As heavy rains fall from the Nor'Easter that has set in over my home in coastal Maine, I'm not sure what excites me more: that it's warm enough to not be a blizzard outside, or that a package containing fifty-some-odd cards to add to my Stromile Swift collection arrived. Probably the lack of snow, honestly, but let's talk about the cards.
Many of these fifty or so cards were purchased as components of various lots, so a good portion represent doubles in my collection. But I was able to checkmark several fresh boxes on my checklist including a few 1/1s. The following cards are the highlights of the shipment.
Here we have Stromile's 2000/01 Upper Deck Slam rookie card. I like that the card features Swift in his draft day suit because he's always been such a stylish cat. Even fans on NBA.com, who never vote for any non-superstar for anything ever, acknowledged Stromile's swaggerishness by voting him
best dressed for the week of November 22, 2005. I also like that the card is printed on clear plastic instead of cardboard. To hold it and look at it is pretty fun, sort of like when you're a kid and you press the flashlight against your palm to see the outline of your hand bones. I have several other clear cards in my NBA collection including the blog's namesake, DerMarr Johnson, but this is the ultimate. Numbered /25.
Here's a beautiful card that my scanner makes look totally average. Please observe this
much nicer image from the EBay auction. It's Stromile's 2000/01 Fleer Showcase rookie card, the Masterpiece 1/1 version. Unfortunately it cost $92 plus shipping, and that makes it the third most expensive 2.5-inch-by-3.5-inch piece of cardstock that I own. But I suppose it's not so bad. Earlier this week an EBay auction for a Kobe Bryant 1/1 ended at nearly $5,000. I feel sorry for the winner of that auction. Sure, he's wealthy enough to blow five stacks on a basketball card and that's grand, but his hero is a humongous asshole with a butterfly tattoo, and
this is what invariably becomes of people who worship humongous assholes with butterfly tattoos.
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Moving along, we transition from third most expensive to second most expensive. So here (at left) is my $95 2006/07 Topps Chrome Superfractor, 1/1. I really, really wish it was his 2004/05 Topps Chrome Superfractor. For that card I would sell my soul to the devil, or possibly even take back what I just wrote about Kobe Bryant in the presence of the dingleberry from the Youtube video. Anyhow, this card only excites me because it's a 1/1, a Superfractor. But it's the first and only Superfractor in my collection so I'm glad I won the auction.
Next we have what appears to be an error card (top right). I think it's supposed to be Stromile's 2001/02 Flair base card (bottom right), but only the silver portion of the image got printed. The image on the backside is normal, but there appears to be another error as well: the card is a couple centimeters taller than it should be. So while it's obviously nothing to look at, this is a unique addition to my collection.
Finally, here are a couple of oddball cards. I think I recall these being given away by the Grizzlies several years ago. I guess they're pretty rare since I had never seen them up for sale, but the real reason I love these cards is the imagery.
The top card is from 2007/08 and features a classic media day pose. For the player to simply stand there holding the ball with a scowl on his face, it seems rather unimaginative, but I tend to favor cards with that sort of photo. To show the face up close allows the card to take on the personality of the player.
The bottom card is awesome because the photo is from the Tony Barone era. For those without a PHD in Memphis Grizzlies basketball, the Tony Barone era took place in 2006/07 after Mike Fratello got shitcanned. The youthful Grizzlies had become despondent under Fratello, a disciplinarian who implemented a very stringent system. By the time Fratello got fired he'd become so grouchy that headbands were banned.
So the struggling Grizzlies replaced the Czar with Tony Barone and his run-and-gun free-for-all of a system. For about two weeks the Grizz played extremely inspired and much improved basketball. Many members of the team, including Stromile, celebrated the end of the headband ban by accessorizing from head to toe. Eventually, of course, the sudden blast of enthusiasm fizzled and Stro and the Grizzlies got back to losing. But those first couple weeks were nothing less than epic. The back of this card actually points to the pinnacle of the Barone era,
a game against Golden State that the Grizzlies won 144-135 in regulation. Mike Miller drained 9 threes, Matt Barnes made 7, and Stro came off the bench to post 26/9 with 4 blocks and 3 steals. If ever you stumble upon a TV channel dedicated to broadcasting this game 24/7 365 all that means is I'm a billionaire.
With these acquisitions I now count 360 of a possible 624 cards. Fifty-eight percent down, 42 percent to go.
