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!

R.I.P. John Andretti

One week ago today, the sports world was rocked by the death of Kobe Bryant and understandably so.  The Black Mamba was certainly one of the true greats of his profession, was equally beloved by fans, and was cut down at an age far too young, with a daughter who barely had time to live.  All in all, it was a devastating situation that truly makes one take a step back and think. 

Now, I've never been a huge basketball fan - my interest in the sport died when Michael Jordan retired (the second time) and, even before then, it was casual at best.  Thus, tragic though Bryant's sudden death was, it didn't affect me the same way it did a lot of my peers.  When news dropped about the accident, my wife and I were at a baby shower and the festivities ground to a halt.  I was sad to hear about the loss of life, but I didn't feel as personally attached to Bryant as did many of those party guests and other sports fans across the world.  That's not to say that I wasn't grieved by the loss of life - I'm not a monster - but I've just never paid all that much attention to Kobe's sport of choice.

However, just a few days later, there was another loss in the world of athletics that I felt on a much more personal level.

I maintain a small collection of NASCAR cards and I am passively working on obtaining one for each driver who has one.  This card of John came paired with a 1:64 die-cast model of his #43 Cheerios Dodge that was released by Hot Wheels in (I believe 2002).  That toy car has long since disappeared, but this card remains in my binders.  Once a relic of my childhood, it now holds a more poignant significance.

On the following Thursday, it was announced that veteran racer, John Andretti, had lost his battle with colon cancer and passed away at the age of 56.  Andretti, of course, hails from the most famous racing clan in the history of motorsport and, like his uncle Mario, he was one of the most versatile competitors of his generation.  During the halcyon days of my NASCAR fandom, John was a fixture on the circuit as the pilot of one of the most famous cars in the game, driving the famous blue #43 for Richard Petty.  Two family dynasties working together under one roof, it was almost poetic.

Seeing as Petty was and is my favorite driver in the history of stock car racing, I naturally rooted for John every weekend.  While he was never a front runner, he was able to get a couple of wins under his belt before the NASCAR phase of his career ended in the mid-aughts.  However, that did not mark the end of his time behind the wheel.

Like I said, Andretti was a versatile driver.  Once he was done in stocks, he simply pivoted.

John Andretti returned to the circuit which provided him his first break into the big leagues of auto racing - Indy Car.  In fact, he even brought the legendary blue #43 over with him for a couple of years, in a partnership between Richard Petty Motorsports and Andretti Autosport, as exemplified by this picture I snapped during Indy 500 time trials in 2009.  If you'll permit me a humble brag, I'm impressed I was able to capture such a crisp, clear image of an Indy Car, at speed, with a simple Canon Powershot.

Of course, the Andretti name is synonymous with open wheel racing, so it was a natural move.  Not to mention, John's biggest claim to fame is when, in 1994, he became the first man to attempt "The Double" - competing in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR's Coke 600 in the same day.  That's 1,100 miles in just one day, split between Indy and Charlotte, NC - only a handful of brave souls have even entertained the thought.  Even before that, John had been a regular on the Indy Car (then sanctioned by CART) circuit throughout the late 80's/early 90's, even notching a win in '91 at Queensland.

His return to the open wheel ranks was not earth shattering, but I was irrationally excited to see him show up at the Brickyard from 2007-11.  After I began to grow tired of NASCAR, like John, I too pivoted to Indy Car and have been present for Indy 500 time trials nearly every year since 2003.  seeing a name from the early days of my auto racing fandom show up in my new preferred discipline was a nostalgic thrill.

This is John during Indy time trials in 2006, driving for Marty Roth and a year before partnering back up with Petty.

Beyond NASCAR and Indy Car, John also competed in NHRA drag racers, USAC midgets, and sports cars.  Also, besides his famed double, he's also the only person to have ever competed in a NHRA, Indy Car, and NASCAR event during the same season.  Plus, he's had the opportunity to compete in three of the crown jewels of the entire the racing scene - the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans - as well. Needless to say, John Andretti's racing career was full of intrigue.

Off the track, Andretti was well-liked and well-respected in the garage area of whatever track he happened to be competing at in a given weekend.  Furthermore, he spent a great deal of time volunteering with charities, both with the Petty Victory Junction Gang camp and for Riley Children's Hospital through his own initiative, Race 4 Riley.

