, this Hurricane will always first register as a Blackhawk in my mind, seeing as he was a member of the 2015 Stanley Cup Championship squad.  All in all, Joakim Nordstrom called the United Center home from 2013-15.

I truly wish that I was able to actually, physically hold this card in my hand, seeing as I need a Nordstrom for my Blackhawks All-Time Roster Collection... Curses.

 

The one insert that fell out of my starters was this Draft card of the Islanders' John Tavares.  That said, from what I've seen on Twitter so far, it seems that this card might have been included in everyone's starter packs.  Not that I care too much about a non-Hawk anyway.

And so ends my first dabbling experience with Topps SKATE.  While I'm not much for digital cards, it definitely wasn't a bad way to spend twenty minutes of my life.  Plus, I got a blog post out of it during a time of seemingly-unconquerable writer's block - so, that's pretty cool.  But, in the end, all digital cards do is make me want to flip through and play with my actual, real-world cards and remind me that exclusive trading card licenses really suck.  

At any rate, this probably the most I'll think about hockey for quite a while yet, seeing as the Cubs pulled off an amazing and improbable comeback over the Giants on Tuesday night to advance to the NLCS for the second consecutive year.  Sorry Blackhawks, but there's just not enough room in my heart for two teams right now!

Much like there really isn't enough room in my heart for physical and digital cards.

All Cracker Jacked Up

Few brand names enjoy as cozy of a relationship as Cracker Jack does with baseball.  Outside of a hotdog with all the proper dressings, can you name a concession item that screams baseball louder than Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo's caramel popcorn and peanut mixture?  I mean, we ritually sing about this crunchy treat in the middle of the seventh inning at pretty much every major, minor and college ballpark across the country, after all.

Now, who among us didn't get excited for a bag of Cracker Jack when we were kids?  As tasty as the treat is, I think we can all agree that it wasn't the popcorn that got us all riled up (though that wasn't bad either).  Of course, it was the promissory prize contained within that iconic red, white and blue packaging which had our full attention.

Since the product's inception in 1896, kids have been able to pull decoder rings, stickers, temporary tattoos, and, best of all, baseball cards from the sticky boxes and bags.  At some point, I'm pretty sure that they also gave away driver's licenses, based on the way some people drive around Chicago.

While wandering the aisles of the local grocer over the weekend, the inner kid in me was craving some junk food and, coincidentally, noticed a proclamation calling out for attention from a bag of baseball's best foodie friend:

*NEW* prize inside, you say?  Well, do tell me more Mr. Sailor Jack - you've caught my interest:

Hmmm... it appears as though the 19th century treat is now dabbling with 21st century technology.  It's good to see them getting back to their baseball roots with their prizes and I'm sure kids today are more interested in something new they can play with on their smart phone than a lousy foil sticker; that said, my eyes were immediately drawn to one of those games in particular.  I've highlighted it above with a bold, red arrow.

"Get Carded - Virtual Card Creator!"

Okay, that sounds like something I can get behind.  I mean, I was going to buy a snack anyway - why not make some custom baseball cards along with it?  That's a pretty nice bonus, in my humble opinion.  So, once I got home, I opened the bag, scarfed it all down like a hungry dog and then examined my prize.

Seems a bit unnecessary to tell me about the new prize inside on the packet, since I'm already holding said prize; but, what do I know?

Apparently, in order to use this service, I had to download an augmented reality application knwon as "Blipp."  It's similar to Pokemon Go, in this app, you aim your camera at the world around you and you can see stuff that isn't really there.  Once you open up "Blipp" and aim the camera on your smart phone at the sticker to the right, a graphic appears and you are presented with the option of playing one of the four advertised, baseball-themed games.

However, it appears as though you only get access to one per purchase, which makes sense from Cracker Jack's point of view.  Good thing I got that card generator or I'd have been uber disappointed.  I can't stand that the dance cam, kiss cam, flex cam or what have you at real, live baseball games, let alone some virtual simulation at home.  Yuck.

