The only catch is that UD cannot be bought out/merged/etc. I am saddened by that fine print, as the truth is that Topps will mostly likely buy out the grossly mismanaged Upper Deck company. To me, that is the sweetest type of poetic justice that could exist. It was not long ago that UD made an attempt to take over Topps. Not only did that fail, but many die-hard fans revolted. Topps is aptly named. Those of us who have collected our lives, especially those who are closer to the origination date of Topps and baseball cards, have a very special place in our hearts for the Topps brand. Sure, they managed to create their own contractual exclusivity with the MLB, but we'll set that aside for now to concentrate on the lawsuit-ridden, non-royalty-paying, just-how-far-can-we-go-by-almost-showing-logos-on-our-cards Upper Deck.
What I would love to see is a group of cardboard bloggers come together, pool enough start-up money to obtain a loan, and make a bid for UD. No, not just a bid, but a hostile takeover of the whole operation. We would come in, fire everyone (well, almost everyone), and run the show like it should be run. We've got amazing PR people in our group. We have incredible artists already outdoing the major labels as far as design and photography. We have shrewd business folks among us. We have grown from less than a handful of writers, collectors, enthusiasts to well over hundreds of industry-related bloggers. Heck, even UD couldn't help but take notice with the likes of Wax Heaven, The Baseball Card Blog and others.
Sure, taking over Upper Deck would mean no one wins the Death Poll, but it could also mean everyone wins a chance to make the hobby what we'd like it to be.
In the mean, GO VOTE!
