Some Custom Cards from Phungo!

The calendar has switched over from 2015 to 2016 so it's time to start getting new baseball cards!  For the past several years, the first set "out of the gates" wasn't done by Topps, Panini, or any other big brand.  Nope, the first set out is Phungo's "The Phun Card" set.

As with previous editions, each pack of Phungo cards comes with a mix of custom made cards and "official" cards from those other guys.  Even better, if you are a lucky recipient of Phungo cards you get a pack tailored to your tastes (so you won't see any stinkin' Yankees in my pack of cards)!

So, what card gets the honor of being my first new card of 2016?

Todd Frazier!

I'm bummed that my Reds traded away Frazier, he seemed like a genuinely good guy.  Of course, if Cincinnati's football team is any indication, the city of Cincinnati has no use for "good guys."  They'd rather have thugs, criminals, and all around miscreants rather than stand up men.  (Can you tell I root for the Steelers and not the Bengals?)

Some of my other Phungo cards included a Pete Rose (in a Phillies hat, boooo!) and Johnny Cueto (another Reds' player no more).

However, my favorite of all the Phungo custom cards wasn't even a Red (or ex-Red).  Nope, instead it was a card of the Colosseum.

I had the good fortune of visiting Rome once before (and I got to visit the Colosseum which was amazing).  Even better for me though is that next year I'll be teaching a History of Ancient and Modern Mathematics course which will have a travel component to Italy (including the Colosseum) and Greece.  I'm super excited for the opportunity and this card did nothing but add to my excitement!

As I mentioned earlier, not only do you get custom cards in a Phungo pack, you also get some cards from rival manufactures.  For me, that meant a Barry Larkin card for my collection along with a buyback featuring the Reds in the World Series (something I'm not sure I'll see anytime soon in real life)!

There were also a few cards from my want list in the pack, but the biggest catch has to be this Evan Longoria "Version B" card.

The Longoria is from 2008 Stadium Club - a set that was a confusing mess...so confusing in fact that there were a bunch of cards created with two versions - and you could only tell which version you had by checking the front photo to a itty-bitty picture on the back of the card.

Thanks to Phungo, I now only need three more cards before I can officially close the book on the 2008 Stadium Club set!

Many thanks for the great cards!  It's a wonderful tradition for starting off the new year - and since it's now February, I maintain my tradition of being somewhat slow to post my mail days!