2018 Sportlots purchases: it's lots of Toomahs!

Oh yeah, it's definitely a Toomah.  Moving on this series, today I'll be showing off new additions of the football player for whom I landed the most cards this time:  Amani Toomer.  His cardboard appearances mostly span 1996-2009 (with a few cameos from 2012-14 as well) so there was lots to choose from.  I took advantage of that by picking up cards from products with excellent designs, college photos, amazing action shots, and more.

So ignore Ahnold and enjoy Too Many Toomers!:

This first scan is a fun group that includes a good mix of what I was looking for.  We lead off with an insert, 1996 Bowman's Best Bets, then get into a nice run of college shots from Press Pass and Classic before an Ultra Sensations Blue parallel closes out the year.  1997 brings higher-end offerings from Donruss Preferred and Pinnacle Certified plus excellent mainstream designs and photos thanks to Pinnacle and Stadium Club.  The latter is one of the brands I heavily targeted due to its all-around excellence and doing so really benefited Toomer's PC.

You won't see much Topps flagship today because I have a nice little run of sets from Toomer's career and didn't really target the ones I didn't have, but I am a fan of the '97 design, made the same year as one of my favorite baseball flagship products.  A brand I did hit a lot, joining Stadium Club, is Fleer's Ultra, and you can see Toomer's cards from the 1997-99 products here.  More great photography, to be sure.  There's also a small run of Pacific offerings, and you'll see a good number of those throughout this post as well.

Upper Deck Retro finishes up the cards of '99 and gives way to the shininess of three 2000 products:  Bowman Reserve, Fleer's E-X, and Topps' Finest.  You'll see those last couple pop up a few more times as well.  A Fleer trio follows in the form of my favorite version of Focus plus Gamers and Tradition Glossy (from a factory set, not as an insert).  Pacific flagship and Paramount return to round out the group, and you'll see them again as well!

Here's one of the strongest scans in the whole post thanks to the quality of every card you see.  Topps' Gallery is another set I chased due to its outstanding looks, and I'm happy to say that's a repeat offender today too.  A flagship insert, Own the Game, and Upper Deck's Ultimate Victory lead into another superlative Ultra issue and a pleasantly blue Pacific Vanguard base.  Then 2001 starts strong with Absolute Memorabilia, Donruss Classics, E-X, and Finest.  See what I mean about a strong group?

While not quite as nice as the previous scan this group has some real lookers as well.  A Fleer trio is highlighted by Premium, a brand that often looked nice.  You'll see a few Leaf Certified cards today and this 2001 version is a solid example.  Pacific's 2001 design remains my favorite flagship version (and in baseball as well).  Quantum Leaf's iteration that year is also quite nice as a minor upgrade from the set's 2000 debut.  Topps brings an excellent pair in Gallery once again along with Heritage, another product for which I found several examples I liked.  And here's our first Upper Deck base so far, though you'll see plenty more below.

Here we have a number of previously seen brands in their 2002 versions, and to those we add Bowman's Best, Flair, and Fleer Showcase.  Once again there's a lot I love here which explains why I ended up with so many Toomers!  Bowman's Best and Gallery are beauties once again, and better yet, the 2003 version of the former even manages to one-up the '02 card with its team-appropriate color scheme.  Considering the vast majority of Sportlots listings lack images it's nice to be able to refer back to these to get an idea of what to look for when it comes to my other collections.

There's another bunch of the usual suspects here as we look at 2003 and '04, and that includes Classics and Bowman's Best designs that again hit the mark.  They're joined by a few newcomers in Prestige and Topps Draft (2003) and Playoff Contenders ('04).  Topps' draft-related product was a winner for about five years in the mid-aughts and I missed it even before Panini was given the NFL monopoly.

Things accelerate a bit here as we go from 2004 all the way through '08 and the end of the vertical card run.  Another excellent Topps Draft design is a good start while also ending 2004.  2005 is limited to another Topps Heritage entry, plus we see the '06 version right below it.  Speaking of 2006, Leaf Certified Materials and Prestige once again offer nice designs and Upper Deck hits on a super cool photo of Toomer going way up for a reception.  Somewhat similar 2008 entries in Leaf Certified Materials and Score's Select close out this group.

This is the first of two scans of horizontal cards, and I sure hope you like Pacific and Upper Deck!  The former includes the usually die-cut Crown Royale from 1997, 1999, and 2000, plus a foil enhanced Omega base from '99.  This section (including the next scan) is where most of the UD base went hiding due to its x-axis orientation; the ones you see here were made in 1997-2000, and if you follow them in order starting in '98 they almost appear to depict a catch, run, and score!

And we go out on a high note with this scan which begins with pairs of Stadium Club and Ultra cards from 2001 and 2002.  I particularly like the dual shot with teammate Tiki Barber on the '01 Ultra.  Topps' fun throwback set, 2003 All American, leads into a final run of Upper Deck from 2004, '07, and '08, with the final version being one of my favorite in the whole post. 

As a guy rooting for Tom Brady's Pats to complete their perfect season I was disappointed with the Giants' XLII win at the time (especially with former Spartan and crotch-shooting enthusiast Plaxico Burress catching the game-winner from gump-ass QB Eli Manning), but over the years I've recognized it as one of the best in the game's history.  Plus I can appreciate it like I did the rematch a few years later when Mario Manningham played the role of hero, because Toomer led New York's WRs with 84 yards in the '08 matchup.

This huge bunch of Toomers boosts his collection to 191, and I look forward to adding even more in the future, especially if I can find even more designs this pleasing to the eye!

Stay tuned for more Sportlots fun soon.