A large majority of the posts on this blog feature sports teams and players that I love to root for. Today's post focuses on the opposite end of the spectrum. I'm going to rank my least liked sports franchises of all-time while sharing a card featuring a player on that team that I actually admire and/or rooted for.
But before I begin, I want to give credit to two bloggers for inspiring this Blog Bat-Around post: Joe @ The Shlabotnik Report and Mike @ Not Another Baseball Card Blog. The blogosphere could use more interesting Blog Bat-Around ideas like this one.
Let's get started...
Honorary Mention #1: Larry Bird
1993-94 Finest Refractor #2
Had I written this post twenty years ago, the Boston Celtics would have cracked the Top 5. However my interested in professional basketball has tapered off since the early 2010's, so they're now just an honorable mention.
The one Celtic that immediately popped into my head for this post was Larry Bird. He's one of those legends that I truly respect and admire. I couldn't stand him while he was in the league, but these days I have no problem adding his cards to my basketball collection.
Honorable Mention #2: Gordie Howe
1968-69 O-Pee-Chee #29
Back in the 90's, I hated the Detroit Red Wings. They were essentially the New York Yankees of hockey and one of my buddies was a huge fan. The Red Wings have plenty of legends and fan favorites worthy of collecting, but if I was going to go out of my way to collect one, it probably would be Mr. Hockey.
Chris over at Diamond Cuts & Wax Stains sent me that vintage Howe over a decade ago. It's one of the most attractive hockey cards in my collection.
I couldn't write about Gordie without showing off his SLU:
1995 Kenner SLU Timeless Legends
Back in 1996, he was signing at a local card show for only $5, so I went out and purchased this SLU for him to sign.
Moving along, here are my five least favorite sports franchises...
#5: Barry Bonds
2002 Topps Autographs #TA10
I've always had a love/hate relationship with the Giants. Being born and raised in the Bay Area, the city of San Francisco will always be special to me. The memories of attending their games at Candlestick Park with my brother are something I cherish as much as the A's games we attended at the Coliseum.
In fact, down inside... I don't really hate the San Francisco Giants. It's the fans. Giants fans outnumber A's fans and when they win, the team climbs these rankings. Thankfully, they have been struggling lately... so they've fallen down to #5.
As for Barry... he has a love/hate relationship with baseball fans himself. Personally, I loved watching him play. And these days... I enjoy collecting his cards too.
#4: Dallas Cowboys
1992 Beach Sports Autographs #AC1
#3: Jackie Robinson
1956 Topps #30
The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants will always be in my Top 5 list of least favorite sports teams. But neither creep into the Top 2, because those teams are practically untouchable. Right now the Dodgers are higher than the Giants, because they're better. Much better. Fifteen years ago, the rankings were flip-flopped.
Over the years, I've collected a bunch of different Dodgers: Fernando, Nomo, Kershaw, Freeman, and Ohtani. But my favorite Dodgers card sitting in my collection is my favorite card of all-time. Jackie's 1956 Topps card.
#2: Lou Gehrig
2004 Topps Clubhouse Collection Relics #CL-LG2
This particular bat card was the highlight from a group break I joined over at Cardboard Collections. I'm normally not into joining group breaks, but when I looked over the product checklists and noticed that the Yankees were still available... I immediately sent Colbey my money.
#1: Jerry Rice
1986 McDonald's #NNO
The San Francisco 49ers are arguably the most popular Bay Area sports team and it feels like they're always good. And there's never been a shortage of family members, friends, and colleagues reminding me about their 80's and 90's dynasty. To make matters worse... both of my favorite teams are their rivals. Damn... I can't stand the 49ers.
That being said... I truly admire Jerry Rice and his career accomplishments. This particular card is special to me, because I received it in a trade with my buddy Mike. If you're new to this blog, Mike was a longtime hobby friend who passed away in 2023. Ironically... he was a huge fan of the #1 and #2 teams in this post.
Well that wraps up this post. Thank you Joe and Mike for kicking off this blog bat-around! I sure hope a few others join in on the fun.
Until then...
Happy Thursday and sayonara!
2 comments:
Some impressive cards here.
Robinson edges out Gehrig for the win.
I hate all teams but the Braves, my problem is that I like too many players on those teams, lol.
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