Card: Topps AAF NOW 2019 Acquired: TTM 2020, C/o Home Sent: 6/30 Received: 12/10 (163 days) See Also: AJ Tarpley
I really liked the San Diego Fleet. They had a lot of great players on the team, but among them AJ Tarpley was probably my favorite. He had already signed his card previously for me, but this AAF card of his was quite expensive at the time, so I bided my time until I could get it at a great price, and then take a shot at getting him to sign this card of his. A bittersweet card- it frames the moment when AJ dashed the Commanders perfect season hopes, as the Fleet went out on top 12-8 and never looked back.
During the dog days of COVID I was working from home and decided to pick up a jersey or two of my favorite AAF players. Since the Fleet for some reason didn’t have any specific player jerseys, I picked up one of AJ. It looks great, and I can not believe how accurate the Chinese retailer got this jersey to look like the real thing!
After the AAF folded, AJ did not have to wait long for his name to be called as he was selected by the Washington Defenders of the XFL for their 2020 season during the open portion of the league’s draft. He played in 3 games (starting 2) for DC, logging 16 total tackles.
AJ left me sweating bullets about this card, but after seeing my jersey online I got of him- it jogged his memory and he shot it back to me with a nice note thanking me for being a fan. I am eager to hopefully see him suit up again in the XFL in 2022.
Aaron Schobel had a productive career with the Horned Frogs of TCU. He earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year Honors in 2000, and finished his career at the school with 31 sacks, 264 tackles, and 7 forced fumbles. (His 31 sacks would be a school record.)
After being selected out of TCU in 2001 with the Bills 2nd round pick, Aaron played 9 years for the team where he was a rock at defensive end in their 4-3 alignment. He was a two time Pro Bowl selection in 2006 and 2007. In 6 of those 9 seasons Aaron posted 8.5 sacks or more, including a career high 14 in 2006. Over that era, he posted 78 career sacks- a number that was only second to HOF DE Jason Taylor.
As the Bills planned to transition to a 3-4 defense in 2011, Schobel decided to retire at the age of 32. Afterwards many rumors swirled about him returning to play for a team on the message boards, most notably the Houston Texans (who are about 70 miles from his hometown), but Aaron felt the fire was gone and injuries had taken their toll, so he decided to stay retired. I sometimes think about what a devastating line that would’ve been in 2011 if the Texans had lined up budding rookie JJ Watt alongside grizzled veteran Aaron Schobel.
On my occasional drives back from Houston, I’d see a billboard for his family’s restaurant and it’d remind me of him, so I decided to take a shot and mail these cards out to him, that he graciously signed for me.
Gerald Christian split time with Florida(2011) and Louisville (2013-2014) with the bulk of his numbers coming while playing for the Cardinals. He finished with 64 catches for 882 yards and 10 TDs.
Christian was selected with the final pick of the 2015 NFL Draft by Arizona, and spent the entire season on IR. In 2016, he was signed by the Bills and spent the next year on and off the roster through 2017, later briefly returning to the Cardinals.
Late in 2018, Gerald signed with the Alliance of American Football Atlanta Legends. He’d later end up on the Arizona Hotshots before the season kicked off. Gerald finished the season catching 14 of 20 targets for 158 yards and a TD.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
