America vs. The Patriots

Okay, so I took a couple days off, but don't worry I'm still here! It is Super Bowl Sunday, America's most widely celebrated holiday as far as I can tell. A year ago, I spent my Super Bowl at a bar in Florence explaining the rules of the game to a kid from South Korea. I was out until 4:30 in the morning because of the time difference, and had up to be up by 8:00 for class. Good times.

Since the topic of the day is football, I figured I would catch you up on a few really sweet Jets cards I've picked up in recent months. Now, I know, the words "sweet" and "Jets" shouldn't usually be used in the same sentence, but take my word for this please.

2013 Topps Five Star Curtis Martin Auto 15/25

First, I was able to finally add my all time favorite football player, Curtis Martin, to my autograph collection. Martin was the star of the first Jets team I payed any attention to, and I immediately gravitated towards him. Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, new Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson, the late Joe McKnight, Chris Ivory, Bilal Powell, and Matt Forte have since shared the backfield, but nobody has done it for me quite like Curtis did.

Last summer at a card show I debated whether to buy myself a full sized signed helmet of his, and ended up coming up just short on the funds necessary to do that. Several months later, I bought this beautiful card for a fraction of the price.

2015 Topps Chrome Leonard Williams Auto /99

There was something really appealing about this camo parallel rookie autograph of our lone Pro Bowler, Leonard Williams. The "Big Cat" delivered on his 6th overall draft selection this year and picked up the slack left behind by Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson. The defense this year was so disappointing, with Williams being the only true exception.

2014 Panini Flawless Eric Decker Auto 14/25

Ryan Fitzpatrick really missed Eric Decker this year. He only played in 3 games in 2016 before being placed on IR for hip and shoulder injuries that both required surgery. It sounds like he should be ready to go by the start of next season, which hopefully can help regain some of the magic he and Brandon Marshall shared the season prior.

Regardless of how the rest of his Jets career plays out, I'll never forget him for my all time favorite in person memory. Dad and I finally got to see a Jets vs. Patriots game in 2015, and Decker hauled in the game winning touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone that kept us in the playoff hunt. While I don't like talking about what happened in Buffalo the next week, in that moment I was so proud to be a Jets fan.

2015 Panini Luxe Darrelle Revis Patch Auto 4/5

We'll close this up with the man famous for shutting down this generation's best wide receivers in the game, Darrelle Revis. It was not a good year for "Revis Island". But, as a Jet fan I've gotten used to trying to find some form of a silver lining for everything so I keep from losing my sanity. We only have 3 more years to go!

Now I don't mean to sound like a downer, but man has this guy put us through a lot over the years. I feel like his entire career has been a contract negotiation. He left us and went to the Bucs, and then won a Super Bowl with the devil! It was extremely painful seeing him hoist the Lombardi Trophy with Tom Brady by his side, but I guess in a weird way I'm glad he got the chance to win after quite possibly being the greatest defensive player in franchise history.

So while he may continue to bug me for 3 more years as he gets old and wears down, he'll always be a Jet legend and down the road I'll be even happier to own this card. Also, I'm starting to grow very fond of these framed autographs. They're very aesthetically pleasing.

Alright, so that'll have it. No Joe Namath auto yet, apologies.

Go Falcons!