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Seeing the post of a Bradical's BGS sub that included hockey RCs, I realized I really miss collecting hockey. I live in Austin, and the local news spend about 5 seconds a year covering it. Late May, at the end of one sports segment, you can hear something like,"That's the latest from the Northwest K-thru-Four Kickball Tournament. Aaaand the Carolina Tornadoes are the new Ice Stick Champeens. Back to you, Hema." I cut the cable cord when I bought my new house, so I'm basically in a hockey desert. I know, the internet and all, but it's not the same as just turning on a game or sportscenter and following a season. As a result, I have only the barest knowledge who Jack Eichel is (from the cards, I would guess he is Ee-Yah Jennings reincarnated), no idea if my Flyers made the playoffs, and a very weird relationship with hockey cards. Is it weird to buy a box when you have no idea who more than maybe 5 guys are? On the other hand, if I bought a box, I'd know who a couple hundred guys are.
It's like when I really wanted to rip a case of Panini Select Soccer. I saw them at the last Houston Tristar show and they looked awesome. And pricey! I just wanted to rip a box and hit a Messi auto. They were all just so colorful and sweet looking, like when Finest first came out, but better. I ended up talking myself out of it, but only because no one at the show actually had any boxes, just ridiculously priced singles. So no "football" for me. Now I want to get some hockey. I dropped out of hockey really before Young Guns became the premier base RC, so I never got to enjoy them, whoever they would have been. I might just have to move into my girlfriend's place (she has U-Verse and watches ESPN 24/7). Or maybe just get a box or two. Or just a card or two. Those Canvas Young Guns are super sweet-looking.
So, I guess my point is if anyone collects sports, or anything, they don't follow. ESPN really highlights soccer now, covering it about as much as NHL, it seems. But I can't get into it. The flopping... And maybe it's my age but time goes by so fast now. It seems like the Warriors just won the championship, and now a whole NBA season has gone by, and the Warriors beat the Bulls' record? What? Thanksgiving was just like a month ago. And God help me if I want to buy a Steph Curry card. It's removed now, but someone was selling a straight up counterfeit Curry Topps RC for $10 on ebay. Like, making no bones about it, he was offering a "reprint" to impress your friends, at a fraction of the cost of a real one. And you know, that's not a bad deal.
Even baseball. I'm so busy there are several nights a week I don't even know what's going on. Topps Now has become how I keep up with the sport. And newsgroups. I had no idea Kris Bryant was off to a bad start until someone posted a "sky is falling" thread on BO. Honestly, the kids over there have no patience and fall for every bit of hype. But I'm sitting here wondering how the Phils are doing. I know they won yesterday, and took 2 of 3 from the Mets last week, I think. But that could be their only 3 wins.
Then there's football. I follow the sport, especially the past two years when I succumbed to the fantasy blight, but I was never a football collector. Something about it just turns me off. In 1999, I tried. Ricky Williams had an insane year for UT, setting the rushing record, winning the Heisman, Ditka traded the entire Saints franchise for him. Then he blew up, but not the "sick" way. And the careers are just so short. As I say, time is going faster for me now, and as I look through the random packs I've gotten over the years, I'll say,"Hey what happened to that guy? I liked him." Only to find out he played for three years four years ago. And fantasy just screwed up my fanhood. Having Dez Bryant on my team last season was terrible. How can I hope he has a good game the two times he played against my Eagles? What, do I hope for him to score 4 TDs while the Eagles score 5? Yes, that's exactly what you do. But I can't bring myself to buy the cards. I want to, because they can be so nice, but it's all so transient. I got really hyped for Melvin Gordon, but Melvin Gordon will be out of the league in 4 years. He didn't even score a TD this year, last I checked. Why would I buy his cards? And even following my college team is tough. Syracuse football has been terrible since 1987. Yes, they've had some players. But even though my alma mater threw up a really good QB, and he played on my favorite team, I could not bring myself to ever buy a single Donovan McNabb card. I just don't have that connection in that sport to this hobby.
This is just a long rant, killing time Friday afternoon. But I do wonder. Are there guys out there who opened Select Soccer and just stare at them mystified, like someone who inherited a collection of objets d'art from a distant relative? Do you buy NBA cards because you went to Duke and there's a Dukie on every team? So you collect things just from sheer force of habit?
It's like when I really wanted to rip a case of Panini Select Soccer. I saw them at the last Houston Tristar show and they looked awesome. And pricey! I just wanted to rip a box and hit a Messi auto. They were all just so colorful and sweet looking, like when Finest first came out, but better. I ended up talking myself out of it, but only because no one at the show actually had any boxes, just ridiculously priced singles. So no "football" for me. Now I want to get some hockey. I dropped out of hockey really before Young Guns became the premier base RC, so I never got to enjoy them, whoever they would have been. I might just have to move into my girlfriend's place (she has U-Verse and watches ESPN 24/7). Or maybe just get a box or two. Or just a card or two. Those Canvas Young Guns are super sweet-looking.
So, I guess my point is if anyone collects sports, or anything, they don't follow. ESPN really highlights soccer now, covering it about as much as NHL, it seems. But I can't get into it. The flopping... And maybe it's my age but time goes by so fast now. It seems like the Warriors just won the championship, and now a whole NBA season has gone by, and the Warriors beat the Bulls' record? What? Thanksgiving was just like a month ago. And God help me if I want to buy a Steph Curry card. It's removed now, but someone was selling a straight up counterfeit Curry Topps RC for $10 on ebay. Like, making no bones about it, he was offering a "reprint" to impress your friends, at a fraction of the cost of a real one. And you know, that's not a bad deal.
Even baseball. I'm so busy there are several nights a week I don't even know what's going on. Topps Now has become how I keep up with the sport. And newsgroups. I had no idea Kris Bryant was off to a bad start until someone posted a "sky is falling" thread on BO. Honestly, the kids over there have no patience and fall for every bit of hype. But I'm sitting here wondering how the Phils are doing. I know they won yesterday, and took 2 of 3 from the Mets last week, I think. But that could be their only 3 wins.
Then there's football. I follow the sport, especially the past two years when I succumbed to the fantasy blight, but I was never a football collector. Something about it just turns me off. In 1999, I tried. Ricky Williams had an insane year for UT, setting the rushing record, winning the Heisman, Ditka traded the entire Saints franchise for him. Then he blew up, but not the "sick" way. And the careers are just so short. As I say, time is going faster for me now, and as I look through the random packs I've gotten over the years, I'll say,"Hey what happened to that guy? I liked him." Only to find out he played for three years four years ago. And fantasy just screwed up my fanhood. Having Dez Bryant on my team last season was terrible. How can I hope he has a good game the two times he played against my Eagles? What, do I hope for him to score 4 TDs while the Eagles score 5? Yes, that's exactly what you do. But I can't bring myself to buy the cards. I want to, because they can be so nice, but it's all so transient. I got really hyped for Melvin Gordon, but Melvin Gordon will be out of the league in 4 years. He didn't even score a TD this year, last I checked. Why would I buy his cards? And even following my college team is tough. Syracuse football has been terrible since 1987. Yes, they've had some players. But even though my alma mater threw up a really good QB, and he played on my favorite team, I could not bring myself to ever buy a single Donovan McNabb card. I just don't have that connection in that sport to this hobby.
This is just a long rant, killing time Friday afternoon. But I do wonder. Are there guys out there who opened Select Soccer and just stare at them mystified, like someone who inherited a collection of objets d'art from a distant relative? Do you buy NBA cards because you went to Duke and there's a Dukie on every team? So you collect things just from sheer force of habit?