In short, the sudden loss of John Andretti hit me pretty hard, as I had followed his career with great interest since the earliest days of my auto racing fandom.  it's never easy to see one of your childhood heroes pass on, whether they make larger than life dunks on the hardwood or guide sleek machines 200 miles per hour through a curve.  In the end, it's important that we appreciate our brief time on this earth, as you never know when it's going to end, no matter if you're a random sports card blogger or among the greatest athletes of all time.

R.I.P. John Andretti.

My Wife Got Petty

The travelling circus that is NASCAR has just rolled into the Windy City.

Those who have been following this blog for a while might know that while the Cubs are my number one sports love, I also have a passionate crush on motorsports.  For nearly two decades, my family and I have made annual pilgrimages to Indianapolis in order to take in the festivities surrounding the Indy 500.  Additionally, in the early aughts, I was even more fanatical about NASCAR Winston Cup racing than I was about Chicago baseball.  The era of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Dale Jr. and crew had me hook, line and sinker - seriously, I would not leave my house for anything on Sunday, unless maaaaaaybe if it was on fire.  While my passion has waned over the years as the cars changed and the stars retired, I still keep a passive interest in the goings on of stock car racing.  In short, I love our nation's pastime; but, I also have room in my heart for fast cars.

While at a family dinner, the topic of Funko POP! Figures came up because my little sister collects them with the intensity that I do baseball cards.  It was mentioned that Funko's never-ending line of mini, vinyl figures was soon expanding to include some of the most popular names in NASCAR's history.  Now, I do not collect these little statuettes myself, but when little sister mentioned that Richard Petty - my all-time favorite racer in any discipline - would be one of the pilots included, my ears perked up.  The conversation was quickly steered in another direction, but my wife must have noticed my eyes briefly light up, as this showed up in my mailbox the other day:

Have I ever mentioned that I am married to the best person on the planet?  She noticed a quickly passing fancy and pounced - apparently, as soon as there was a break in the conversation, unbeknownst to me she whipped out her IPhone and pre-ordered Petty for me.  Therefore, if I haven't mentioned it before, well, I totally am! 

For those who may not be aware, Richard Petty is the undisputed King of NASCAR.  He has set dozens of records that will never be broken, including his dizzying 200 career wins in the (insert sponsor name here) Cup series.  Although he retired when I was just three years old after the 1992 season, he was my first favorite professional athlete, largely thanks to the fact that my first "Hot Wheels" car was 1:64 scale model of his '92 Pontiac Grand Prix.  In fact, while it's certainly seen it's share of wear and tear, I still have that beat up hunk of plastic today:

For a while there, I was so enamored with Petty, that I automatically considered every racecar a "Richard Petty," much like one would generically use Kleenex in reference to any disposable tissue.  I quickly began to expand my "Petty" collection, including a fair amount of actual Richard racers.  Before long, my collection of NASCAR die-casts took up an entire corner of my childhood bedroom. Among these treasures was what I consider to be the second-coolest hot rod (here's the machine which holds the title) to ever take to the banks of any race track, a 1:24 scale model of the King's 1970 Plymouth Superbird:

Over the years, I've handed down, donated, or sold off most of my die-cast collection, but these two cars have stood the test of time.  As I said, I kneel at the altar of King Richard.  While he was arguably the greatest driver in stock car history, has served as a moderately successful team owner, and has stuck around as a recognizable ambassador for the sport, his most influential role in my eyes was serving as my introduction to the high-octane world of auto racing.

My wonderful wife knew all of this, knew that I secretly wanted a Petty Pop and she didn't wait for me to realize it.  All told, she's simply the best.

Neither one of us actually collects these things though, so she turned to a third-party vendor to reserve a copy of the then-unreleased Petty figurine.  Fumble Pop might be a familiar name to those of you out there in the blogosphere who dabble in this sphere of collecting; but, to me, they're just a nifty sticker:

Fumble Pop also had pre-sales available for the rest of the drivers in the line, which include Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Bill and Chase Elliott.  However, Petty was the only one of interest.  Maybe if I were to dive headfirst into the world of Pops, I would be more intrigued; that said, I'm not looking to complete the checklist at this point.

Anyway, I'm not one of those types who looks at toys as investments - Sheldon Cooper and I do not see eye-to-eye with the concept of "mint in box."  With that, I did what might make the skin of any Funko Funatic immediately begin to crawl, I opened the figure and tossed out the box.  Sorry, ya'll:

Just as his competition learned, you can't keep the King contained!

