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Discover the history of Marketcom Mini NFL Posters from 1980–1983, including the rare Dallas Cowboys series, test posters, collecting tips, and ongoing research.

From Bicycle Spokes to PSA Slabs If someone handed you a 1952 Mickey Mantle today, you'd probably instinctively reach for a pair of gloves, a penny sleeve, a Card Saver, and maybe even call your insurance agent. Fifty years ago? Someone might have clipped it to their bicycle wheel to make it sound like a motorcycle. That's what makes the history of sports card collecting so fascinating. The cards haven't changed nearly as much as we have. What began as colorful pieces of card

I recently brought home a pair of original Texas Stadium seats, and it got me thinking about the most impractical purchase a sports fan can make. They're heavy, uncomfortable, and take up far too much space. Yet somehow, they're also priceless. Because when you sit in a stadium seat from your favorite ballpark or football stadium, you're not just looking at old plastic and metal—you're hearing the crowd, reliving the memories, and maybe even catching echoes of Pat Summerall a

When football fans hear the phrase “The Triplets,” one trio immediately comes to mind: Dallas Cowboys legends Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin. But the truth is the NFL has featured several legendary quarterback-running back-wide receiver combinations over the years. Some built dynasties. Others revolutionized offense. A few carried entire franchises on their backs. So who were the greatest NFL Triplets of all time? This ranking weighs: Hall of Fame players Super

The Last Time… Was a Different Lifetime The last time I saw Return of the Jedi in a theater, I wasn’t thinking about cinematography, legacy, or whether it “aged well.” I was thinking: Lightsabers Ewoks And whether I could somehow become Han Solo by the time I got home That was over 40 years ago. Now I’m walking into the Paramount Theatre in Austin—one of those old-school venues where the walls feel like they’ve seen things—to answer a question: Does Return of the Jedi still h

(And Why Every One of Them Was Trying to Turn You Into Evel Knievel) Before targeted ads…before social media…before anyone cared about “truth in advertising”… There were comic book ads. And whether it was Sea-Monkeys, X-ray glasses, or a BB gun you absolutely shouldn’t have had access to… Every single one of them was selling you the same thing: The chance to be Evel Knievel. Not literally—but spiritually. Because Evel Knievel wasn’t just a stuntman in the 80s.He was the bluep

A Foam Finger Nation–style rewind through the most iconic kicks ever made 1. Air Jordan 1 (1985) — The One That Started It All If you’re building Mount Rushmore of sneakers, this is the entire mountain. The Air Jordan 1 didn’t just launch a shoe—it launched a cultural shift. Banned (sort of), fined, and mythologized, this was rebellion stitched in leather. Why it’s #1: The origin story is unmatched Still wearable with anything today Defined sneaker culture forever 2. Air Jord

The covers that didn’t just sit on your shelf… they lived in your brain This isn’t about “cool.” This is about iconic—the covers you recognize in half a second from across the room. The ones that defined the look, feel, and attitude of the entire decade. Let’s lock in the true Mount Rushmore (plus six more) of 80s album art. 1. Thriller — Michael Jackson (1982) The white suit. The stare. The ease.The biggest album of all time came with a cover that felt like Hollywood royalty

Before Madden. Before fantasy football leagues turned coworkers into enemies. Before spreadsheets, algorithms, and mock drafts… There was PRO DRAFT Football (1974) —a game that didn’t just let you play football… it let you build the team . And that’s why it quietly might be one of the most important—and underrated—sports games of the 1970s. You Weren’t the Quarterback… You Were the GM Most football games of the era had you rolling dice and pretending to be the running back b

If the 1980s had a heartbeat, it pulsed through the speakers of Miami Vice. This wasn’t just a show—it was a full-blown sensory experience. Pastel suits, Ferrari Testarossas, neon skylines… and a soundtrack that didn’t just support the vibe—it defined it . Let’s rewind the tape and break down why the Miami Vice soundtrack isn’t just good—it’s arguably the most important TV soundtrack of the decade . The Sound That Changed Television Before Miami Vice , TV music was backgroun

