Randy Moss' return to Vikings simply can't hurt hobby
By Chris Olds | Editor | COMMENTARY
Some will call it a blockbuster trade, but when it comes to football cards Randy Moss‘ return to the Minnesota Vikings — where he’ll be catching passes from future Hall of Famer Brett Favre — it’s much more than that.
It’s a home run for the hobby.
Sorry for the mixed metaphor there, but there are few plays that could equate for this one. A touchdown? It’s much more than that. A game-winner? Bigger. A Super Bowl winner? Perhaps, and that’s apparently the only thing in mind in Minneapolis, so … we’ll go with that.
For all of a third-round pick, the Vikings get the return of a guy who had owned the hobby not too long ago, giving their soon-to-be 41-year-old quarterback — an unquestioned hobby giant — a birthday present about four days early.
A player’s return to where he was once great often comes as a swansong, but it’s clear that Moss still has something left in the tank — and the team’s other receivers should help make the Vikings’ passing attack as dangerous as its been in some time. Success on the field should be expected — and with that should come attention for cardboard.
Moss, who appears on 5,961 different football cards, has seen success in New England — but only after falling off the hobby radar slightly during two seasons in Oakland. Sure, Moss was still a known commodity there — but Oakland is a silver-and-black hole when it comes to the hobby, no matter how good a player might be.
A return to the purple, gold and white can’t help but spark the memories of those who remember Moss the first time around — when he led the league in touchdown catches as a rookie with Randall Cunningham as his QB. Now, he has Favre, the NFL’s career leader of everything when it comes to quarterback.
The winners here clearly are Favre and Moss, though the Vikings’ other receivers should get some added attention, too, either via a rub from bandwagon-joiners or notable performances alongside Moss. And clearly this can’t hurt a hobby and yardage machine like Adrian Peterson, right?
Clearly, the hobby wins in all of this, too.
Of Moss’ cards, just 220 are certified autographs — a very low number by today’s standards — so those cards should continue to garner collector attention alongside the most-notable of his 42 Rookie Cards. He appears on more than 1,500 memorabilia cards, so those probably won’t get as much love as there are plenty, but, again, it’s not difficult to imagine those with purple swatches pick up a little steam here and there.
But don’t be shocked if Moss’ previously less-fashionable Vikings cards don’t get some extra attention in the short-term, either — whether it’s merely in the wake of today’s news, after results of his first game or just a few weeks of hype — before his first “new Vikings” cards start arriving from Panini America and Topps in upcoming products.
Interestingly, Moss and Favre appear on 19 football cards together — and there will undoubtedly be more to come. The most-valuable of the bunch is a 2000 Playoff Hawaii Promo Autographs card (No. 36), which has signatures of that duo along with two other guys you might have heard of — Jerry Rice and Kurt Warner.
We want to know what you think of the move — both on the field and in the hobby. Let us know.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an e-mail to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
