Reinvigorated by Randomness

So since I've last blogged about cards, I've thought a lot about cards.  How much do I want to keep searching EBay for Senecas, how much room do I want to devote to binders and cards on a shelf, how much more could I use the money than the artifacts, etc., etc., etc.  I even went with my wife to a flea market show of hers and sold some of my cards when she gave me the opportunity, selling my nice Pedro/Randy Johnson patch card and a few other cards in the process.  I even listed my Seneca Collection on Ebay for a fair price and was ready to let that go.  My collecting pulse was going dead and I was ready to move on into other pursuits.

Then a few days ago, I was searching Listia using my common search terms, and I came across  an auction for a card I have wanted for years and years.  And here it was for a crazy cheap amount of credits.  I bid, won, and once it arrived in the mail and I got to check it out in person, I was back into the game.  Sometimes you just need a card or two to remind you of the cool parts of the hobby, and this was one of those cards.

Now as for the card itself, one thing I'm a fan of in cardboard that is pretty hard to find are big plays.  When I say big plays I mean famous plays, like Dave Roberts stealing 2nd to spur the Red Sox comeback against the 2004 Yankees, or Carlton Fisk's waved homerun.  Sometimes these plays are idolized on cardboard, other times they are not.  So sometimes I like to grab cards that make mention of those moments.

Two of the biggest sports moments in my sports watching life come from the 1999 football season, where the Tennessee Titans made a miracle run to the Super Bowl, only to be stopped by the St. Louis Rams.  It was hard not to get a little caught up in the Titans after their first crazy play, "The Music City Miracle" or "Homerun Throwback," where Frank Wycheck threw a cross-field pass to Kevin Dyson that was returned for a game-winning touchdown.

That play would not be Dyson's only major play of the playoffs, as the final play of the 1999 season ended with the ball in Dyson's hands as well, only less successfully for his team this time around.  And that's where my card comes in.  From 2000 Topps Finest Moments, it's an autographed refractor that commemorates Mikes Jones' tackle of Dyson at the one yard line as time ran out: 

Now this card looks pretty nice scanned, but per usual it is even more beautiful in person.  Very nice, very sharp on-card auto in blue sharpie.  The refractor shine is glorious and makes the card look fantastic.  And then there's the play itself, just as I remember it, Dyson stretching out and Jones holding on for the tackle.  I was rooting Titans so the final play sucked for me, but it was still so awesome and one of those first true "wow" moments of my sports watching career.

Here's the back:

Nice little write up on the Super Bowl, and a nice big pic of Jones.  A couple weird things about the card/set though.  For one, it says "refractor" on the back, even though there isn't a non-refractor set.  Why the designation needed?  I think it looks kind of neat though so I'm not complaining.  My bigger questions have to do with the set.  See, it's a little set covering many season's finest moments with a checklist that includes guys like Tony Brackens, Bruce Matthews, and Cade McNown.  None of those cards are playoff related though, and actually the only other playoff card that I saw was one representing Homerun Throwback that was signed by Frank Wycheck, though that card's image wasn't as memorable as this one.  So I think it's interesting that they put this huge play into a set along with a Cade McNown four touchdown game.  But I'm glad they put it in there, because I think this is a very cool play to commemorate.

In the end, I guess I can thank this card for bringing me back into the fold once again.  It can be tough to keep collecting when money is tight and every Seneca search is coming up empty due to me having the bulk of his master set, but then you find a simple little $15 book value card that makes it all worth it.  So there you have it, it's good to be back!