The Quest

First, an odd statement: I was not a fan of hockey before I moved to the state of Florida. But ever since my first game I have been hooked, both as a fan and later as a player. My favorite team is the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have been an up and down team since I've started following them, going from multiple 50 loss seasons to winning the Stanley Cup all the way back down to consecutive 3oth and 29th place finishes. Still, they are my favorite team in professional sports and I cannot see that ever changing.

But what does all that have to do with creating a blog? Simply put, I am attempting to create a complete team set of Lightning player cards, consisting of every player to suit up in a regular season or playoff game. I started this a few months ago, intending to simply gather a full roster of Lightning goalies. After rummaging through my assorted boxes of cards and buying a few cheap singles, I amassed a collection of all 31 Lightning netminders from opening night goalie Wendell Young to 2009 minor league call-up Mike Mckenna.

Now I will try and go for a full team set, all 287 players (as of the end of the 2008-09 season). While it won't be easy I do intend to keep it cheap, as I have yet to buy a single card over $2. I'm not looking for rookies, jersey piece cards, or anything special. Just regular base set cards. (Although I prefer them vertically oriented and depicting the player in a Lightning uniform, but it's not a deal breaker.)

I think that's about all. I will be posting updates on my progress, as well as odds and ends about cards from the "master set", and anything else Lightning, hockey, or card related that I find interesting. I also feel obliged to note that this is my first foray into the blogging world, but I hope to get the hang of it soon enough.

-Tom