Why sports cards?

[Penny and KG]

I'm interested in hearing why everyone here is into the hobby. Feel free to share stories, big pulls that sucked you in, etc.

I just like the thrill of opening boxes and packs. I collected as a kid in the 90's, had a brief period during 08 09 and 09 10, and recently started getting back into it a few months ago. I lost my original collection to a flood, and have lately been trying to recoup some of the cards I had lost through breaks, and sometimes trading, since I found this forum. I don't really like to buy cards unless I'm practically stealing them as I'm more of a pack pulled kind of guy (set building has interested me lately though). Even trading takes away from the connection to the cards in my collection a little. So, I guess I'm in it for the nostalgia more than anything, although I do sell cards to ease the impact on my bank account a little. Also, I'm all basketball due to my lifelong commitment to the game haha.

[kukocitb]

I used to love busting packs. With ebay around I have a hard time busting packs instead of just going and getting what I want. With a 3rd kid on the way I get not buying all the time. If you have any Toni Kukoc let me know.

I have always been a bulls fan and I enjoyed watching Kukoc play. I think I am addicted to collecting him.....

[Penny and KG]

I used to love busting packs. With ebay around I have a hard time busting packs instead of just going and getting what I want. With a 3rd kid on the way I get not buying all the time. If you have any Toni Kukoc let me know.

I have always been a bulls fan and I enjoyed watching Kukoc play. I think I am addicted to collecting him.....

I already had you in mind for any kukoc. I only have low end rcs right now (hoops and ud se)

[kukocitb]

I already had you in mind for any kukoc. I only have low end rcs right now (hoops and ud se)

sorry. I am sure I bug some people more that I should...LOL

[Penny and KG]

sorry. I am sure I bug some people more that I should...LOL

No, you're fine. You only asked me once haha! I just remembered you.

[luisio82]

My cousin gave me my first 3 cards ever they were from the 90-91 hoops set it was mj,bird, and magic.loved cards ever since.i stopped collecting a lil after I graduated from college in 2004 but I got back into it around 2009. It's fun that i can actually afford cards that I couldn't when I was a kid.

[Penny and KG]

My cousin gave me my first 3 cards ever they were from the 90-91 hoops set it was mj,bird, and magic.loved cards ever since.i stopped collecting a lil after I graduated from college in 2004 but I got back into it around 2009. It's fun that i can actually afford cards that I couldn't when I was a kid.
Totally! I remember going to the mall with $20. Caught a movie, food, and still had $10 left for cards. Usually a bunch of collectors choice and a $3-$5 pack haha! The good ol days! Its great to be able to afford some boxes now. I especially like buying the ones from my childhood. Check out some of my old school breaks.

[tristan20]

Because game used Jerseys are too stinky :)

[smalltown]

Why sports cards then? Collecting was something everyone seemed to be doing. It was a great way to learn about guy who if you were lucky you got to see play once a week. The rush of opening packs, the thrill of the trade.

Que life taking over...

Why sports cards now? A lot of it is recapturing that childlike fun i experienced before. It really is an innocent hobby if you allow it to be and don't get to involved in "keeping up" or "investing". It's also something for me that can take up a minimal amount of space. There's only so much room for stuff in ones life. I don't want 50 jerseys that i can't wear, or signed pictures on every wall. I like that i can admire and sort my cards and put them back in a drawer when i'm done. I also enjoy the community of it. I've met many good people who can appreciate those little pieces of cardboard along with me.

[mfw13]

I started collecting in 1977 as a 7-year-old and have never stopped....

[tristan20]

I started collecting in 1977 as a 7-year-old and have never stopped....

Damn you are old :D

[Penny and KG]

I started collecting in 1977 as a 7-year-old and have never stopped....

Wow! What are some of your prized possessions?

[Penny and KG]

Why sports cards then? Collecting was something everyone seemed to be doing. It was a great way to learn about guy who if you were lucky you got to see play once a week. The rush of opening packs, the thrill of the trade.

Que life taking over...

Why sports cards now? A lot of it is recapturing that childlike fun i experienced before. It really is an innocent hobby if you allow it to be and don't get to involved in "keeping up" or "investing". It's also something for me that can take up a minimal amount of space. There's only so much room for stuff in ones life. I don't want 50 jerseys that i can't wear, or signed pictures on every wall. I like that i can admire and sort my cards and put them back in a drawer when i'm done. I also enjoy the community of it. I've met many good people who can appreciate those little pieces of cardboard along with me.
Agreed. I like to make a buck here and there, but I never expect it. I'm interested in hearing an investors story. I feel like cards are so unpredictable.

[VinsanityBBall]

Why do I collect cards? Well I was an avid basketball player that was playing aau ball and played on my high school team but after my freshman year I was forced to stop playing due to a medical reason. I suddenly had all this down time and one day while surfing Youtube I watched a box break. I was so intrigued how they had memorabilia inside cards that I started collecting them and I haven't looked back since.

[JMarchand1981]

Because game used Jerseys are too stinky :)

Your collection is insane.

[6celtics33]

I'm addicted, I love basketball but add in equal parts hypercompetitiveness and OCD, and there you have it

[Penny and KG]

Why do I collect cards? Well I was an avid basketball player that was playing aau ball and played on my high school team but after my freshman year I was forced to stop playing due to a medical reason. I suddenly had all this down time and one day while surfing Youtube I watched a box break. I was so intrigued how they had memorabilia inside cards that I started collecting them and I haven't looked back since.
Sorry about that. Glad you found another outlet. Youtube box breaks blew my mind when I first saw them haha. They are the reason for my 2 year stint in 08! I remember these 2 new zealand or maybe australian dudes that were trying to break every box upper deck made in 08. Quality stuff!

