At the Trade Deadline 34: A Surprise Package from The Prowling Cat

A surprise package recently showed up in my mailbox. Actually, it showed up on my desk, because my wife usually checks the mail before I can get to it. I still check the mailbox before I go into the house after work, though. I recognized the name on the return address as belonging to the writer of The Prowling Cat blog. He hasn't posted to his blog for a while. I imagine he is still recovering from the epic Brocation he went on that involved football games, baseball games, a card shop visit, a stadium tour, and a celebrity sighting. I am leading with a couple of Danica Patrick cards that were in the package because it seems like putting a female face on the header photo draws in extra readers. I always like to add new cards to my Danica Patrick PC, but the really extra cool part of the package follows.

Here is the note he included with the package. It is awfully nice that he thought of me when looking to send out some Houston Rockets stuff. Let's take a look at the cards. I was kind of thinking that he'd been holding on to these cards for 11 years, but then I realized that this is 2015. I reminded my wife that in spite of how we might feel, 1994 was actually 21 years ago. She told me to shut up.

First up is this NBA Super Team card with the word 'REDEEMED' printed on the back of it and a bunch of legalese saying that if the team depicted wins a Division, Conference, or NBA Championship title the Super Team card can be sent in and redeemed for various prizes. I assume that when the pack-pulled cards were sent in, Topps kept them and returned a 'REDEEMED' card to the collector with the prize package. Well, Houston won the NBA Championship in 1994, so this was a pretty good pull at the time.

And here's what The Prowling Cat sent me. It's the Conference prize, a set of 10 Master Photos featuring the members of the winning team. Those photos in the center are the size of a regular trading card, The photos overall are 5"x7". The set is still sealed, and I am trying to decide whether I ought to open it. There is a Hakeem Olajuwon card buried in the middle somewhere, so I might open the set to get at it. I found a picture of it on eBay, but that's not the same as having it in-hand. I'm still deciding, so for now they are still in the plastic.

This was a pretty neat surprise, and I am always happy to add a new Hakeem Olajuwon card to my collection. I've been disenchanted with the players on the Houston roster pretty much since Yao Ming's injury problems forced him out of the league. I've found a few temporary favorites, but they all either left town or disappointed me in some way. But as long as there are new cards out there featuring The Dream, I can relive the glory days of 1994 and 1995. Thanks for the cards! This was a great surprise!