Card Game Over

Thursday August 4th, 2011 - Rosemont, IL

   Forty years, and I‘ve finally had my fill. That’s how long I’ve been farting around with sports cards, and it’s time to move on. It was a lot of fun, and I did make at least a couple of bucks…at times - but it’s over. It took four decades, but I’ve completely lost interest.

   Part of it is the hobby has changed and the other part is that I have changed. Pictures of men in sports uniforms don’t do the same thing they did for me as a kid full of hopes and dreams of maybe having my own mug on a card some day. They don’t do anything at all.

   I loved sports cards as a kid. I would open each pack with a surgical precision and savor the pink slab of bubble gum which probably had a big hand in me getting diagnosed with diabetes all these years later. It also contributed to my dental hell - but it tasted SO good.

   The smell of the gum hovered over the scene as either a group of buddies or just me had the exquisite pleasure of thumbing through a new stack of jock heroes to worship, hoping to strike childhood gold with either a major superstar or someone from a hometown team.

   Growing up in Milwaukee, the Brewers and Packers were pretty bad for the majority of my childhood, but their players were still gods to us as kids and we fought over them like they were Hall of Famers. We knew all their statistics, and their pictures were etched into our brains permanently. Even today, when I see some of those cards I go right back there.

   That’s the appeal of the sports card hobby, and that’s why prices of some of them get so outrageous. Kids grow up, but those memories are still there. Adults have money and can afford to buy back part of their childhoods later. I get the concept. It’s a very strong urge.

   Then, like in most good things, greed eventually came in and ruined it all. People saw a quick buck and then they started producing way too much product and the game changed from a fun and somewhat innocent childhood pastime to an adult money grubbing game.

   I have to admit I got hooked into that too, and I tried my hand and wheeling and dealing several times. I’d buy collections and set up at card shows, and once in a while I’d do OK. Other times I’d need money and sell everything and start over. Sometimes I’d get out of it for a few years, but then I’d get the itch and get back in. It’s been a constant ebb and flow.

   Today I went to the National Sports Collectors Show in Rosemont, IL. That is the grand poobah of all card shows, and the biggest dealers all come in to one place. It’s been going on over thirty years, and I used to look forward to it every year. It rotates locations, but is often in Chicago so I’ve gotten to go quite a few times. Today I realized it passed me by.

   I went with my friend Richard Caan from Milwaukee who sells cards full time on Ebay. He’s a great guy, and has helped me liquidate my remaining inventory and had some cash for me today. I decided to take in the show to enjoy the treasures, but halfway through my first lap I knew I was done. It was fun for four decades, but now I have other things to do.

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary