1992-1993 Upper Deck McDonald's Basketball (National)

Aren't you the lucky ones. I saved what I consider the best for last. I absolutely love exclusives like this, and it only gets a little more exclusive-r than this. I should note that this love for exclusives does not extend to parallels (a la Wal-Mart/Target), but rather is limited to full on sets (a la Denny's Holograms and the following).

Here we have the follow-up to my last pack break, 1991-1992 Hoops McDonald's. These 3-card packs came free with any value meal purchase, or you could buy packs separately for a small price if you bought something else. I can't tell you how many of these we got. What's even better (or worse, if you didn't live near major markets), is that there are also regional packs which came with 2 cards from the main set and 1 regional team set card. Those could be found in Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Los Angeles and Orlando. Unfortunately, there's no marks distinguishing these from the rest. I just happen to know that this is the national version, because my dad had them separated in the basement. Let's dive in.

#P14 - Chris Mullin - Great action shot of Pale Face working his way around Rolando Blackman. The McDonald's set features a different design from the regular Upper Deck set, and I actually think I like this one more.

#P35 - Spud Webb - It kind of looks like a night shot, but in reality, the overhead lights are all just being blocked by the tall players.

Here's what the backs look like. Aside from the different design on the front, the only thing to distinguish this sucker is the Arch shaped hologram. There isn't even a mention of McDonald's corporate name in the copyright info, if you can believe it.

#P5 - Michael Jordan - I promise I didn't plan this. Even without this card, I still think I saved the best for last, but pulling the Jordan just makes it even sweeter. Look at all the people in the crowd standing up to watch this break away dunk. For those that are curious, the regional version has a slightly different picture and a different card number.

Okay, so I didn't get any instant win prizes advertised on the pack front. I also didn't get the non-advertised hologram of Jordan (although I do have it). But I did get to open this pack without eating 80% of my daily saturated fat allowance, so I consider that a victory in and of itself.

That's all for my basketball packs, so feel free to keep that mouse off the Hall of Shame for my next pack break. I've learned my lesson.