Flags Have Limits

I have been putting the finishing touches on sorting out my 2002 baseball card sets this week.  It was a pretty good year in general, but one of the great things about going back through old card sets is finding the flops.  One set which has aged terribly in my opinion is the 2002 Studio set:

The cards are pretty patriotic to say the least.  I do not have a problem with flags, but there is something about these cards which reminds me a little bit of the Rex Kwon Do guy from Napoleon Dynamite.  If you've never seen the movie here's your clip:

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Each card features an American flag and the small film frames behind the players feature the skyline of the city they play in.  I thought the Arch was pretty unique, so I am going with Bud Smith.  So, here's where this set takes a strange twist.  Also featuring American flags:

The Expos are American?  Hmmmm..

Of course the Blue Jays also have a cool American flag on their cards too which seems to not fit too well with the skyline of Toronto behind Shannon Stewart.  Donruss bounced back strong with a nice 2003 set featuring the team stadiums in the background.  This set has also one of the old Playoff sets which Panini has revived fairly well without a license.