Preview: 2014 Topps U.S. Olympic And Paralympic Team And Hopefuls

Scheduled Release Date: 11/6/13

Box Configuration: 24 packs/box, 8 cards/pack

SRP: @$55-60

 

Box Break:

1 Autograph

2 Relics

 

 

What to Expect:

If you are a fan of the Winter Games than this is the set for you, the base set contains 100 Olympic hopefuls as well as a selection of Paralympic athletes and with 192 cards per box you should be able to complete a base set along with a nice collection of parallels and inserts. The base cards even have a similar appearance to the popular Summer Olympics release.

 

The base set has three parallels based on the Olympic medals; Gold, Silver and Bronze. The base autographs and U.S. Olympic Team Relics have four parallels; Gold, Silver, Bronze and Gold Rainbow. No numbering has been announced but I would expect it to have a similar numbering to last year’s 2012 Topps Summer Olympics release.

 

There are three inserts, Games of the XXII Winter Olympiad (Sports that will appear in the 22^nd Winter Olympics), Venues of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games (The various locations around Russia where events will be held) and Olympic Heritage (Chronicling the past 21 Winter Olympics).

 

The hits include:

Base Autograph cards- At least 50 athletes will be featured with each card having four parallels. These autographs are sticker autos.

 

U.S. Olympic Champions Autograph cards- There are 10 athletes on the checklist, including Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi and Mike Eruzione, who have all been champions in their specific sport. These are on-card autographs.

 

U.S. Olympic Team Relics- At least 50 athletes included on the checklist, the set will feature athlete-worn relics. There are four parallels for this set.

 

U.S. Olympic Team Patch Cards, U.S. Olympic Team 2014 Patch Cards and U.S. Olympic Team Logo Pins- These three relic sets are manufactured patches

 

 

My Thoughts:

The Olympic sets are a specialized set, besides the hockey players, most of the Winter Olympic athletes do not normally show up on cardboard so fans are limited to these releases and if the 2012 Summer Olympic release was any indication of what to expect I would figure that this set will do well too.

 

 

Pros:

3 Hits per Box

Some On-card Autographs
Cheap Price

 

 

Cons:

Sticker Autographs

Manufactured Relics

 

 

Rating:

I would give this a mid-range rating; a fair score would be 3 out of 5 loosing points on the sticker autographs and manufactured relics.