While triple relic (or memorabilia) cards are the foundation of Triple Threads Football, Topps continues to find new ways to get more jersey pieces and autographs together on a single card. New for 2008 are Triple Threads XXIV cards, oversized book cards that open to reveal 24 or more swatches.
Every pack of 2008 Topps Triple Threads Football holds six cards, with two packs in every master box. Expect to find a triple relic card or autographed triple relic card in every pack.
Base Cards and Parallels
Before we can get to the triple relics, there are base cards to get through first. This season's cards have stripes that run along the top and bottom, with a red background for player photos set on a textured surface that is reminiscent of canvas. All relevant information is in silver foil at the bottom.
Veterans and retired players mingle together on the 100-card checklist. Regular cards are numbered to 779, with parallel levels numbered to 249 (Sepia), 199 (Emerald), 99 (Gold), 25 (Sapphire) and one (Platinum).
Fifty rookies get the full-on autographed triple relic treatment that combines three player-worn swatches and an autographed sticker. The rookie cards come in the same parallel levels as the veteran/retired cards (albeit with even lower numbering) and also boast prime versions with multi-colored swatches.
Triple Threads isn't targeted toward set builders, which is fortunate because there are only about six base cards to be found per box. I opened one random pack to review and discovered three regular veteran base cards, one Sepia parallel and one Sapphire parallel.
Relic Cards
Not surprisingly, the main attraction in Triple Threads Football are the many multi-piece relic cards that fall 1:2 packs. They start with Triple Threads Relics, which have three pieces from a single player and are numbered to 36 copies at most. Also in the mix are prime swatch variations, Combos (three players with one swatch each) and Double Combos (six players with one swatch each).
Exclusive to Topps are Triple Threads Pro Bowl Jersey Patches, cards that present multi-colored patch pieces from - you guessed it - Pro Bowl jerseys. Most spectacular of all are Triple Threads XXIV cards, huge cards with hinges in the middle that push the limits of memorabilia card technology with 24 (or more) pieces on one card.
All of the relic cards have multiple parallel levels, resulting in many cards with single-digit print runs. Case in point: my pack's Triple Threads Relics Gold Devin Thomas, numbered to nine.
Autographed Relic Cards
Chances of pulling an autograph from a pack of Triple Threads Football are pretty decent thanks to the combination of the rookie cards and Autographed Triple Threads Relic Cards. As the name implies, these cards match an autographed sticker with three relic pieces, and each of the three designs for 60 players is numbered to 18 or less.
The variety found in the regular relic cards applies here as well, with Pairs (two autographs), Combos (three autographs) and Double Combos (six autographs) up for grabs. Topps even figured out how to give deceased legends cards worthy of this set, as Cut Above Triple Threads Autographed Cards utilize cut signatures and swatches from Walter Payton, Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi to make unique 1-of-1 collectibles.
With my triple relic already in hand, I found no autographed cards in my sample pack.
The Last Word
It's nice to see Topps continuing to challenge ideas of what's possible with memorabilia cards by developing new ways to present multiple relic pieces on one card. There's very little chance anyone could have foreseen 24 swatches on a single card just a few years ago.
The relics are such a focus that they make everything else seems like a bit of an afterthought, making this feel like a little more of a gamble than most Topps products. It's a fun chance to take, though, for collectors who don't mind the price tag (roughly $179 to $199 a box), and a card that will make quite the conversation piece could be the end result.