Let’s not overthink this. Taking Harrison Ford out of these two franchises is like: Taking cheese off pizza Taking gas out of a Trans Am Taking Hulk Hogan out of WrestleMania One survives. One files a missing persons report. STAR WARS WITHOUT HAN SOLO We lose Han Solo and yeah… it hurts. Bad. To this day, I've only been able to watch Han Solo die once and likely will never again. But let’s be honest: You still got Luke whining his way into heroism You still got Vader, the gre

And once you picked one, you could wear it everywhere—even when you weren’t wearing the helmet. There was a time when being an NFL fan didn’t start on Sundays. It started the moment you saw that helmet. Not a highlight. Not a stat line. Not even a game. The helmet. Specifically—the version that mattered most: The two-bar helmet. Simple.Clean.Perfect. And once that image got in your head? It didn’t stay there. It showed up everywhere. The Two-Bar Helmet Was Everywhere This is

There are disappointments… and then there’s Boba Fett. This isn’t just a hot take. This is a lifetime of betrayal wrapped in Mandalorian armor and sold to us as the coolest thing in the galaxy. And like every kid who grew up worshipping him, I’m here to say it: Boba Fett is the most disappointing character in Star Wars history. The First-Ever Action Figure Hype Machine Before The Empire Strikes Back even hit theaters… the legend was already being manufactured. This wasn’t ju

A Foam Finger Nation Mission Log (aka Financial Irresponsibility in Real Time) There are grown men buying sensible things like furniture. And then there’s me…refreshing eBay like it’s the stock market…trying to win auctions on toys that once lived in a Sears Wish Book fever dream. This isn’t nostalgia. This is a recovery operation. 🚀 1. The 1978 Suckerman If you know, you KNOW. This thing defied physics, logic, and parenting standards. You’d throw it against a window and jus

And the 10 Best Looking Rickey Henderson Cards of All Time Some players had great careers. Some players had great baseball cards. Rickey Henderson had both , and I’m not sure anyone in hobby history had a more consistent run of great-looking cardboard. That’s not me saying every Rickey card is the most valuable.That’s me saying Rickey might be the only superstar who never looked wrong on a baseball card . Some players got trapped by bad photography. Some got buried in ugly de

A Junk Wax crime scene, one terrible gimmick at a time The 1980s sports card industry gave us a lot of things to love. It gave us rookie card chases.It gave us wax packs.It gave us the smell of stale gum and false hope. It also gave us some of the dumbest ideas ever shoved into a baseball card wrapper . This was the era when card companies discovered one dangerous truth: kids would buy almost anything if it came in a wax pack and had a chance at a star player inside. So ins

Before Madden and NBA 2K, Dr. J vs. Larry Bird One on One helped revolutionize sports video games and changed the industry forever.

Before HD graphics. Before 37 camera angles. Before every broadcast felt like a tech demo. There was a voice. The 1970s and 1980s weren’t just a golden age of sports — they were a golden age of sportscasters. These were voices that didn’t just narrate games; they defined them. They were soundtrack, storyteller, and stage manager all at once — they shaped how we remember them . Their cadence, restraint, humor, and gravitas became inseparable from the biggest moments in sports

The Best of Times Movie Poster Some sports movies are about championships. Some are about underdogs. And then there’s 1986’s The Best of Times — a film about a dropped pass, a town that refuses to emotionally recover, and a rematch so important it might legally qualify as civic therapy. I believe this movie belongs in the all-time sports film conversation — not politely… but loudly… like coming out of in the second half on a rain soaked quagmire of a field in white Converse.

Sports Illustrated Cover with Dwight Gooden Growing up as a sports fan in the 1980s meant Sports Illustrated was always there, whether you realized it or not. It was just part of the environment. It showed up on coffee tables, in waiting rooms, at friends’ houses. You didn’t subscribe to it so much as absorb it. For a long time, though, it was just background noise. Until one cover wasn’t. April 15, 1985. That was the first Sports Illustrated cover I ever really saw . Dwigh