I'd say that Funko did a remarkable job of recreating Petty's likeness without sacrificing the unifying look of their Pop figures.  They made sure to include his trademark cowboy hat, ubiquitous shades, and his dapper mustache - it's as though they shrunk Richard Petty himself down to size.  For reference, here's a photograph that I captured of Mr. Petty during a radio broadcast in Indianapolis in 2008:

Nailed it!

This surprise gift made me want to marry my better half all over again - she truly knows me better than I know myself.  Although, as much as I love this little guy, I think it's safe to say that I won't be diving headfirst into the never-ending pool of Pops.  First of all, there's simply too much out there for me to truly be able to focus - I mean, name any intellectual property and there is probably already a line of Pops dedicated towards it.  Secondly, Pop figures themselves don't really move the needle for me on their own - I don't really desire to have a whole shelf full of these sorta creepy, black-eyed dolls.   Thirdly, my collecting focus remains steadfastly on my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection and lord knows that I don't any more side-collections diverting funds from my ultimate goal of obtaining one card of everyone to don a Cubs uniform. 

Of course, all of that being acknowledged, I wouldn't say no to the "Bryzzo" figures that I discovered in the process of drafting this post.  King Richard could use a buddy or two, I suppose...

Do you collect Pop figures?  Are you a certified Funko Funatic?  If so, please tell me about your collection and how you pursue your Pops.  Meanwhile, are these figures a fad in the mold of Beanie Babies?  Or, do they have the potential to be a collectible item for years to come, much like our beloved baseball cards?  Please feel free to share your thoughts on the subject in the comment section below.

In the meantime, after writing this up, I suddenly feel the need to wrap my wife up in another bear hug.  Richard Petty might be the King, but my wife will always be my queen!

Well, I Tri'ed

Every year, the school district that I work for partners up with a local developmental needs services & support organisation in order to compete in the annual Chicago Triathlon.  Taking part in the Super Sprint, we get together to full out relay rosters so that these students can enrich themselves in a team-building, physical activity and have some fun outside in doing so.  In 2017, I was approached to join this program by a member of the school district staff because they knew I spent my high school and college years competing in cross country and track.  Knowing the motivation, I couldn't say no to this request.  However, the invitation came with a twist - instead of legging out the 1.5 mile portion of the triathlon relay, I would be taking to the water in a swim just under a quarter mile.

Here's the kicker, I can't swim.

Well, I can swim... but only enough to prevent myself from drowning.  While that seems like a recipe for disaster, I was assured that the course stayed close enough to the shoreline that Lake Michigan was barely up to my waist.  Therefore, I was able to swim/aqua jog for the duration of my leg so that our partners could compete in the biking and running portions.  Plus, it was a fun change of pace from my normal circuit of 5k's and road races with a fun group of people in a non-competitive atmosphere.  All in all, it was a positive experience.

This year, the program again found themselves in need of help and I was again asked to help out.  The event took place yesterday morning and, to put it succinctly, it did not go nearly as well.

via GIPHY

This time, we had heavy rains all night leading up to the triathlon.  The tide was higher and the water, which had been waist deep the year previous, was no up to my ears.  While I could fake it the first time, I actually had to swim for it this go 'round since my toes barely scraped the sand.  As I was flailing wildly, all I could think about was how embarrassed I was going to feel after being fished out by the teenage lifeguards on watch.

Thankfully, it did not come to that and I was able to slowly (super slowly) make my way through all 0.23 miles of water.  It wasn't pretty and I was being passed by people leisurely doing the backstroke, but I made it.  But, this experience confirmed what I had been saying for years - I am simply not a swimmer.

Speaking of swimmers...

In order to calm myself as I slowly splashed my way through the course, I tried to think about anything else besides the distance ahead of me.  The first thought that flashed through my mind involved the NASCAR driver that you see above - Scott Wimmer.  Why did this random, not connected to triathlons in anway athlete pop into my panicked brain?  Well, all you have to do is look at Scott's last name and his first initial: S. Wimmer aka "Swimmer."

Scott Wimmer was an up-and-coming talent during the years I dove headfirst into the NASCAR scene.  The Wisconsin native made his name on the local short tracks and the old ASA late model series before signing with Bill Davis Racing (BDR) to compete in the second-tier Busch Series.  Both my father and I simply referred to this potential star of the future as "Swimmer" and this portmanteau amused us way more than it should have.

When I decided to reboot my NASCAR card collection a couple of years ago, I was happy to recover this neon Racing Champions "Swimmer" single from a little-used drawer, making it one of the few originals that survived the purge of racing cards from my binders.

