[dlee7]

2008 Aspire

What We Pulled

Packs per box: 24
Cards per pack: 4
Cards per box: 96
Base set completion w/o SPs: 100 percent (32 of 32)
Duplicates: 37

Autographs: 6
Century Club Autographs (2) – Darren McFadden, John David Booty; Aspire Autographs (2) – Jake Long, Leodis McKelvin; Hula Bowl Autographs (2) – Jordon Dizon, Kalvin McRae

Inserts: 18
5 Star (4) – Darren McFadden, Brian Brohm, Chad Henne, Matt Ryan; Century Club (13) – Matt Ryan, Brian Brohm, Joe Flacco, John David Booty, Jamaal Charles, Steve Slaton, Malcolm Kelly, Limas Sweed, Devin Thomas, Jake Long, Vernon Gholston, Dan Connor, Leodis McKelvin; School Pride (1) – Devin Thomas

What We Think:

Aspire certainly has more variety than any other SAGE product. Boxes contain six autographs, and we lucked out putting a Darren McFadden. Boxes state, “Just Elite Players, More Often.” Apparently that also means more duplicates. Our box was filled with 37 duplicate cards—that’s 39 percent of the entire box. More inserts or subsets should replace so many dups. The good news is that the players in Aspire are 32 of the top names. The base set has a simple design, and while we like the big player photos, they are quite dark.

The Century Club insert has a nice design, but it got a little monotonous pulling one every other pack. The Hula Bowl Autographs has 26 players you’ve probably never heard of. The unique 5 Star insert returns highlighting different times in five players’ careers. There is an autographed parallel for each version. There are just five copies each, but there are some smart combos in the Combographs such as Darren McFadden/Felix Jones and Matt Ryan/Brian Brohm.

School Pride also returns, and is one of the most unique college football-themed inserts out there. Each card has some type of logo or helmet decal from the player’s school. The down side is that this year’s checklist is rather weak with seven players. Devin Thomas and Vernon Gholston are the top players.

SAGE made a smart move by taking the Date and Place insert back to BCS Bowl ticket stubs instead of ticket and program stubs. This year’s inset has 18 players such as a Rashard Mendenhall with a Rose Bowl ticket stub and a Malcolm Kelly Fiesta Bowl stub.