I Forgot What This Felt Like

 So the other day I bought and opened 3 packs of 2026 Topps NPB Stadium Club at a local supermarket.

No particular reason why. I just thought it'd be a fun dumb way to relieve stress during my commute home. Also I could get more package fodder to send to NPB Card Guy and others.

The first two packs came and went with nothing of note.

Then out of pack 3 came this.

Watermarked because scummy people steal pics of collectibles and create fake listings online now

That's an autograph of Yakult Swallows ace Yasunobu Okugawa and is limited to 5 copies.

It's also the first sport card hit I've pulled in a long while, and it's an actual good player!

I was very unprepared for this moment, so much so that I felt time slow down for a moment, then go back to normal. Like that effect they do in the movies.

This was a different thrill because unlike past "hits" I've pulled, those were somewhat guaranteed in that I got one whole hobby box or something similar with had a certified autograph or relic inserted.

This wasn't guaranteed. I only picked up 3 random packs. I didn't even pick them, the cashier got them from the box behind the counter. Yet somehow I (or the cashier?) defied the odds.

I also got the regular base card too which helps serve a nice contrast.

If you're wondering about the rest of cards, they didn't interest me a lick and they're already sealed away in envelopes headed for other people.

Forgive me but I'm not Night Owl Cards, no cards are valuable to me (base/parallels/hits/etc...) because I don't value any of them unless I want them out of impulsive need in the moment. If they don't hit me they can hit the road instead.

Also if you were wondering if the autograph meant Topps/Fanatics put in extra effort in the back.

Nope.

If anything they somehow made something with 0 effort look like it had negative effort.

But then again negative effort is sort of a good way to sum up this post in general.

If you've noticed I took a month off from blogging because I really wanted my last post where I completed the 1909-11 T206 New York Highlanders team set (minus variations) to breathe and rack up a lot of views and comments.

In case you missed it here they all are again.

But while I was thinking of what could possibly follow that up, I used up a year's worth of luck to nab a surprise hit that's of an actual somebody that I don't have to bend over backwards and be like "oh well at least it's a low numbered autograph card".

Sure, I'll take that.

As always thanks for stopping by and take care.