Hailing from his "prospect day" in what is now the Xfinity Series, this mini card originally came paired with a 1:64 diecast model of his 2003 Stacker 2/BDR Chevrolet Monte Carlo.  During the halycon days of my race fan years, I spent tons of my allowance funds on a diecast collection, so my racing card collection was made up mostly of these premium pairings.  As you can tell from the scan of the card back, Racing Champions put far more effort into their cars than they did their cards.  That said, today, that toy car has long since been lost to the sands of time while the corresponding card still represents Scott Wimmer in my All-Time NASCAR driver binder.

Since I no longer have the diecast model, here's an image of the ride that I swiped from the internet:

Man - if you looked at that car without sunglasses, I'm pretty sure you could burn your retinas.  It definitely stood out on the track!

All in all, as I was bobbing up and down in Lake Michigan, I thought about how Scott's racing career was squashed by sponsorship problems.  Despite showing his capability in high-end NASCAR competition, by the time he was promoted the Cup series to replace Ward Burton in the famous Caterpillar car, the once powerful Bill Davis Racing squad was barely staying afloat.  A third place showing in his first Daytona 500 (2004) became his career highlight as the quality of his equipment diminished. "Swimmer" had the same problem when he moved on the Morgan McClure Motorsports, another former top-flight team that was scraping for cash and barely "treading water."  The once heralded prospect became a career journeyman, going back to the Busch ranks, and eventually moving from behind the wheel to the spotter's stand.

Anyway, this is what I was thinking about as I struggled to swim a quarter mile through the cold waters of Lake Michigan yesterday morning - Scott "Swimmer" Wimmer's NASCAR career.  This is how my brain operates.  I guess it worked though, as I was eventually able to make it back to the beach and hand off my timing chip to the biker on my team's roster.  No need to call in the teens!  However, I think it's time for me to officially retire from triathlons... or at least practice my swimming form.  Either way, I now have another full-year to decide on one of these two options.

Thanks for saving me, "Swimmer!"

Here's the Story

Graduation is near as the school year inches ever closer to an end.  Kids are restless, staring out windows instead wistfully and wishing they could be outside carousing in the increasingly summer like weather (or playing Fortnite, whatever kids do these days).  Teachers are just trying to keep it together, crawling across the finish line as they try to guide these students to summer break.  In just over a week, the 2017-18 calendar will officially conclude, as children and teachers alike celebrate surviving yet another school year.  The end is nigh!

Accordingly, many teachers in our building have begun to straighten up their classrooms in order to get ahead on the upcoming, yearly clean-out .  While summer break is a joyous occasion for student and teacher alike, the latter definitely does not enjoy having to pack up their entire workspace each and every June.  With that in mind, oftentimes, staff will attempt to cast off anything they don't absolutely need for the sake of sparing space and time; those items usually end up in the teacher's lounge, free to a good home.  This week, the tables of the staff sanctuary have been well-stocked with knick-knacks, books, and old teaching resources... a sort of educational yard sale.

Yesterday, while stuffing my lunch in the lounge refrigerator, I noticed what looked like an old card catalog on the microwave counter, next to a stack of worn workbooks.  As a noted cardboard fiend, anything even remotely resembling cards will always catch my attention and this box was no exception:

The "Story of America," eh?  In card form?  Color me intrigued, Uncle Sam.

The note that was tucked under the box stated that the previous owner had these cards tucked away for several years.  Having not taught history for nearly a decade, she decided to finally cut ties and dispose of her former historical teaching tools.  I suppose these bad boys wouldn't be of much use i Algebra, would they? 

So, with plenty of other important, graduation-centric tasks to be done, I - of course - dropped anchor and immediately flipped open the lid.  Well, after stashing my sandwich in the fridge, anyway.

Wow - that's a lot of colorful cards!  I suppose it takes a lot of paper to cover over 200 years of history.

A little cursory research tells me that these reference cards were produced by Grolier, Inc.  Before the days of instantly attainable information on the internet, these sorts of encyclopedic card catalogs were a popular learning tool.  People of a certain age might remember Sportscaster Cards, Safari Cards and Greenhouse Cards which were all pumped out via subscription service.  Groiler's Story of America cards were no different, produced from 1994-2001, updated in yearly fashion.  This particular box appears to date from 1997, as several specific events from that year are referenced throughout the set.

