2008 Bowman Sterling Football Review

2008 Bowman Sterling Football

2008 Bowman Sterling Football is always a release that I look forward to every year. This year should be no exception with the guaranteed (8) autographs and (12) game-used per box. (20) hits per (6) pack box! A real nice release to follow up the Stadium Club revival recently.

Set Features;

Each sealed box contains 6 packs of 5 cards each in a 195 card set including 50 Rookie cards, 50 Veteran Memorabilia cards, 40 Autograph Rookie cards, 30 Rookie Memorabilia cards, and 20 Autograph Rookie Memorabilia cards. >>> Each PACK contains TWO Rookie cards, ONE Veteran Memorabilia card, ONE Autograph Rookie card, and ONE Rookie Memorabilia card. >>> Each BOX contains TWELVE Memorabilia cards and EIGHT Autograph cards. Parallel sets: Refractor (#`d to 199), Black (#`d to 50), Gold (#`d to 25; also #`d Autograph Rookie, #`d Veteran Memorabilia, #`d Rookie Memorabilia, and Dual Autograph 1:24 > #`d to 400), and Red (each is a 1-of-1), and Framed Printing Plates (each is a 1-of-1).

Here's what we pulled in our box of 2008 Bowman Sterling Football.

Rookie and Parallel Cards;

The rookies seem to pop right off of the cards. Great photo shots and a nice design this year. You get (2) rookie base or parallel per pack. Our (10) base rookies are of;

• Jordan Dizon, Duane Brown, Antoine Cason, Pat Sims + Thomas DeCoud
• Chris Ellis, Thomas Brown, Josh Morgan, Antwaun Molden + Timothy Hightower

Our (2) Parallel rookies are of;

Josh Morgan + Leodis McKelvin. Both of these are refractors and numbered out of /199.

The thinner stock base and parallel rookies seem to have that early production Topps Finest type bow in them. When laying flat some of the cards actually have a 1/8" bow in them. Topps will fix this in one of the next runs of this product I am sure. The thicker jersey and autographed cards do not have this bow.

Game-Used Cards (12) Per Box;

We pulled (12) game-used cards in our box.

We pulled our (12) game-used cards from the box as expected. Here's how it broke down...

• Brian Westbrook /249 + Shane Lechler /389 Pro-Bowl jersey
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh /199 refractor Pro-Bowl jersey + Ben Roethlisberger /389
• Steve Smith /199 refractor (Pro-Bowl??) + Nick Folk /199 refractor Pro-Bowl jersey
• Joe Flacco /199 refractor + Jamaal Charles /199 refractor
• Jamaal Charles /309 BIG Swatch + Matt Ryan /299
• Mario Manningham /399 + Joe Flacco /309 BIG Swatch

Autographed Cards (8) Per Box;

We pulled (6) autographed cards in our box...See final thoughts section

The autographs are of the same design as the base rookie cards. The only difference is an autographed cut out area. The autographed rookie cards we pulled are of;

• Fred Davis...Redemption
• Marcus Monk...GOLD Redemption
• Chauncey Washington
• Ryan Torain.../1050
• Ryan Torain /50
• Ray Rice auto/jersey

The (4) autographs that we can see (excluding redemptions) are very high-quality, without any bubbling or breaks. They all are complete autographs that fit nicely in the little window provided and the design seems to fit well with every card.

Final Thoughts on 2008 Bowman Sterling Football;

Bowman Sterling is always one of my favorite releases of the year for football. What a super product to follow the revitalized newly released Stadium Club. The guaranteed (8) autographs and (12) game-used per box really pushed this release over the edge. If these boxes drop in price, I may have to pick some up and try my luck. These boxes can usually be had for between $180 and $239 on most sites that I have checked. If you can get them in the $180 range, it could be a good buy if you have some luck!

*****Topps 2008 Bowman Sterling Manufacturing Issue*****

Topps has announced that there was a manufacturing problem with 2008 Bowman Sterling Football...please see this Topps release for more information. Topps at least, promptly stepped up to the plate on this manufacturing error.

.::TOPPS::. Sports Home

Here's how I would rate this product;

• Value = 4.5
• Innovation = 4
• Fun and Experience = 5
• Rebuy Value = 4

I rate this product an "A-" for Topps! This is only because of the manufacturing issue.

NPN Information;

NPN 2008 Bowman Sterling Football
P.O. Box 764
Pittston, PA 18640

Postmarked by November 12, 2008

I would like to thank Clay from Topps and Trader Retreat for giving me the chance to review this new product.

Please Support The Sponsors That Support Traderretreat.

All of the cards from this break (GU + Autos) are put on the side for TR Official Fantasy Football Leagues, weekly contests or year end prizes on TR.

Look for 2008 Bowman Sterling Football ***Contests*** starting soon.