Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Authentic?

Since the 2005-2006 season, I've noticed that more and more jersey, warm-up, and patch cards have less and less to do with the player that is pictured on the front of the card. On previous releases, depending on the manufacturer, you can read on the back of the memorabilia card a phrase similar to "On the front of this card is an authentic piece of a jersey worn by (player's name) in an NBA game" (top). Recent releases have a more vague phrasing such as: "On the front of this card are pieces of memorabilia that have been certified to us as having been used in an NBA game" (bottom). And some examples even say "NBA game or event."
Theory #1: This might be that the manufacturer, in an attempt to increase production of memorabilia inserts, are using any stitch of clothing used by any player. Who knows, maybe not even a player? I'm not saying that I still don't appreciate pulling a "jersey" card out of a pack, but it's definitely not as exciting as it used to be.
Theory #2: To reduce cost or production, the manufacturer came up with a form letter version that is consistent on all their products.

No comments:

Post a Comment