Drew Brees and the Eyes of the Owl

(I am WAY behind on trade package postings and purchases...this one is two months old.  Apologies to everyone who has been sending me good stuff.  I'm working on the backlog now.)

2010 Allen and Ginter # 287 - Drew Brees

Sometimes you get something good, and then it keeps getting better.

I have had a good relationship with Night Owl.  I love his blog, and had already made a trade with him earlier.  Awhile back I posted my Dodgers Trade Bait, and he responded that he wanted the Chad Billingsley relic that I had received in Spankee's group break.  I sent that out to him along with a bunch of other stuff off his wantlist.  He fired a package back at me containing some great cards, including the Drew Brees above!  That was #1 on my Most-Wanted List!  Now I've got it -- lovin' it.

Here's a sampling of the stuff he sent me:

A Sweeney, a UL, and LOOK at that soup-strainer on Dennis Leonard.  That is STRONG.  He reminds me of my old engineering professor... 

Erik Antonsson - Not a Baseball Player

Orel Hershiser

Some cool Orel Hershisers found their way in.  The Fleer has a good texture to it.  I remember buying some packs of Topps Kids in my youth.  They were cheap and fun.  Just like Donruss Triple Play.

The sizing was all over the place here.  I was so confused.  Wilson Betemit was normal-sized, but very COGNAC-y.  Nelson Briles was a 1975 mini.  George Brett was WAY too big for his britches.  Seriously...his britches were a really odd size.

All that stuff was great.  It was a good trade -- some Dodgers were sent and some Royals received -- what more could I ask for?

A week later, I got another envelope from him...a little "something extra" to say thanks.  Oh yeah, his little extras are #'d to 50... :-)

2002 Fleer Hot Materials - Mike Sweeney relic - HM-MS - #27/50

What a guy.  Night Owl, that is.  Although Sweeney is cool, too.

Most Wanted List - Now with Kids!

Certain cards catch my eye for various reasons.  Sometimes it is a great design or color scheme.  Other times it is the photography or a funny pose.  But I will always take a second look at a card with a kid in it. 

Even though kids play sports, watch sports, love sports, buy cards, trade cards, and collect cards you don't see too many kids ON sports cards.  Those precious square inches on the front of a piece of cardboard are reserved for the MEN -- the modern-day warriors who perform at the highest level in the games that they play and entertain millions with their skill.  Since their on-field personas can be so tough, it is easy to forget that many of these guys are family men with a "real life" off-the-field. 

All that brings me to this card:

2010 Allen and Ginter #287 Drew Brees

I love this card because it captures a moment that I remember so well.  The picture for this card is from the celebration after the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV over the Indianapolis Colts.  The Saints had scored 15 points in the 4th quarter to win the game.  As the confetti rained down, all the players were celebrating and a big crowd was gathered on the field. 

When I saw this happen on that Sunday, I was first drawn in because the little tiny kid was wearing gigantic earphones (who doesn't love ridiculous proportions, right?).  However, a second look at that really touched me.  Here was Drew Brees, the winning QB -- He could celebrate with anyone, and who does he do it with?  His one-year-old son, Baylen.  Wow. 

My first son had been born three months earlier, so while he was new I definitely knew what it was like to have that fatherly-love.  It humanized Brees to me in a way that otherwise I never would have seen.  At that moment he was just like any other daddy who was done with work and wanted to see his family at the end of a long day. 

That's why I love this card.  Well, besides the giant headphones, of course.  :-)  However, I still don't have it!  Therefore, I am putting it as card #1 on my newly-christened "Most Wanted" List (see the bar at the top).  If anyone has this one for trade, please let me know.  I will be steadily adding more cards to this list over the next few weeks. 

For another article about that moment:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/a-quarterback-and-his-boy/

For a gallery of Baylen/Drew Brees pics from that day:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/07/drew-brees-son-baylen-cel_n_452946.html?slidenumber=hCi%2B1CLIcwQ%3D&slideshow#slide_image