All-Star Fan Fair Observations

I know this is several months late, but I hadn't created this blog yet so I've decided to post my All-Star Fan Fair observations now. My primary objective in attending the Fan Fair was to get Jeff Skinner's autograph at the Upper Deck booth. Not knowing what to expect in terms of fan turnout, I arrived at the Convention Center 30 minutes early and was shocked to find several thousand people already in line. By the time I got inside, there were over a thousand people already in line for Skinner's autograph. I nervously waited in line for over 2 hours and finally got Skinner's autograph on the complimentary oversized Upper Deck card minutes before Skinner stopped signing.

Afterwards, I decided to walk around and check out the other booths. The majority of the booths were geared towards young children - games and such. There also was an area setup with card vendors, much like what you would find at a card show, except for the grossly overpriced Hurricanes cards. After Skinner left and the Upper Deck area cleared, I returned to take advantage of the Upper Deck promotion. Basically, if you opened a certain number of packs, you would get your choice of 3 special 3 card sets, or if you opened an entire box, you would get all 3 sets and a bonus card featuring Cam Ward, Eric Staal, and Ron Francis. I chose to go for one of the sets and picked the one with Jeff Skinner, Sidney Crosby, and Gordie Howe, primarily because I didn't have a Skinner card at the time.

At the Upper Deck booth, I also pulled my first jersey card from a pack - Matt Carle of Philadelphia. Unfortunately, it appears that this card isn't very popular as there are several on eBay at 99 cents, with no bids. I wrapped up the day by waiting in line for another 2 hours to have my picture taken with the Stanley Cup for the third time. I decided not to stick around for the fantasy draft since I was starving and there were several hundred people in the food line. Overall, I think the event was worthwhile just for the opportunity to get Skinner's autograph - although I don't know if I would have found it as beneficial had I not gotten that opportunity.

Misc. Observations: This year, Pinnacle did a series of cards called "City Lights," which basically featured a player with the backdrop of his city's skyline. Pinnacle chose Jeff Skinner as the Hurricanes representative. However, if you look closely at the card, you will notice that the backdrop is not Raleigh's skyline, but instead Charlotte's skyline. This fact alone makes this a very unique card to own and one that I hope I can add to my collection sometime soon.