Rhett Bomar Jersey Card

When the CFL season came to a close (congrats again, Alouettes!) on Sunday, the NFL was left standing as the sole (American) football league whose play I actually follow, just in time for a playoff run.

This year, Rhett Bomar ended the season with the Minnesota Vikings, after two seasons of alternating between the New York Giants' practice squad and the third-string QB position. The quarterback position is, of course, the hardest one to become a regualr in, as only one can play at a time, as opposed to four or five linesmen, three or four receivers, and so forth.

This card is from Donruss' Rookies & Stars set by Panini, and is card #11 of the Dress For Success sub-set, a limited edition set for which this card is # 77/299. What I appreciate the most of this patch card is it denotes the exact date of wear on the back - you can't get more specific, nor authentic.

Two Aaron Ross Autograph Cards

It's Super Bowl weekend, and I thought I'd start it off with an actual Super Bowl winner... Aaron Ross, who won it when his New York Giants beat the heavily-favoured New England Patriots in the last minute in his rookie year.

These are from his College years, where he attended University of Texas; he actually enrolled in 2002 but wasn't allowed to play that year because his grades weren't good enough, so he started playing college ball in 2003 instead. By 2006, he was a star - All-American and All-Big 12 - as well as being the Thorpe Award winner as the U.S.' top defensive back, and led to his being picked 20th overall by the Giants in the 2007 draft's first round. It is of note that 8 of his teammates also made it to the NFL, in what is considered by many to be the strongest class ever.

The card on the left, where he is sporting the University of Texas Longhorns' orange uniform is from the 2007 Press Pass set, while the one one the right, wearing the Longhorns' white, is from Sage's 2007 Hit series. Both are signed in blue sharpie, the Sage card displaying a longer first name but both being clearly from the same handwriting.