Preview: 2011 Topps

[footballcardpodcast]

Year in and year out, there is no more of a collected football set than Topps Football. 2011 should be no different.

First glimpses of the annual set from Topps showed more of the same from previous years, such as using the same design as the baseball set. While I would complain about that most years (I did so last year until getting those first packs of 2010 Topps into my hands) I will not even start the complaining process this year. The Topps design used in the baseball set is very attractive and looks equally nice with football players gracing the design.

One thing about last years set that I hope is continued this year is the photography. Topps upped their game last year, giving us photography that stood out with it’s vibrant colors and great action shots. If Topps can replicate that and not go cheap on us, we have another great year in store for us.

The main set features 440 cards, 262 of which are veteran cards. The rest will consist of rookies, team cards, All-Pros, and various other subsets. The parallels are Gold /2011, Black /56, and Platinum 1/1s. Of course there will be printing plates of all the cards in the set.

Returning this year is the Ring of Honor insert, featuring Super Bowl XLV MVP Aaron Rodgers, and the Rookie Premier autographs.

Last year we had the 1952 Bowman insert set. Of course that set was current players in the 1952 Bowman set design. This year’s offering takes us back to the 1950 Bowman set, featuring similar dimensions to the original set. Last year’s set was quite popular with collectors. This year should be even better because of the 144 card checklist. A parallel /50 will feature a special 1st Bowman logo.

Rookie Premier autos are back this year, featuring autos from rookies who attended the NFL Rookie Premier photo shoot. This is one of the more popular autograph sets year in and year out. New to the Rookie Premiere family is 1/1 In The Game Relics, featuring nameplate swatches. Autos appear on the letters. There is a veteran version of the In the Game set as well.

Red Zone autos return, again being spread out over the entire Topps lineup. This is only available in Topps Football jumbo packs from this set.

Faces of the Franchise is a team-themed insert set. It’s a 20 card set that features two players from each team. There will be relic and auto parallels.

Gameday is a rivalry-themed set featuring great moments of 50 current and former players. There are relics, jumbo relics, autos, and auto relic parallels.

The biggest new addition to 2011 Topps Football is Super Bowl Legends. With 2010 Contenders and National Treasures already featuring Super Bowl themed sets, Topps has decided to get in on the action. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this. They had a Super Bowl-themed patch set in their 2009 product. This set features 45 players (Super Bowl MVPs). Of course this set would not be complete without a massive selection of relic and autographs. These sets include:
• Manufactured Patches - Super Bowl Logo Patches #’d to 50
• Relics - Game-worn jersey cards of the MVPs. #’d to 45 with parallels #’d to 35 (Gold), 15 (Rainbow), and 5 (Red)
• Venue Relics - Cards featuring grass, turf, and seats from various Super Bowls. #’d to 50
• Autographs - Autographed version #’d to 25 with parallels #’d to 10 (Gold) and 1/1 (Rainbow)
• Not ending there, you can also find Super Bowl coins, stamps, ticket stubs, and even championship rings, including a redemption program to win replica rings.

Rounding out Topps’ offerings from this year include 1/1 Sketch cards and Toppstown.com.

Overall I’d say that this is one of the more aggressive offerings that Topps has given us for it’s base product, staying with the efforts they made towards the end of 2010 with products like Supreme, Tribute, and Five Star. I, for one, am looking forward to this product and can’t wait to get my hands on some.

Other details:
1 Autograph or Relic per Hobby Box
1 Relic and 2 Autographs Per Jumbo Box

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