As a former aspiring history teacher, these 4x6 cards might have come in handy had I continued down that path.  However, as a current trading card collector, these intended educational tools turned out to be of use to me on my current path, as well.  As you can see, our massive history is broken down in to several, more easily digestible categories - America at War, Famous Places, Important Events, etc.  Seeing as we are a nation of sports fiends and athletics have often played a key role in the development of our country, it should come as no surprise that they show up fairly often in these cards of America, mostly as part of the "Life in America" subset:

I mean, how can you tell the story of America without discussing, America's national pastime... am I right?

As for the cards themselves, each subsection is color-coded, with "Life in America" being assigned green.  On the left, we have a timeline which dates the event or person spotlighted on the card.  In the middle we have a photograph or artist's depiction; in this particular case, we have a lovely 1887 Aquarelle print titled “Base Ball" - by L. Prang & Co. - representing the gestation of baseball.  Lastly, on the right ,we have the "who, what, when, where" and a visual indicating where in the country this event/person achieved notoriety.

On the backside, we have a detailed account of what's shown on the front, along with some bonus trivia.  As you might be able to read, Grolier opted for the origin story involving Alexander Cartwright (rather than the myth of Abner Doubleday), distilling the complicated and oft-argued story down to a basic paragraph, easy enough for a kid to get the basics.

All in all, I can see how these would make for a great source of quick information in the days before every man, woman, and child had a tiny computer in their pocket at all times.

Baseball shows up a few times in Grolier's box.  Not only is the game covered in the broad sense, but it's also showcased through some of the larger figures in the sport's history... names so notable that they crossed over from the world of sports into the larger cultural zeitgeist.  For instance, like the Hank Aaron which rests at the top of this post.

Or, Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson - two names that even someone with the most minimal knowledge of baseball would most likely recognize.  The Jackie Robinson card, in particular, would have  come in handy back in February, as several classrooms in our building did group projects centered on the Hall of Famer in honor of  Black History Month.  Colloquially, Jackie appears to be one of the most popular subjects, year in and year out, at least as far as I've noticed.

As important as the game is to the USA, baseball wasn't the only sport covered by Grolier in this box:

Of course, hockey is a distinctly Canadian invention, but I suppose America has played a strong hand in it's modern development.  The team depicted is the 1917 Seattle Metropolitans, who became the first American team to win Lord Stanley's Cup.   Speaking of the Stanley Cup, how about those Golden Knights?  Will they pull off the historically improbable feat of winning a major sports championship as an expansion club?

Speaking of topical sports, the month of May is traditionally associated with a certain, specific one-day event:

And I was just blogging about how little cardboard representation the Indy 500 and open wheel racing gets too.  The 102nd running of the most famous event in auto racing will be taking place this Sunday and I cannot wait!

On that note...

NASCAR and Jeff Gordon are both repped by this card describing what occurred during the 1997 running of the Daytona 500, another one of motorsports' crown jewels.  That February, "Wonderboy" became the race's youngest victor, at the tender age of 25 (a record since eclipsed by 20-yr old Trevor Bayne in 2011).  This May, Gordon was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, at the age of 48.  Time flies, doesn't it?

Sidenote - Billy (from Cardboard History), would this count as a NASCAR card for the purposes of your collection?

So far, we've seen Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson, Jeff Gordon, etc., some of the most recognized names in the history of North American sports.  All in all, this box does a pretty good job of covering the "who's who" in our sporting lineage.  With that said, there's no way that Grolier was going to exclude what may be the BIGGEST name in our sporting history;

After all, in 1997, "Air Jordan" and his Bulls were coming off their fifth of six NBA Championships, with five NBA Finals MVP awards for MJ.  In short, the legend was in the prime of his notoriety when these cards were printed and distributed.  This oddball will make a fine addition to my small, but growing Chicago Bulls collection.

Now, there were many other cards with sporting connections to be found in the "Story of America," but I've chosen to only showcase the ones that appealed to me and my collecting interests.  You better believe, after flipping through the massive deck and finding these awesome oddballs, that I took them home to add to me collection.  After all, they were on the house and my official duty as the school IT person is to do anything I can to help our educating staff.  Sometimes, that goes beyond computers and includes getting rid of stuff for the teachers...well, at least it did yesterday.  Gotta clear that counter-space!

Before I go, I'm left wondering, does anyone else have a stash of these oddities in the collections?  Do you consider educational sets like these to be collectible trading cards?  Have ever used a set of these (or similar products) in your classroom, either as a professional or as a student?  Please feel free to weigh-in on these matters in the comment section below.

