PC Spotlight #6: My Lewis & Reed PC

I've always been a huge football fan... nope, not soccer... American football. It's pretty simple... there's a lot of action and every game is full of highlights. Offense... defense... special teams... you name it, there's thousands of sweet catches, dramatic drives, devastating hits, and explosive runs to keep us entertained.

And for more than two-thirds of my life as a football fan... I was all about offense. You can see it in how I chose my favorite players and collected cards when I was younger. Growing up... I loved Steve Largent, Eric Dickerson, Curt Warner, Brett Favre, James Lofton, Dan Marino, and Thurman Thomas. Sure... I enjoyed watching Ronnie Lott and Steve Atwater hit people, but they were just the icing on the cake... a bonus.

Then... along came Ray Lewis. For years, I kept seeing him on every defensive highlight film & hearing players talk about how hard he hits. Pretty soon... I was a fan. Not a Ravens fan... but a Lewis fan.

It was only a matter of time before I jumped on the Ed Reed bandwagon too. This guy is his own personal highlight reel. Funny thing is... the first play that comes to mind involving Reed... is the hit Hines Ward laid upon him a few years back on Monday Night Football.

Back in October, I had purchased a Ray Lewis autograph. I had no intentions of collecting him... nope... I just wanted to have his autograph for my PC.

But then I stumbled onto this card a few weeks later...

And as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it in my collection. Two of the top defensive players in the game on one card... how sweet is that?

Well... that was the start of a new PC. I had a little over $30 left in my COMC account, so I went on a little shopping spree. Here's what I have to show for it:

Ray Lewis Memorabilia Cards

Ray Lewis Refractors

Other Ray Lewis #'d Parallels

Ed Reed Memorabilia Cards

Ed Reed SPx Shadow Box

Ed Reed Refractors

The Pittsburgh Steelers officially ended their season and I'm a little bummed. I wanted to see them take on Brady and the Patriots in the AFC Championship game (oops update... I mean Sanchez and the Jets... congratulations Jets fans). It's unfortunate that the offense made some crucial turnovers that led to some easy points for Roethlisberger, Miller, and Ward. But it is what it is... I'm sure Lewis and Reed aren't sitting around making excuses... so why should I.

By the way... for the people keeping track of my New Year's Resolutions... I officially started this PC last year, so I'm not breaking my promise... YET.

A few additional side notes... I'm stoked that the Packers took care of business and beat the Falcons in their precious dome. I thought it was going to be a little closer, but I'm okay with a blowout. You won't see me getting too excited, because they still have to face Chicago again... in Chicago.

I was so close to having my two favorite teams facing off against each other in the NFC Championship game. But... just like most people predicted... it wasn't really a contest. The Bears dominated the majority of the game and held the Hawks to 34 yards rushing. Hopefully, the Packers will have different results.

Speaking of contests... Charles over at Hoopography is holding a couple. The first one involves you guessing his favorite card. He helps you out by providing a couple of clues. The prize includes a lot of Donruss rookie cards, including John Wall and a Tyreke Evans jersey card.

Contest #1

In a separate contest, he's giving away 5 cards from his 2011 Panini Timeless Treasures box break. Included are a quad jersey card, an autographed memorabilia card, and an autographed rookie card.

Contest #2

Well... I hope everyone is enjoying your Sunday. I'm off to a pretty crappy start (Seattle's loss), but I'll feel a little better if the Jets can somehow find a way to knockoff the Patriots (although that's not likely... umm I guess I was wrong again!).

Today's question of the day is...

Who do you think will win next week's game between the Bears and the Packers?

Hasta luego... Sayonara!