Reid's Rips: 2013 Panini Limited Football Hobby
Reid's Rips: 2016 Panini Contenders Football Hobby Box
Whenever I'm ripping product, I'm always drawn to previous year's products, mainly due to the fact that it's an open book test of sorts, as far as what rookies have panned out, especially the further you go back in time.
Recently, I decided to go back a decade and change and grab a 2013 Panini Limited Football box.
With only seven total cards and three of those being hits, I thought this would be a fun, quick product to dig into.
NFL draft 2013: Grading each team's picks, three years later - Sports Illustrated
I was obviously looking for some rookie magic from Travis Kelce, DeAndre Hopkins or even Geno Smith, but that excitement and hope quickly faded.
Ex Jaguars receiver Ace Sanders suspended 10 games - Sports Illustrated
The first card staring me in the face was a numbered rookie card of then Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Ace Sanders. Tackled for a loss on that one.
My first hit was a small napkin of another Jacksonville Jaguars wideout, this time a Limited Threads Justin Blackmon numbered to 99. I definitely didn't find any threads in this piece of memorabilia.
My RPA, if you'd like to call it that, was a dual red napkin and sticker auto of then Arizona Cardinals running back Andre Ellington. God, what have I done here?
My next hit was a Monikers rookie auto of Buffalo Bills Chris Gragg. Full disclosure, and with all due respect, I didn't even know this player existed before pulling this card. I'm not exactly sure what the moniker is, either. There's no information of that on the card front, and the player just signed his name.
My next card was a numbered rookie spotlight of Atlanta Falcons Robert Alford.
Although I could barely see through my tears and rage, apparently, I pulled numbered cards of Jared Cook and Maurice Jones Drew to round out my box.
After burning a Benjamin Franklin, I decided to conduct an experiment and see if these pieces of jersey were actually from the featured player. As it turns out, both had the correct player's name attached to the material but then again, why would anyone be faking an Andre Ellington or Justin Blackmon jersey?
This, my friends, is why I always suggest buying the card you want. Take my missteps as a lesson. I need to start taking my own advice!
Tony Reid spent more than a decade covering combat sports at the highest level. He has written hundreds of articles and conducted hundreds of interviews about sports collectibles for such publications as Beckett, Sports Collectors Digest, and Sports Collectors Daily. Reid worked full time at a sports card shop in Central Pennsylvania for a number of years. A lifelong collector, Tony treasures his rookie card collection of star players in baseball, basketball, and football. If you want to discuss the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey Jr., you can reach him at @tonyreidwrites on all social media platforms