Some Superb Panini Instant cards

It's Super Bowl Sunday and I actually have some fairly relevant cards to celebrate! While these aren't generally in my wheelhouse, I grabbed a six-pack of Panini Instant football cards to flip a couple to Doug (not like I don't owe him BIGTIME for all the great stuff he's sent my way) because it made more sense to buy the group than to pay crazy shipping for just one card. What made it an even easier decision was the UM connection that three of them offered:

I will say it's pretty sweet to get this Henne, my favorite of the trio, to celebrate his heroics as he stepped in for a potentially injured Mahomes to shepherd the Chiefs over the Browns. A terrible endzone interception by Henne made it necessary after the KC star built up his team's lead, true, but it was still a blast to see Chad come up with a huge barely short of the first down run on third and 14, then execute coach Andy Reid's ballsy fourth and 1 pass to ice the game instead of going the boring, conservative route. Henne joins such Wolverines as Mario Manningham, Desmond Howard, Brandon Graham, Marlin Jackson, and Ty Law in the annals of NFL Playoffs heroics, so this card will definitely have a special place in his PC. (It's also pretty cool that it's the card with the lowest print run of the bunch!)

Of course a Michigan guy who's no stranger to postseason lore is QB Tom Brady, who's leading his new team, the Bucs, into tonight's big game. Tom Terrific threw a pair of scores to teammates Leonard Fournette and Mike Evans and added a third TD with a goal line QB sneak to bring Tampa to the conference championship in a win over a retiring Drew Brees' Saints. While neither guy seen here is particularly likeable these days off the field, they're both legends of the sport, so this matchup of two legends was a good one for the NFL.

And then there's Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, who's become pretty unlikeable for his own reasons, but still ranks up there with the greats of the franchise at his position. Brady and the Discount Double Check guy did indeed meet up with a trip to the Big Game on the line, and though Tom tossed a trio of picks to keep things interesting, the Bucs never trailed, thanks in part to a last-second TD pass by the GOAT to end the first half. The Pack did have a shot at tying things up late but Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur displayed that he is menos macho than Andy Reid and kicked a field goal instead, while Tampa was able to run out the clock. Now Brady's team gets to be the first to attempt to win a Super Bowl on their home field.

I'll certainly be watching with some interest, probably while doing more card-related stuff, since I can watch the one or two good commercials (if any) later and don't care about the halftime stuff. And I'll pretty much be happy for either team to win, given that either way one or more Wolverines will be celebrating tonight. The Chiefs definitely have the edge in numbers with backups/injured/practice squad guys Henne, Mike Danna, Taco Charlton, and Patrick Omameh, plus starting DE Frank Clark (who, it should always be mentioned, left in disgrace), while Brady seeks to add to his GOATness (along with practice squad K Matt Wile).

Here's hoping for a great game helmed by two star QBs at opposite ends of their careers!