So, we opened a box of USC trading cards

So, the trading card craze that is sweeping through the country has made collecting cards fun again. And finding cards even more fun.

Part of the thrill is in the chase and the rest comes from opening up the sweet, sweet goodies that are those little cardboard images of your favorite players in your favorite sports.

I recently happened onto a box of USC Trojans exclusive trading cards from Panini. So, of course, I bought them, opened them up and documented the whole process.

It came in what is called a ‘blaster box’ and is guaranteed one piece of memorabilia in this box — either a jersey insert or an autographed card. It had 10 packs of eight cards a piece and the set of base cards includes 77 different cards featuring USC players in baseball, basketball and football as well as other USC-specific images and locations around campus.

I cracked into all 10 packs, got all 80 cards out, and was very, very happy with the results.

Included in said results were 75 base cards, knowing full well that I wouldn’t complete the set with one box alone, I still came pretty damn close. Of the 77 base cards in this set, I’m only missing 17 of them through this one box.

I also picked up a couple of cool inserts, or specialized cards that differ from the base cards and are randomly, less-frequently inserted.

And, I even saved the best pack for last. I was ‘skunked’ in terms of the memorabilia card out of the first nine packs. But, with a little last pack magic, I was able to pull a really cool jersey swatch card from former USC WR Marqise Lee!

All in all, the names in this set and the cards I got are truly awesome. I mean it’s USC greats like Everson Griffen, Joe McKnight, Frank Gifford, Jordan Cameron, Mark McGwire, Randy Johnson, Keith Rivers, Leonard Williams, DeMar DeRozan, Marcus Allen, Mark Sanchez, Matt Kalil, Nelson Agholor, Ronnie Lott, Taylor Mays, Carson Palmer, Brian Cushing, Tyron Smith, Clay Matthews and so many more!