In the meantime, here's hoping that more cool stuff shows up in the teacher's lounge as summer break dawns!

Running the Ball, Running the Race

Happy belated Daytona Day - sorry for being a day late and a dollar short.

Yesterday was one of the most important days on the automobile racing calendar:  the 60th running of the "Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing," otherwise known as the Daytona 500.  The season-opener for the NASCAR Cup circuit is considered to be one of the crown jewel events in all of motorsports, on par with events such as the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Grand Prix of Monaco.  The 200-lap event held on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway is one of the very first events on the yearly motor racing schedule, thus making the anticipation even more palpable as the green flag approaches.

Speaking of auto sport, for a time in the late nineties and early aughts, Cubs baseball and Bears football were supplanted in my heart by race cars and racing cards.  I would binge watch off road racing and rallycross events on the Speed Channel, attend as many races as I could afford at the local tracks, and play NASCAR Thunder on my XBox until my eyes were ready to fall out.  My collecting habits were reflected accordingly, as trips to my LCS were focused exclusively on packs of the latest Press Pass products.  Diamonds and gridirons were old hat.

However, at that same card shop, there was one football card that caught my attention:

Long gone Double Play Sports Cards decorated their walls with their most eye-catching merchandise.  I vividly remember taking a trip there with my father and seeing the above card mounted just above the cash register.  Standing there confused and probably with my mouth agape,  my dear old dad explained to me that the greatest running back of all-time and Windy City God, Walter Payton, once moonlighted as a race car driver.  My mind instantly shattered into a thousand pieces and I knew I had to have that card.

Unfortunately, that shop was unaware that the junk wax bubble had burst and the hometown markup was strong, so it took me another fifteen or so years to finally acquire it.  Thanks, Jeff!

After he retired from the NFL, Payton was invited to drive in Toyota celebrity races in 1988 and 1989, events which whetted his racing appetite.  Shortly thereafter, "Sweetness" officially became a two-sport athlete and formed NFL Team 34.  With his race team, the football legend raced at various levels in the Sports Car Club of America, winning a pair of races and even won the SCCA GT-1 championship during the 1990 June Sprints.  As you can see, Payton was just as speedy on the track as he was at Soldier Field.

For 1992, Walter moved up the Trans-Am series, then the uppermost level of the SCCA, racing for Paul Newman and road racing legend Tom Gloy.  The learning curve was steep, and in 18 events, Payton finished no higher than 8th place.  Then, at Elkhart Lake in 1993, the former Bear flipped his Ford Mustang several times and it burst into flames; luckily, he was able to escape with only minor burns, but he was sufficiently rattled.  Soon thereafter, Payton stepped out from behind the wheel permanently, and instead opted to pursue his second love as a team owner.

 Payton wheeling a Mustang for NFL Team 34

Walter then bought into Daly Coyne's racing team, a Plainfield, IL-based CART (Indy Car) entry, forming Payton-Coyne Racing.  Right up until his sickness forced him to step away in 1999, Walter was a familiar sight in the pits and he never missed watching his drivers on the track, according to one race official.  Some of those more notable drivers included Johnny Unser, Robbie Buhl, Roberto Moreno, and eventual '96 Indy 500 winner, Buddy Lazier.  However, unfortunately, victory lane eluded the team at this time.

Despite the relative lack of success, Payton's influence was felt across the garage area, as all the cars which competed in the 1999 CART season opener carried a decal, reading, "Get Well, Sweetness."  This decal also featured a football helmet with No. 34 in the Chicago Bear colors.

18 years later, Coyne driver, Ed Jones, sported a special helmet for his team's former co-owner.

And that is the story behind Walter Payton's second sporting career.  I'm curious, how aware of this bid of sports trivia were you aware of?  Were you as shocked and impressed as wide-eyed, pre-teen Tony was?

Walter Payton may not have competed in NASCAR; however, the day of the Daytona 500 still seemed like an appropriate time to share this story.  It's just too bad that I forgot to do just that, yesterday afternoon.  I was far too caught up in Austin Dillon, a third generation racer, outlasting the field in a crash-filled contest, taking the iconic number "3" car to victory lane twenty years after the legendary Dale Earnhardt did so in 1998.  I think the folks at NASCAR were quite happy with the result.  Sorry, Walter.

Of course, from everything I've read, I think it's safe to say that Mr. Payton would probably have been just as enthralled with the race as I was!

