One of my biggest childhood fears was the United States government reinstating the military draft. I had heard about it from my teachers, parents, and probably seen it on television. And although I know that it's an honor to fight for your country, I'm not going to lie. The idea scared me to death.
In fact, I've never been a "fighter". I've been in only one physical altercation in my forty-two years of existence... and not a single punch was thrown. It involved me going "ninja" on a kid for knocking my Nerds on the ground. He was probably a foot taller than me and possibly twice my weight. Thankfully he didn't take me seriously and just pinned me down until the yard duty ladies arrived.
Since then, I've had absolutely no desire to engage in fisticuffs. Heck... I'm not even a huge fan of verbal arguments. Getting straight to the point... I try my best to avoid confrontations at all costs.
That's why when I heard that Wes was going to war against Matt... and then Tony... I just sat back, busted out the popcorn, and watched the show. Boy... were both of those battles epic.
But to be honest... Wes is the last guy on the planet I'd want to go to war with. The guy must have storage units filled with sports cards. And over the years, I've just learned to appreciate his Barker Bombs and know that I'll forever be in his debt when it comes to care packages.
Back in April, he decided to target my collection with a nice stack of serial numbered cards. Each card was hand chosen to reflect my player and team collections.
On top was this shiny Steve Carlton...
2004 Playoff Honors Champions #C-6 (#'d 0699/1983)
There were several Green Bay Packers, including this Brett Favre insert...
2006 Elite Chain Reaction #CR-21 (#'d 0348/1000)
Plus this low numbered parallel of the Seahawks all-time passing leader...
2011 Inception Blue #68 (#'d 178/209)
And a large stack of Japanese players... one of which was numbered to only twenty-five...
2008 Moments & Milestones Black #142-19 (#'d 04/25)
He even threw in a few memorabilia cards, one of which was this jersey card of future hall of famer, Teemu Selanne...
2001-02 Pacific Jerseys #34 (#'d 0640/1135)
But the three PC's he targeted the most were my Oakland Athletics, Montreal Expos, and San Diego Padres.
This Tejada is just one of about fifteen A's cards he included...
2004 Diamond Kings Framed Silver #79 (#'d 029/100)
He paired this low numbered Vidro with four other Expos...
2000 Upper Deck Exclusives Silver #430 (#'d 043/100)
And rounding out the package were a bunch of Tony Gwynn cards, including this beautiful Marquee parallel...
2011 Marquee Blue #32 (#'d 263/299)
Wes... thank you so much for these awesome cards... but let's listen to Lennon and give peace a chance. I know I sound like a broken record... but I assure you that I have a nice stack of autographs for your collection. And when the day comes and they arrive on your doorstep, please know that it's a "peace package" and not a declaration of war.
Happy Monday and sayonara!
I'll never fight for any of the countries I consider "mine" (and yes it's plural, which is why I'll never be able to choose anyway). Only time I'll ever fight is when the need to defend planet Earth arises*.
ReplyDelete*From a force other than ourselves because there is no saving humanity from itself
Nice cards though. The Marquee Gwynn was always one of the better base cards in a high end set.
So you're going with the appeasement strategy? Let's go ask Neville Chamberlain how well that one works. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zippy that the Marquee cards were very nice, almost Stadium Club like.
ReplyDeleteWar with Wes is not the greatest of ideas, but it sure is fun. You just have to accept that your organization will instantly become a 6 month project.
That Gwynn is an awesome card, no doubt!
ReplyDeleteAs another of the "warlords," the biggest downside it has had for me is putting my trading with others onto the back burner for a while. It was still a blast, and I'd do it again...though, this time, preferably with someone other than a Braves fan. My Braves supply has dwindled!
zippy - I'm down to save our planet too ;)
ReplyDeletejosh - In terms of battling Wes... the short answer is "yes". Thank the cardboard gods there are collectors who resemble Churchill... and balance things out.
matthew - i'm pretty sure this is the first marquee card in the collection... but i love it. glad you guys had fun... i'm just so back up in terms of care packages... i can't afford 6 days, let alone 6 months.
tony - man... that final package you sent wes was insane. if you added up every single braves card i have ever owned, it wouldn't match half of what you sent. thanks for entertaining us.