Who the Duck Would Buy This? Mighty Ducks Pogs

Look, the off-season is getting brutal. As we head into the dog days of Summer, this isn’t getting any better. The hockey news is slow and, facing a potential work stoppage, the wait isn’t getting any easier. So hockey fans have to find new ways to pass the time and feed our hockey addictions at the same time.

On my end, I waste a lot of time scouring eBay and similar sites looking for obscure (and often times unlicensed) Anaheim Ducks merchandise. I don’t end up buying much, but I like to see what’s out there. Often times I come across some real head-scratchers, and this gave me an idea for a feature to run here on Ducks Daily Blog (and, okay, an idea I’m not so subtly co-opting from Puck Daddy’s “Puck Treasures” feature). Who the Duck Would Buy This will be a feature we’ll occasionally run as we find weird Ducks-related merchandise from around the web. Merchandise so strange to us that it raises the question, just who exactly is buying this junk?

Remember pogs? The early 90’s game fad and collectibles? Some quick background in case your memory is hazy: Pogs were small cardboard discs with artwork on one side. These discs were collected, traded, and won from others during game play. From Wikipedia:

"Rules may vary among players, but the game variants generally have common gameplay features. Each player has their own collection of pogs and one or more slammers. Before the game, players decide whether to play “for keeps”, or not. “For keeps” implies that the players keep the POGs that they win during the game and forfeit those that have been won by other players. The game can then begin as follows:The players each contribute an equal number of pogs to build a stack with the pieces face-down, which will be used during the game.The players take turns throwing their slammer down onto the top of the stack, causing it to spring up and the pogs to scatter. Each player keeps any pogs that land face-up after their throw.After each throw, the pogs which have landed face-down are then re-stacked for the next player.When no pogs remain in the stack, the player with the most pogs is the winner."

Now that all of the memories have come flooding back, back to the point of this article. The other day I stumbled across a wealth retro-style Mighty Ducks pogs all over eBay. While most of us got rid of our pogs a decade-and-a-half ago, some are still trying to cash in on the lucrative market that was pog sales. And don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to get my hands on some of these back in the day. Inagural season commeroative pogs? Count 9-year-old me in! But in 2012, who exactly is the target market for this? I don’t think Pogs are able to compete with an Xbox 360 for a kid’s attention these days.

Looking for some pogs with a little more substance? The pogs pictured at top of this article not only come as a complete team set, but also feature player stats on the back!

Already stockpiled all the pogs you will ever need? You’re on the right track, but don’t forget that you will need slammers. Lots of slammers. Let’s start with this one, commemorating the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim’s very first win, way back on October 13th of 1993 against the Edmonton Oilers. I can see no better way to honor this first victory!

But you have to keep a healthy stable of slammers, because you don’t want to be stranded with just one, especially if you’re stuck on a cold streak. Have a few more on hand to help change up your luck up a bit

As of the time of this article’s publication, the items mentioned above are still available to bid on (you better hurry and make your move now before they’re all gone!). But check out this auction that’s already ended, one that I can’t believe I missed out on. This image to the left might look like any old box, but inside this box is a goldmine: 800 Mighty Ducks inaugural season pogs, perfect for starting up or building upon your collection. I know what you’re thinking; you can’t afford to blow your life savings on 800 pogs right now in this economy (no matter how much as you’d like to). But worry not, this box sold for only 99¢, plus a low $9.99 for shipping! Hopefully another one of these boxes pops up out there, because how could you not capitalize on such an offer?

So what do you think? Are you ready to help kickstart the rebirth of the pog craze of the early 90’s? Do you have any pogs from back then stored away? How much would you be willing to part with them for? How long before we get to see the contemporary webbed-D on a pog?

I can’t believe this is how I’m spending the off-season.

Jer is ready to play for keeps. Follow him on Twitter @JerMeansWell.