So, I know you're wondering, how does generator work, eh?  Well, as I fully expected from a free prize in a bag of Cracker Jack, there's not much to it and you do not get much creative freedom:

You type in your name, pick a pose (but you don't get to truly pick your position), describe your playing style and your jersey number.  As you can see in the screen capture above, I opted for a picture at the plate, the attitude of Johnny (definitely not Charlie) Hustle, and the number with the best mojo in Chicago sports:  23.  Those two digits have graced the backs of such Windy City greats as Michael Jordan, Ryne Sandberg, Devin Hester and Jermaine Dye.  Obviously, there's something about that number.

At this point, the app asks you to stop and take a picture of your face. Then, your Cracker Jack/Blipp/Get Carded master computer takes all that data, crunches the numbers and spits out your very own custom baseball card!

Okay - it's definitely no Rookies App; nevertheless, it's pretty nifty for a Cracker Jack bonus.  

Also, let's not gloss over those fantastic numbers that I put up during the 2015 baseball season:  .738 batting average, 98 homers and 120% hustle (whatever that means - I think Hawk Harrelson had some creative input).  Reality be damned - I'm like Josh Gibson, Ted Williams and Pete Rose all rolled into one.

Predictably, you're then invited to plaster this image across all social media platforms (free advertising!).  As far as a physical copy goes, there's no option to buy a print of your custom card; I'm sure the offices of Frito Lay aren't prepared to deal with that.

At any rate, I decided to take that sticker and affix it to the side of one of my storage boxes, just in case I feel the urge to create a quick, statistically outlandish baseball card of anyone else I know.  I already tried with the fiancee, but she was decidedly unimpressed.

All in all, I got more enjoyment out of this Cracker Jack prize than I did the bits of trivia and riddles  on scraps of paper that they were attempting to pass off as prizes when I was a kid.  That said, I'm still holding on to that desperate hope that the brand will someday resuscitate it's baseball card giveaways, something it hasn't done since 1992.  Although, I'm sure the licensing rights would keep that from being a profitable venture.

Oh well - at least the confectionery is still tasty... and I learned that I have the slugging ability of Herman Munster.

Let's Get Physical

After much gnashing of the teeth, I finally got my hands on some of the latest Topps product to hit the shelves - the physical version of the popular online, virtual card trading app Bunt.  My local big-box retailers weren't putting the stock out, my LCS proprietor had never heard of it and yet another wedding and it's preparation were keeping me from laying my grubby hands on it's shiny-newness.

Eventually, a Target closer to the wedding site provided the goods to me - thankfully, I could steal a minute to peruse the card aisle while my own future wife and I stocked up on snacks and supplies for the trip home from the big event.  Morale of the story - my Target/Walmart suck.

Anyway, as many have stated, I am in love with the price point on this product, if nothing else.   I did something I rarely do with retail purchasing and brought home a blaster of the stuff - at ten bucks for a blaster, how could I not?  With that and it's own, unique design, Bunt is everything the stale as week old popcorn Opening Day strives to be.

Without any further adieu, after all of this build up and anticipation, how'd I do?

Well, out of the 11 packs I ripped and the 77 cards that I flipped through, I only came away with two Cubs... so, that was pretty disappointing.  That's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, I suppose.  At least they were two of the newer guys heavily underrepresented in my collection - that's only my second Zobrist and my third Heyward in Cubs colors.

Not in Cubs colors, but there was one more new, current Chicago Cub confined within the blaster.  Of course, it's the guy I'm not exactly a fan of... but, I do kind of dig the posed, spring training publicity photo shot - it's different.

As for the design of the set itself, I kind of love it.  The big, floating team logo on the back is a pretty unique touch and any card that makes use of the proper team markings gets bonus points, in my eyes.

We still have the smoke and pixelization thing going on in the corners (like Flagship), however, these characteristics don't feel quite as obtrusive in Bunt, especially since this set is modeled after a digital app.  In fact, it's actually appropriate.  My only complaint is that the name bar is a little too tall and begins to intrude on the picture, but that's small potatoes.

One last base card - Billy Hamilton isn't and never has been a Wrigley resident, is an NL Central division rival and absolutely kills the Cubs whenever they match up, but I had to show this one off.  Why?  

Obviously, because he is laying down a bunt on a Bunt card!  It's like cardboard inception or something.

