Top 10 Attainable Sports Cards from My Youth

Sit back from your computer for a minute, don't answer your icq messages, don't type "gregpix.com" in your browser...just sit there. Think about the best things about being a kid. Think about playing tag, about playing videogames until you got the dreaded "Nintendo finger" of pain, think about leaving cereal bowls in your room so long that the milk turned to some odd hard substance, think about drinking half a gallon of pickle juice on a $5 bet from your brother (okay, maybe I'm the only one who can think about that one), think about collecting sports cards.

How cool were sports cards? They were practically stocks for the youth. Where else could you drop 50 cents on a pack of Pro Set and pull out a thousand dollar card? It was the lottery for those under 18. But it was more than that, we were investing in our idols. Investing what little money we had in Ken Griffey, Barry Sanders, and Michael Jordan dreams. None of us will ever hit a homerun in the World Series, but we could own a superstar's rookie card and experience their successes as our little collection's value grew along with their prestige. Sports cards were a great part of my youth, but like all things there were always those cards we would never be able to own. Mickey Mantle rookie cards, Honus Wagner tobacco cards...these things would never be in our hands. But there were a few great cards out there, that each one of us could set our sights on, save our allowances for and one day obtain. This article is here to highlight the Top 10 of those cards.....

Top 10 Attainable Sports Cards From My Youth

Rank	Picture of Card	WHY?!?:
#10.		Dikembe Mutombo - Upper Deck Rookie - Remember the days when Mutombo and Larry Johnson dueled it out for Rookie of the Year? LJ was the clear cut favorite, but Mutombo came on strong. At the time everyone wanted this damn rookie card, thinking this Georgetown alumni was on his way to greatness. Boy were we wrong. But the "Mutombo Finger" still waves strong in the NBA. One thing that would make this card even better...if it had all of Mutombo's names on it.
#9.		Jim Kelly - Topps Rookie - Remember when the Bills made the Super Bowl for like fifty years in a row? I know me and Skizzow do. As we watched the Super Bowl, we broke out all we had of this card. We had around 10 of these and stood them up in front of the TV in some sort of good luck charm. Of course the Bills jobbed and the cards still aren't worth shit. I piss on Jim Kelly. Hell even Jeff Hostetler beat them.
#8.		Sammy Sosa - Leaf Rookie - Leaf were like the Holy Grail of Sports cards...finding boxes of them affordably was harder than getting sex from Jessica Simpson. So each pack that we could get our hands on was met with all sorts of anticipation. Pulling out a Sammy Sosa seemed like nothing at the time. But a few years later, when you dug it out of your commons, you could mark out at owning the rookie card of one of the greatest home run hitters of our generation.
#7.		David Robinson - Hoops Rookie - Everyone knew David Robinson was going to be the next great center in the NBA. So when Hoops put out this rookie card, everyone was all over it. But unlike today's inserts, this one was just as easy to find in a pack as some mark like Danny Ainge. I miss the days, when you didn't have to buy cases to get every card...damn.
#6.		Mark McGwire - Topps Rookie - Quite possibly the most beloved baseball player of our time is Big Mac himself. He has numerous cards that could be considered his "rookie card," but this USA card was his true rookie card. It was pretty damn hard to come by, but if you got lucky...you got a card that was worth it's weight in gold. And damn, seeing McGwire look that young was worth a ton by itself.
#5.		Barry Sanders - Score Rookie - 89 Score was the greatest year for rookie cards that could ever be imagined: Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Troy Aikman, and of course...Barry Freaken Sanders. The greatest running back of all-time? Sorry Walter, but I'm afraid so. Doubt me? I'll sick Skizzow on you, you'll become a believer. Nearly every pack of 89 Score would have a great rookie card in it and this one was and is definitely a keeper.
#4.		90 Pro Set - Lombardi Card - There's a good story behind this one. Skizzow and I bought an entire case (20 boxes) of 90 Pro Set from my card wheelin' and dealin' father (Big Al). And in the mountains of packs, out came this card. At the time we thought nothing of this hologram sticker card. We figured little kids were sticking it to their foreheads and running around the house. Then Skow sold it at a card show and made enough cash to buy his first moped. Does it get any better than that?
#3.		Ken Griffey, Jr. - Upper Deck Rookie - 1989 wasn't just a good year for football rookie cards, it also marked the birth of Upper Deck baseball and the rookie card of Ken Griffey, Jr. Nearly everyone I know, owned at least one of these rookie cards of one of the most promising young players of all-time....now that's flava.
#2.		Shaq O'Neal - Upper Deck Rookie - Remember the story behind this one? Shaq hadn't signed with the Magic yet, so Upper Deck put a Redemption card in their packs, which you could send in and at a later date receive the #1 Pick's Rookie Card. It was one of the best concepts in sports cards history, and the pimpy image of Shaq dunking was truly classic. Love Shaq or hate him, you can't help but admit that this card is awesome.
#1.		*Billy Ripken - Fleer Fck Face** - The funniest baseball card of all-time? Easily! Forget Rollie Fingers mustache or old school muttonchop shots, this is as good as it gets. If you don't know the story, apparently some of Bill's "friends" played a joke on him and wrote "Fuck Fce" on his bat knowing that he was being photographed for his baseball card. Apparently the folks at Fleer never caught it, and legions of youngsters added the "f" word to their vocabulary. Tons of variations of this one surfaced, but nothing gets better than the Fck Face card...and nothing ever will.

-Well that's it for my list of Attainable Sports Cards from my youth. I hope I brought back some memories from our youth. Life will never be as good or carefree as it was then. Tomorrow, buy a pack of sports cards and get a little bit of your childhood back. Lord knows we can all use it.

-Now that you've read something, he's written. Wouldn't you like to find out more about The Goc? Here you go.