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Ever since 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces Football came out I figured as soon as I bought any I would be hooked and have to put the set together. Some of the posts and scans from my fellow blogging brethren had been planting the seeds since the release.

There were only two real turnoffs for me with Masterpieces Football. One was the gold foil borders and names and the second was some of the cards in the checklist just didn’t make since to me. As I have mentioned more times than you probably wanted to hear one of my biggest pet peeves is card fronts I can’t easily read and the gold foil used on Masterpieces violates this peeve. There are only 110 cards so they should have dropped the “C” level Rookies.

With card issues like Masterpieces and Allen & Ginter I tend to give them a free pass on the card backs. Its all about the images and the way the cards feel sliding through my fingers. I love the new glossy cards but put a handful of A&G, Masterpieces or Heritage in my hands and its like being home for Christmas. Its like a security blanket made from the cardboard that I fell in love with as a child.

So, when did I know that I wanted to collect 2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces Football? When I saw the following cards I knew I had to have the set, Jack Lambert, Drew Pearson, Howard Cosell, Kellen Winslow Sr., Walter Payton and the Snow Plow Game.

My wife and I were doing some Christmas shopping tonight and we ended the night at Target. Of course I had to check out the card aisle hoping to find a Masterpieces blaster. I didn’t find a blaster but there were two open boxes of Masterpieces packs. In one box all of the packs were stacked on their side so I figured for sure they had been searched. The other box was probably searched too but at least the packs were all laying as they should.

I picked out just two packs, after all we were shopping for other people tonight. I did make sure she knows that I would really like to have a couple of Masterpieces blasters for Christmas. Okay guys as a little Christmas tip be sure and remind your wives and girl friends that cards are the perfect gift. Also, help them out by writing down several different issues that you would like. If I have heard it once I have heard it a hundred times from the ladies, ‘there are so many, I don’t know which ones he would like’. I know I have some female readers out there too so the same tip applies to you as well.

Okay, lets open up my packs and get started knocking cards off the checklist. The first card in the first pack fittingly is Jack Lambert. Next up is a Mario Manningham followed by Jamaal Charles and Paul Hornung. That is an outstanding start getting one of the best modern football cards in Lambert and a Jamaal Charles which gets two stars, one for the Masterpieces set and another for being a Texas Longhorn. Paul Hornung is know slouch either.

The second pack starts off with the Snow Plow Game card followed by Devin Thomas, a Black Frame Harry Douglas and Jerome Simpson. Darn it I wanted all base cards. The Black Frame Douglas will go up for sale on Sportlots and is available for trade.

Of the eight cards in the two packs I got seven cards for the set and one parallel. I now need 103 cards in the set. Hopefully, Santa will be leaving a couple of blasters under my tree.