Set Building: 2008 Upper Deck Football

As a new project, I decided to see if I could complete the 2008 Upper Deck Football set.  I’ve always had an itch to complete a few sets to complement my collection.  However, I never could find a set to get started with.  Upper Deck’s sets have always caught my eye, so I decided to begin my foray into set building with the 2008 Upper Deck football set.  I’m only taking baby steps with my first set.  I won’t attempt to collect every insert card available.  I just plan on finishing the base set.  That’s a total of 325 cards.  According to the checklist, cards 1-200 are veterans and cards 210-300 are rookies.  Cards 301-325 are the Short Print rookies.  Collecting those short prints will probably be my biggest challenge.

I started by buying a hobby box from the local hobby shop.  I figure that would give me the biggest bang for the buck.  Sixteen packs in a box and a whopping twenty cards per pack.  That’s a grand total of 320 cards in one box.  In addition, the box advertises that there will be one autographed card and three memorabilia cards per box.  Also, each pack had four rookie cards, so that would give me a total of at least 64 rookie cards.

The Breakdown

Upper Decks’ advertising was correct -I did pull the stated number of autograph and memorabilia cards.  In addition, I also pulled three insert cards:

2008 Upper Deck Football Signature Shots Tony Hunt

2008 Upper Deck Football Team Colors Terrell Owens

2008 Upper Deck Football Rookie Jersey Jonathan Stewart

2008 Upper Deck Football Starquest Tony Romo

2008 Upper Deck Football Drew Brees Game Jersey

2008 Upper Deck Football Masterpieces Preview Alan Ameche

2008 Upper Deck Football Masterpieces Preview Gale Sayers

That’s not too bad.  Here’s how the rest of the break went:

• Veteran base cards (#1-200) – I was able to get all 200 veteran base cards from this box.  In addition I had 48 duplicates.
• Rookie Cards (#201-300) – I have 64 of 100.
• Short Print Rookie Cards (#301-325) – I pulled 4 of the 25 short print rookies.

So, of the 325 cards I needed to complete the set, I was able to get 268, for a 82% completion rate.  Not bad for one box.  48 duplicates (all veterans) which amounted to 15% of the entire box.  Of course, trying to collect the rookies cards I need to complete the set will be a challenge.  But that’s all part of the fun, isnt it?

My Set Needs

Rookie Cards – 201, 204, 211, 212, 213, 220, 222, 224, 225, 226, 231, 233,235, 236, 237, 239, 245, 246, 253, 258, 261, 264, 269, 271, 272, 274, 275, 276, 280, 282, 283, 285, 293, 294, 295, and 298.

Short Print Rookies – 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 314, 316, 317, 318, 319, 321, 322, 323, 324, and 325.

Duplicate Cards

If you are in need of any of my duplicates, let me know:

2, 9, 16, 25, 27, 29, 31, 34, 36, 38, 42, 33, 47, 55, 61, 68, 70, 72, 80, 81, 83, 87, 92, 93, 98, 100, 111, 113, 120, 125, 126, 128, 138, 139, 142, 147, 153, 158, 161, 165, 169, 171, 174, 184, 195, 196, 198, and 200.

The Photography

One of the things that draws me to Upper Deck is the photography.  It is absolutely phenomenal.  Here are a few of my favorite, eye-catching cards: