Monday, January 25, 2021

High Hopes and Heartache

Some losses hurt more than others.  Watching the Green Bay Packers lose to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday hurt more than any football game I've watched in the past five years.  Why?  It's simple.  Normally I refuse to get my hopes up when it comes to sports.

The San Jose Sharks taught me about heartache.  Sure... they've stunk in recent years... but from 1997-98 to 2018-19 they made the playoffs 19 out 21 times.  During that run, there were a handful of seasons where I truly felt they'd reach the Stanley Cup Finals... and possibly win it.  And that's when I learned that high hopes lead to heartache.

I still get excited when my teams play and I'll always cheer for them no matter if they're playing well or poorly.  I just try to avoid getting my hopes up.


Sadly... I didn't try hard enough, because along comes Mr. Rodgers and his MVP numbers, a solid trio of running backs standing behind him,  one of the best receivers in the game lining up to catch his throws, and their best defense in years.  And just like that... I started thinking there was a chance they could win it allThe result?  Heartache.


Oh well.  I still love them.  Aaron Rodgers is still my favorite Packer.  And I will continue to collect his cards even if the Packers don't win another Super Bowl in my lifetime.

Both of these Rodgers were sent to me in a PWE from Elliptical Man and I was pretty excited to see them.  Not a lot of people send me football cards... and when they do... he's isn't usually included.  And since I don't really open up new product anymore, it's nice to see some newer Rodgers enter the collection.

The key card in the PWE was actually a short print for my 2020 Topps Allen & Ginter set build:


This Billy Williams leaves me needing only fifteen more short prints.  I'm pretty surprised how much progress I've made with this portion of the set:


I'm not sure how many people out there are sitting on 2020 A&G... but if you have any available for trade, please let me know.  I've got a ton of base, a few SP's, and a stack of inserts.

In addition to those three cards, he also sent me some 49ers (for my students), a trio of MJ's and a trio of Ray Lewis cards for my collection:


Thank you Elliptical Man for the A&G set help and the new additions to my collection.  I also appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on my blog posts.


And since I don't write football posts very often, I figured I'd also show off the next mystery pack from the Online Dime Box.


After opening the really nice baseball and non-sports mystery bags... I was starting to get my hopes up.  And after seeing these fifteen cards... I was faced with more heartacheJust kidding.  These mystery bags are a dollar each and this one delivered about a buck's worth of entertainment.

The two Jeff Bryant cards will get tossed into my Seahawks box.  He was a solid defensive end who played his entire career in Seattle.  The Gold Zone Natrone Means will go into my box of 90's parallels.  The pair of Garcon cards will eventually make their way out to Greg over at The Collective Mind.  And the rest will either be taken into my classroom or tossed into one of the boxes sitting in my garage (waiting to be taken to Goodwill or sold on Craigslist).

Well that's it for today.  Congratulations Tampa Bay and Kansas City fans!  Try not to get your hopes up... because only one of these teams will become the Super Bowl LV Champion.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

13 comments:

Nachos Grande said...

Looks like yet another Super Bowl where I have no choice but to root against Tom Brady (which almost definitely means he'll win).

cardboardhogs said...

it was definitely tough to watch the Packers no get even in the last few minutes of the game. thought Rodgers had a few chances to run it into the end zone, but didn't quite go for it. fun game to watch from someone that didn't have any skin(s) in the game though.

gregory said...

I'm not a football guy, but your musings definitely remind me of a few Mets fans I know. It's just tough to be a fan of certain teams, isn't it? (P.S., the San Jose Sharks All-Time Team is up on Chris the Collector's blog, which might cheer you up some.)

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

oxymoron time...........my comment is no comment.

Billy Kingsley said...

I've learned a long time ago never to hope for anything...it just leads to disappointment and sadness. If you expect nothing and something good happens then you can enjoy that instead of being disappointed in whatever you expected not happening.

The Lost Collector said...

Tough game. Would have given Rodgers the ball there to make a play, although I do wish he ran on 3rd down to help make the decision easier.

Matt said...

At least your Packers showed up and competed. My Bills just flat out got out-played in all aspects.

Matt said...

I have a ton of ginter. I will see what I can do.

I have been cheering on the chiefs the whole postseason, hope mahomes can do it again.

CaptKirk42 said...

Yeah my hopes were shot the first week with The very underdog "Skins" (with a losing season yet in the Playoffs) loosing to Brady and Company, and then the Rams loosing to The Pack. And then The Pack. It would have been pretty cool to see a rematch of Super Bowl I. Probably with a different outcome the way the Chiefs have been this season and being defending champs and whatnot.

Bulldog said...

Rogers is great and I was rooting for him. Would have been great seeing him get to a second Super Bowl. Tough loss. Good cards and post.

GCA said...

CaptKirk42 and I can attest to leading NFL fandom in heartbreak being fans of the Washington franchise, who not only fails in every aspect on the field until the Rivera administration took over, but also became maligned for the owner's misconduct and frat boy culture, and the stripping of the name by corporations trying to win PR points with other racial activists. Not to mention the many free agent signings that turn out to be disasters.

gcrl said...

i am a viking fan (mostly), but i was hoping the packers would win. now hoping the chiefs can repeat.

Fuji said...

nachos grande - i'm not sure who i'll root for. i don't really hate either franchise, but don't really love them either

cardboardhogs - yeah... being inside the ten twice and settling for field goals definitely was painful to watch

gregory - yup. on the bright side... it'll make it that much more satisfying if they ever do win in my lifetime

johnnys trading spot - lol

billy kingsley - there is definitely truth in what you speak. and when it comes to sports, i'm a firm believer. however there are times when i still do (not exactly sure if it's on purpose or not) hope for certain things to happen in life

the lost collector - the good news is four days later and the pain is almost gone. i've got other things to focus on

matt - i was rooting for the bills. any given sunday, right? it just wasn't either of our teams day

matt - let me know what you need... and maybe we can help each other out.

captkirk42 - although i was rooting for the bills, there was a part of me that would have been happy to see a rematch of super bowl 1. my mom and dad attended that game.

bulldog - hopefully he gets another shot. look at brady... he's in his 40's and still going to the super bowl ;D

gca - yeah... like gregory commented... it's just tough being a fan of certain franchises.

gcrl - whoa kudos to you for rooting for the vikings. i think the only time i'd root for them is if they were playing the cowboys or 49ers. btw... my niece loves the vikings (because she loves purple). and she sends me hate drawings in regards to the packers. lol. maybe one day i'll show one of them off.