Changing of the Guard

I know my NASCAR posts don't generate many clicks, but I'm going to bang one out anyway - outside of a select few that I'm aware of, there simply doesn't appear to be many stock car racing fans on the blogosphere.  In fact, that might be a symptom of a larger problem that the league is currently experiencing.

Today, it was announced that another of the sport's stars is stepping out from behind the wheel - Danica Patrick.  Granted, she hasn't exactly lit up the speed charts since she won the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500; however, Danica is still a major name that casual fans recognize and a major draw for lucrative and oft-criminally ignored female sports fan market (that's a rant for another time).  It had already been made known that Patrick wouldn't be back at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2018, with her seat being taken by Aric Almirola, and after today's press release, we know that she'll be done with stocks after next season's Daytona and Indianapolis 500-milers.

As an avowed Indy-fanatic, I am quite thrilled that she has decided to make the annual May festival of speed her swan song.

Patrick adds her name to a growing list of stars who have decided that their time in the limelight has come to end.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Matt Kenseth are already putting the finishing touches on farewell tours as the 2017 campaign comes to a close (in an appropriate bit of symmetry - both took the scene by storm as rookies in 2000).  Furthermore, since 2015, the nation's most popular motorsport has seen Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle call it a wrap, as well.  In short, a great number of the most recognizable names are crossing theirs off of the weekly entry lists.

I'm curious, with NASCAR already struggling mightily with ratings, how this will affect the organization.  The current downward trend has been fairly consistent since the latter half of the previous decade, due to a multitude of factors - recession, rapidly rising costs in sponsorship and attendance, the ever-changing joke of a points system, etc., etc.   NASCAR has lost more than 45% of its audience since then, according to Nielsen, and live attendance has been so lackluster that many speedways have actually taken to removing seats.  In short, things aren't pretty.

Will the loss of the previous generation's major attractions only further the trend or will the influx of young blood attract a new wave of fans?

Young guns such as Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson have already staked their claims as top contenders, while baby-faced racers such as Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Daniel Suarez, and Erik Jones look to fill the star-power vacuum in 2018.  There's no doubt, whatsoever, that this is a transitional period... the torch is being passed, if you will.  But, is that torch still bright enough that anyone will care to watch?

The sport is at a crossroads.

NASCAR has been around for nearly 70 years, so it has weathered such "changings of the guard" many times in it's rich history; however, faced with so many other perils... in the words of Asia, "only time will tell" what shall happen.

Selfishly, I kind of, sort of hope that open wheel racing can seize this opportunity to win back some of the market share that they lost when they fractured in the mid-90's.  Eyes drifted towards NASCAR and top-level talent shifted their focus towards stock cars as the Indy car leagues made fools of themselves, in one way or another.  In recent years, the two factions have joined back together and the quality of racing has drastically improved... not that Indy Car is treating it's own blemishes, right now.  Perhaps the Indianapolis 500 will experience something of a revival on the national level?  Again, only time will tell.

At any rate, it's going to be an interesting year for American motorsports in 2018.

Remember the Name

A name can go a long way in bringing recognition.  For instance, Jorge Soler - it's sounds like a strong, powerful, moniker... one that only a beast of a baseball prospect would hold.  It's a name that, even if you weren't a fan of the Cubs (or, now, Royals) you would probably remember, due to it's unique and almost poetic nature.  Similarly, we here on the blogosphere know that the right page name can make a big difference when it comes to page views - it's the first thing that someone sees when they come across your little corner of the internet, after all.  It has to properly convey what your blog is all about in just a handful of words. 

A couple of weeks ago, Paul decided that his blog name just wasn't cutting the mustard; the loyal Detroit Tigers realized that he wanted the use the web-space for more than just TTM's.  So, he did a little crowd-sourcing to re-brand the blog formerly known as Paul's TTM Blog.  Of course, I threw my hat in the ring... because why not?

My entrant did not win the contest; but, I must admit, I think that Scribbled Ink is one heckuva catchy name.  Even though my suggestion wasn't nearly as good, Paul was still generous enough to send a "thanks for participating" flat-rate mailer my way.  I shutter to think about what the actual winner got as a reward because this participation package was an absolute winner!

Leading off the goodies was this All-Star game ballot from 2008, the last year in which the mid-summer classic was held in the Motor City.  This was a year that the Cubs were actually good and ended up sending eight representatives to Detroit as part of the National League squad.  Thus, this will make a nice, unique bit of memorabilia for my baseball stashes.  Plus it was just fun to flip through and see all of these old, familiar names...  Geoff Jenkins, Cesar Izturis, Xavier Nady... it's been a long time.

