Not The Same

*gets up very early, before the rise of dawn for no reason but decides to have a reason for it and starts to blog. It's going to be a three cupper today*

I know I am not alone when it comes to saying life has changed so much since my youth. 

(picture a grumpy old man at 37 shaking his stick at the kids on his lawn and goes to reach for a hose to spray them away)

• There are no more Saturday Morning Cartoon countdown as cartoons are always available. I remember having Saturday's off from school and living for a bowl of Cap'N Crunch and a block of cartoons on ABC and CBS
• Outside fun has become a thing of the past with video games. I lived outside in my youth and never got bored. I used to see commercials for water guns and Nerf items to play with your friends but those have cut back to more video game related commercials basically forcing the youth of today to be inside.
• Counting down to the holiday specials on TV is no longer needed as most are easily available on DVD, get played more than once (they used to get played once and that was it) and some just aren't showed anymore at all. Remember the California Raisins Christmas special? Yeah most don't even know what that is today. I used to countdown to those specials and would write on a calendar when they would come on and would make sure I was ready to watch those. Now they play Rudolph and Frosty two to three times and some don't even come on TV anymore.
  
• No more video rental stores as you can access any movie you want to watch through different devices. One of my favorite things to do on a Friday night was going with my parents to go pick out movies. My mother would get the five out of the seven picked but my sister was able to pick one (most of the time it was Little Mermaid) and I would get one as well. It was a fun family trip.
• Cool action figures and toys no longer exist. Have you seen the toys they make for kids today? Most need apps or are digital in some way and the ones that are made are cheap plastic that break way too quick. What happened?!
• Leaning simple life skills in school is no longer offered, at least here. Instead of learning to live on your own you can learn how to use a digital 3D printer because that will help you in life when you are home alone and can't make a sandwich or do your own laundry.
  
• Too many are offended and the world is simply a mess with subjects I won't even touch on as I wouldn't want to offend anyone or lose readers. It's better to keep my mouth quiet and simply say we had tougher skin in the 80's and 90's.
• Reading Books have become a thing of the past. Most small bookstore don't exist anymore
• Hobbies are not important anymore as devices keep you occupied in your free time
  
• Board Games. I played a ton with my grandmother and still play them. It's especially fun when the family comes up around the holidays and plays as well, but overall, you don't see a lot of board games being played anymore. It's actually forced board game companies to combine device app aspects with board games. Just the other day I saw one for Tik Toc and I have also seen them for Memes too.
  
• And now the latest thing because of Covid is the no magazine policy across doctor offices where they encourage you to stare at your phone more. I can almost see them never making another return again which is sad because that used to be the one thing you had in the waiting room to do. Now you just see people staring down at their phones.
  

 

This is a note inside of the eye doctors I recently visited which at the bottom states, "Please Enjoy Your Phone." Seems ironic that they want you to drain your eyes at a Eye doctors office but maybe that is part of the ploy. 

 

Insert thinking face emoji here.

It's not that magazines are really that popular anymore-or even the back of a shampoo or cereal box as well-or that I ever see anyone before Covid actually read anything but their phone but its the idea of them no longer being around that is bothersome.

Things just aren't the way they once were. Which by the way, were much better back then.

This concept goes for the hobby as well, especially when you are taking a look at the base cards.

*takes a sip, nope, chugs down the first cup. Pours the second and comes back to blog*

Base cards in the hobby are no longer tempting to chase. I still do just to find my favorite players but overall I don't chase base sets from today.

They are bland with no creativity. Not like they once were and yes, I am speaking of the 90's.

We had base cards printed on acetate, complete foil board, thick card stock, action packed photography, embossing, and my favorite, holograms.

*takes a sip and a trip back in time. I am taking you with me*

For those that have followed me awhile now, you would know my passion for hologram cards. Back in the late 90's Upper Deck created a set known as Spx that combined a thick micro-etched card stock with a hologram. They created this for multiple sports and I was on board.

I have been chasing all of the sets, inserts, autographs that have to do with the iconic Spx sets.

I have so far completed:
1996, 1997, 1998 Spx football base sets
1996 Spx racing
1997 Spx racing
1996 Spx hockey
1997 Spx baseball
1997-1998 Spx basketball
1996 Spx football Tribute cards and the Tribute autographs

And am close to these ones,
1997 Spx hockey (13 away)
1996 Spx baseball (13 away)
1996 Spx basketball (need just the MJ)
1996 Spx hockey Holoview Heroes (just a couple remain)
1998 Spx Football Steel (missing only 8) 

And now thanks to my friend @90sNicheFBCard I have...

1997-1998 basketball complete set!

This set features 50 cards full of stars and holographic awesomeness. I will let some of the cards do the talking......

That was

That was quite the experience..huh. I bet you are Googling them right now to find your own.

*takes another sip, tempted to finish cup two but decides to sip this one slower*

With this basketball set in hand, I am now only one card and one set away from having the basketball sets completed. My next goal is to finally chase down the MJ for the 1995-1996 set so I can finally say that one is complete. The last set, 1996-1997, is my favorite design of the three but with a Kobe rookie in the set it will be darn near impossible to ever own that one. Would have to be some major trade to pull that off.

Thanks to Bryan, @90sNicheFBCard, for the huge help in getting this one done.

*takes a sip before closing*

Now that I am done with today's card portion of the post, it got me to thinking. Maybe not having those magazines isn't a bad thing. Maybe you should be on your device more. Maybe you should have a cup of coffee in one hand and your device in another. If you haven't gotten to what I am hinting at yet, maybe your device while you are sitting there with your coffee should be called up to this blog for your reading material. There is quite a bit of content on here now, just sayin'. Of course sharing this blog with others in the room who see your fascination of coffee and cards wouldn't be a bad idea either.