Meanwhile, this set is a throwback in that while there are numbered parallels and autographs, the odds of pulling them are astronomical; thus, the star of the show is defintiely the already seen base cards and the cheap, but visually appealing inserts.  Speaking of which:

No Cubs amongst the inserts; that said, at least Luis fits in with my former Cub (Cubs of a Different Color) collection.  Honestly, I've forgotten the concept behind these "Lightforce" cards (I think the back said something about RBI's?); nevertheless, the prism-y, star design reminds me of entering lightspeed in the Millennium Falcon and that's okay with me.

The "Future of the Franchise" set is a little more obvious and a lot more bare-bones in terms of visuals.  Miguel has been a bit of a disappointment in Minnesota thus far, after signing with much fanfare back in 2009 out of the Dominican Republic, but at age 23, he still has some time to straighten things out and stay part of the Twins' future.

It's a scientific fact, baseball fans ADORE throwback uniforms, the sport is pretty much built around respect for history and nostalgia.  So, it's only natural that a set should be built around such unique threads.  While this 70's-themed Choo single is specifically a throwback, the best part of this inserts checklist is that it is not limited to calls to the past.  In fact, the list includes many batting practice, rarely-used alternates and other off-kilter uniform choices.

And now, for my favorite insert set in Bunt (and maybe even in any product to hit the shelves this year):

The "Program" set.

Who doesn't love picking up a program, along with their scorecard, at the old ballpark?  These cards really do look like mini programs, thanks to their faux-weathering, the bar code found in the bottom right corner and the backs...

Which even detail the different "sections" to be found within the publications.  The only way these could possibly be cooler is if they went the full "Collect-a-Book" route; however, I highly doubt that's within the budget of a product with such a low price point.

If anyone has any Cubs from the "Program" set, I am more than willing to trade anything (except the Cubs) that you see above.

While the focus on base cards, obtainable inserts and easy-on-the-wallet price are all exceptionally awesome features in Bunt, the real purpose of this set are the draw interest back to their app and it's digital card trader.  As such, several loot cards are distributed throughout the packs (1:3, I think it was?):

Now, I'm not one for digital cards... I mean, they're nothing more than .jpg images on my tablet screen and as much of a "card" as a Microsoft Paint scribble, in my mind.  Nevertheless, I'll probably cash in a free "pack" of anything, in fact, I'll probably take up any free offer.  Free is my favorite price, after all.

I do have a Bunt account, it's something to kill time with on the porcelain throne or what have you.  That said, I refuse to spend a single dime on a trading card that I cannot hold.  So, these sorts of things are the best way to build my digital "collection."

What free .jpgs did I get?

 

Only one Cub this time - my unlucky streak continues.  Hey, at least it's the Rizz, he's a pretty decent player, right?

Also of note, the cards earned from the redemptions in Bunt mirror the design used on the physical product.  Before this product hit actual store shelves, digital Bunt cards mirrored the design of Flagship.  It makes much more sense to keep the design consistent when promoting a product or service.

As for the rest:

 

A couple more program inserts, which aren't nearly as exciting when you can't hold them in your hands...

 

A couple of inserts of young, future stars.  The one benefit to digital cards is that Topps can create instantaneous "cards" of call-ups like Tyler Austin, capitalizing on the initial hype that's generated.  Thanks to Topps NOW, they can also do that with actual physical cards too; unfortunately, the price point on that product isn't nearly as friendly as Bunt.

Before I wrap this up, I found one more interesting quirk:

It appears as though errors are not limited to actual printed out products.

This base "card" of Matt Carpenter is over-cropped or "miscut" on both the top and bottom of the image.  Too bad this isn't a true card, or I could send this over to JediJeff or anyone else who has a miscut mini-collection.  Oh well.

Overall, I adore this new physical version of Bunt and I think I'm echoing the sentiments of many a card blogger when I say that I wouldn't mind if this replaced and/or merged with Opening Day to create a rejuvenated, bank account friendly product at the beginning of the season.  My only disappointment comes from the relatively scant checklist, which contains just 200 cards.  At any rate, there's definitely a lot of potential here.

As for the digital aspect, I don't know how much interest this cross-promotion will generate, but it sure makes sense to try it.  As I stated last time I dabbled with the app, I do believe the future of this hobby will be a hybrid situation such as this, where digital and physical cards co-exist in peace and harmony.  

Is Bunt a sign of the future?  Only time will tell.