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Upper Deck: Ovation

My Upper Deck: Ovation Collection (Updated November 11th, 2022)

1999 Upper Deck Ovation: “Torry Holt” RC #66

2000 Upper Deck Ovation: “Jr. Seau” #50

In 1999, Upper Deck went on a "New Release Binge". Upper Deck added the Ionix, MVP, Retro, HoloGrX, Power Deck, and Ovation in '99 too. Really? Do we need this many titles? Regardless, in 1999 Upper Deck added Upper Deck Ovation. I guess an Encore title wasn't enough. They needed an Ovation title too. Well, the card quality was 2nd to none, but what I really despised about this set was the set size. It was a pathetic 90-card set with 60 veteran cards and 30 Rookie cards, (See the 1999 Upper Deck Ovation "Torry Holt" RC #66 left). My advice to the card manufacturers, if all you're going to release is a 90-card set, don't bother.

Now I may have my issues with the base set from the '99 Ovation release, but the insert sets were amazing. In particular, the Piece of History cards and their counterpart the autograph cards, (See the 1999 Upper Deck Ovation "Cade McNown" #CM-H-A right). I've always thought that Upper Deck did a really good job creating a parallel set of autograph cards. And although these cards aren't really a parallel set, like Playoff or Leaf/Donruss would do it, the creative minds at Upper Deck still do a very good job. 

Upper Deck didn't change a thing when the 2000 release came out. Another 90-card release with 60 vets and 30 rookies. At least the set didn't get any smaller. Another interesting point about this release, the 60-card vet set had exactly one-defensive player in it and you're looking at him, (See the 2000 Upper Deck Ovation "Jr. Seau" #50 left). That Seau guy must've been pretty good to be the only D player included. This set could've been just as bad as one of those mid-90s Pinnacle sets, but the

1999 Upper Deck Ovation: “Cade McNown” A Piece of History Autograph #CM-H-A

2000 Upper Deck Ovation: “Chris Redman” A Piece of History Autograph #CR-A

cool Rookie cards saved it, (See the 2000Upper Deck Ovation "Corey Simon" RC #62 below left).

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The 2000 release did continue the "Piece of History" tradition that started the year before. Upper Deck continued with the memorabilia base set with an autograph parallel set. And this time Upper Deck did it right, they made the auto parallels their own set, (See the 2000 Upper Deck Ovation "Chris Redman" #CR-A right). Talk about a really nice set and #'d to 25 never hurts either. 

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2000 Upper Deck Ovation: “Corey Simon” RC #62

The '01 Ovation release almost doubled in size. It went from 90 cards in 1999 and 2000 to 150 in 2001. Now I don't have the '01 set, but from the Brett Favre card below it looks like the '01 set took a step backward to me, (See the 2001 Upper Deck Ovation "Brett Favre" #35 below left). What the '01 set did have; 5 inserts sets that were either an autograph set or a memorabilia set. Talk about Bang for the Buck!!

 

Like I said in the earlier paragraph, this set had a bunch of memorabilia sets and cool ones too, (See the 2001 Upper Deck Ovation "Jr. Seau" Train for the Game #TG-JS above right). The Train for the Game set had multiple jersey swatches, (Back in the early 2000s that was rare. It's pretty common today).

 

The Training Gear set went even further. They had 3 jersey swatches on each card. Now, several companies started putting cards in their sets with multiple swatches, but Upper Deck was not going to be left out. And I really liked this card because all 3 colors of the team's jersey could be represented, (If you could find one), just like Cincinnati's card, (See the 2001 Upper Deck Ovation "Smith / Dillon / Warrick" Training Gear #TTC right).

 

Another of these cool memorabilia cards was the Rookie Gear set, (See the 2001 Upper Deck Ovation "Robert Ferguson" Rookie Gear #R-RF below right). Always nice to have rookie memorabilia and/or autograph card and the 2001 Ovation release did not disappoint.

 

In summary, I have mixed feelings about the "Upper Deck: Ovation" title. The cards are of high quality, but the set sizes suck. However, with that being said, I really liked the memorabilia sets. There was a bunch of them and the auto/memorabilia parallel sets were a sweet addition too. So if small sets don't bother you, then this title is your cup of tea. But for me, that was the only thing holding this title back. 

2001 Upper Deck Ovation: “Jr. Seau” Train for the Game #TG-JS

2001 Upper Deck Ovation: “Smith / Dillon / Warrick” Training Gear #TTC

2001 Upper Deck Ovation: “Robert Ferguson” Rookie Gear #R-RF

2001 Upper Deck Ovation: “Brett Favre” #35*

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*Note: Unfortunately, I do not have this set.

I have complete sets:
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Upper Deck Ovation:

1) 1999 Upper Deck Ovation Set

    A) A Piece of History - Incomplete ( 14 / 17 )

    B) Center Stage Insert

    C) Curtain Call Insert

    D) Spotlight Insert

    E) Performers Insert

2) 2000 Upper Deck Ovation Set

    A) A Piece of History - Incomplete ( 13 / 22 )

    B) A Piece of History Autographs - Incomplete ( 3 / 6 )

    C) Star Performers Insert

    D) Super Signature Silvers - Incomplete ( 4 / 9 ) *

3) 2001 Upper Deck Ovation Set - Do Not Have

    A) Rookie Gear Insert

    B) Train for the Game Insert

    C) Training Gear Insert

    D) Training Gear Trios Insert

4) 2002 Upper Deck Ovation Set - Do Not Have

    A) Jerseys Insert

 

*Note: This set was listed as an 8-card set, However after I discovered the #JB-X Jim Brown Autograph Redemption card, the set is now 9-cards.

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