Bean's Christmas Cards

A few days before Christmas a bubble mailer arrived in the mail from Kin of Bean's Ballcard Blog with this little rectangular wrapped gift, tucked away inside a Christmas card. The aforementioned card was hung with the other Christmas cards in the living room by the wife. While she was doing that I quickly tore into the Christmas paper like a child on Christmas morning.

The first card in the stack was this 1999 Donruss Elite Aspirations parallel of Tim Biakabutuka, 71/79. Tim may have had a short NFL career due to injury, but he was one of my favorite running backs early on in the life of the Carolina Panthers. Serially numbered 90's cards are some of my favorites too so this card has found a new happy home!

The timing of this next card is a little surreal. Kevin Greene sadly passed away on 12/21/20. Even though he only spent 3 seasons in a Panthers jersey, he left many lasting memories for Carolina fans. I found it interesting that 1) Kevin was included in a 2020 product and 2) he was shown in a Panthers jersey over Steelers or Rams. This 2020 Panini Prestige Xtra Points parallel has a nice foil finish on the front and looks better in hand than my photo depicts.

The last card sent hails from the 2018 Score set and features a white piece of jersey of Luke Kuechly. This is a fitting card as Luke walked away from football at the end of the 2018 season due to injuries/concussions. Luke was an awesome defender and an absolute joy to watch play the game. I still miss all the "LUUUUUUKE" chants from the fans (you know, when we had fans in the stands) after he'd get that sack on the QB or lay a hard hit on an opposing player.

Thank you Kin for your hobby friendship and for these awesome 3 cards. I'll add these to the stack sitting to the left of me that need to be cataloged. It was a great holiday season and things like this just make it a little better.