The rest of the package was made up of cards, mostly Cubs, including the beautifully blue Topps Chrome Future Stars insert which began the post.  Accompanying Mr. Soler, Paul included some big names from the past:

Kong, the man who beat father time, Steve Trout looking as 80's as ever, and old fan-favorite Starlin Castro.  Not a bad set of quadruplets there.  These are all well-remembered names in the city of Chicago.

On the flip-side, pretty much none but the most depraved of Cubs fans recalls Dave Swartzbaugh.  Accordingly, this 1997 Fleer single represents Dave's only Big League baseball card and will slide nicely into my CATRC binder, replacing the Classic minor league single which previously occupied his slot.  I've been trying to track this guy down for a long time.

Meanwhile, Mark Grace is anything but a forgotten name - "Amazing Grace" is still a revered figure by Wrigley faithful.  He looks pretty darn good on this reflective Gold Label card from the prodcut's original run.  Speaking of gold...

 

 

Paul threw in a bunch of gold parallels too!   

via GIPHY

However. not all that glitters is gold... I'm a fan of shiny medallions, as well:

That's a pretty sweet looking manu-relic of Anthony Rizzo (from 2016 Update), declaring him a possibility to join the 500 Home Run Club before his career ends.  With 166 long balls through his age 27 season, the chance is there - if he averages a little more than 33 homers for the next ten campaigns, this medallion will not be liar.

The medallion wasn't the only hit of the box either; it wouldn't be a package from the proprietor of Scribbled Ink with a little... scribbled ink:

Zonk!

I think we can all agree that one of the best things Panini ever brought to the table was the Hometown Heroes brand; I mean, what other product offers such niche autographic subjects?  This signature is going to look fantastic in my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection binder!

Even with all of that, there were still plenty more gems to be shown off from Paul's mailing:

Here we have a pair of key rookies, a pair of former Chicago sports greats.  I realize that Jake Arrieta isn't officially off of the table for the Cubs, but I'm fairly certain that he's going to want more money and years than Theo and crew are going to be able to offer.  *sigh*

On the bright side, that Joakim Noah rook kicked off a fairly sizable Bulls portion of the package:

 

There were a few new names added to my Bulls All-Time Roster Collection, a binder that's almost exclusively filled by trading partners.  For that, I am eternally grateful!

Along with those additions, "His Airness" made is presence felt:

And his presence was impossible to ignore.  As a Chicagoan who grew up during the 1990's, MJ is absolutely a personal favorite.  Also as a Windy City resident who grew up during that dynastic period, any Jordan card feels more like a gold doubloon than a pasteboard, especially that Star Attractions, die-cut insert from Upper Deck.

That about did it for the hardwood portion of the package; but, at this point, can you believe that there was STILL more to be had!

This package ended up covering three sports with this Jeff Gordon All-Star "SAMPLE" from the 2003 edition of Press Pass.  If you're only going to throw in one NASCAR card, you might as well make it a unique one!

As a big finale, Paul also threw in a nice stash of unopened packs that I'll likely save for a rainy day:

Topps Attax cello packs - these must have been some sort of stadium giveaway... perhaps at Comerica Park?  Also, the Mantle and the Ruth appear to be some sort of special addendum to the set; anybody know what the story is behind them?

There was also a cello pack of Fleer's Authentix "Hot Tickets" from 2005, with Sammy Sosa on the front, to boot.  Again, these die-cut oddities appear to be some sort of SGA - can anyone confirm or deny my suspicions?

Lastly, we have some "Brain Straining Doodlewonkers," which is something that is completely lost on me but looks incredibly amusing.  The artwork on the front reminds me of something that one might see on a re-run of Monty Python's Flying Circus.  I'll save this pack for when I'm having a bad day at work or when I need some cheering up.

With that, we've finally come to the end of Paul's "participation mailer."  Again, I shudder to think about what the actual winner of his "name the blog" contest came away with!

via GIPHY

The only way to top what we saw here, at least in my opinion.

Thank you, Paul, for putting together such a generous mailing... one that kept me entertained and busy sorting and filing for hours.  You're a good egg, sir!  I would also expect a proper thank you gift, if I were you.

Before I go, please allow me to remind you fellow baseball card bloggers and enthusiasts to update your blogroll, favorites, feed, or what have you to include the new name and URL for Paul's blog, Scribbled Ink - https://scribbledinc.blogspot.com.  

There's a lot more to like about that place besides the spiffy new name!