[Penny and KG]

I'm addicted, I love basketball but add in equal parts hypercompetitiveness and OCD, and there you have it

Haha nice!

[Penny and KG]

Because game used Jerseys are too stinky :)

I'll second the notion that your collection is insane! Also, that game used jerseys stink haha.

[thepinoymamba]

It's the thrill of opening and getting excited once you pulled something big or something very special to you like PC players. Collecting sports cards are like a fraternity to me that we have a brotherhood that eventually builds up to friendship.. especially it's world wide so it could also open up opportunities to travel and knowing that you have at least someone there that you could contact into. I don't really trade but making care packages and giving away free group breaks. It feels good that you know you have given a smile or two to someone. The care packages that we also receives are just mind blowing on how generous a person could be even though we don't agree at the Forum as long as they don't take it personally. One example is Tristan20.. we still have three packs of those amazing super packs care package. Me and my Son have something to look forward to and it's a father son bonding that is also captured in youtube and forever will be there as the time passes by. Those 3 packs left. We play to open one pack each year the day we really received it. The helping out of completing a set is just amazing experience on how members and other collectors will go and give their time just to help out. Just the way we do as well.
Time is the most important commodity..
#ThePinoyMamba out

Sent from my SM-G925T using Tapatalk

[bruce76]

I started when I was 9 years old back in 1985 going on fishing trips with my Dad and Granddad. Granddad would let me by candy, a soda, and a few packs of cards at the local gas station before heading out to go fishing.

[Litwing]

sports card is kind of beauty for its design. easy to store, and easy to ship.

[JasonM32]

As a young kid I saw Magic Johnson on tv and fell in love with basketball. My uncle was an athlete and a collector. He knew I liked Magic so he sent me several of Magic's early Topps and Fleer cards. I loved the cards and it inspired me to collect and I've been doing it off and on for most of my life.

[AbraCalabro]

Originally I was highly enthusiastic about cocaine, unfortunately that landed me in some trouble and I met some unscrupulous characters, thieves, criminals, you name it, it existed in the seedy underworld of hard drugs.

I decided to retire from that hobby and got into sports cards, specifically basketball. Turns out, the unscrupulous characters, thieves and criminals were heavily into basketball cards as well and they're worse than the ones I encountered in my previous hobby!

So I guess I collect to kill time and also because I hate myself. :)

[Broncoboys7]

1992. I was 8. The Airtel show in Van Nuys with my dad, who'd collected as a kid and wanted to get back into it with me. A guy had boxes of 1992-93 UD All Stars, and one per case was gold. He had two left. I said I'll take the on the left...no right. No left. He gave me the one on the left. It was the gold set.
I was hooked.

[thor_rider08]

Its easy to collect, does not take up too much space, great community, nostalgic, and its fun! For me I can collect when on the road, plane, trip etc.
My pops was busy 24/7 but always had time for a stop at mobile 76 or the card shop to get a few packs and some food after school with a few horse bets.
I won't have kids but I share the exp with my younger brother although he is into soccer!

The people I associate with here I have never met but can pick up after not talking for a year like time never passed. I don't have to deal with their personal problems and in general its just card talk and the help from many members figuring out current prices after I have been mia for 8 months is always helpful (thanks Tristan)! I like people who have the same interests but don't have the time for real friendships as they require too much time.. so this is a great filler. Plus I hate most people and the majority of people here don't give me a reason to hate them. Granted I tend to associate with people who collect similar things so they seem to be just as busy as myself to afford the things we collect!

That is it pretty much.

[Penny and KG]

1992. I was 8. The Airtel show in Van Nuys with my dad, who'd collected as a kid and wanted to get back into it with me. A guy had boxes of 1992-93 UD All Stars, and one per case was gold. He had two left. I said I'll take the on the left...no right. No left. He gave me the one on the left. It was the gold set.
I was hooked.

Haha picking the right box is the most important part!

[Stackfan]

I like sports, I like collecting... seems like a natural fit. First packs were sometime around 86-88, but really didn't get into busting till the 90's. Fun to open packs, get key players, make trades, complete sets and stuff.

Now, Nostalgic i guess. Still like sports and collected. 2012 prizm drew me back... Collecting pistons Knight/Drummond. Updating my old collection from the 90's. Getting some stuff i couldn't get from the 90's too.

[8collector34]

I started collecting as a child like most of you. It helped that my parents sold cards in their retail stores. So busting wax in the living room was a family event. It only lasted a few years though, until the demand dried up. Nobody I knew collected anymore.

15 years later I decided to sell most of my collection, so I started doing a little research. I had no idea that there are people still out there collecting cards. Then I came across the writings of Billy Kingsley. The way he can write about collecting got me back in.

[Penny and KG]

I started collecting as a child like most of you. It helped that my parents sold cards in their retail stores. So busting wax in the living room was a family event. It only lasted a few years though, until the demand dried up. Nobody I knew collected anymore.

15 years later I decided to sell most of my collection, so I started doing a little research. I had no idea that there are people still out there collecting cards. Then I came across the writings of Billy Kingsley. The way he can write about collecting got me back in.

Interesting. I'll look up Kingsley.

[dasiegel]

I'm addicted, I love basketball but add in equal parts hypercompetitiveness and OCD, and there you have it

I love this!!

For me this is a perfect storm of bringing back the nostalgia of being 5/6 and my parents buying me a pack and being 9 and asking them to go to the baseball card store and being 12 and trading cards bf school and mixing it with investing, tracking players and my general love for the sport of basketball!

[sportzking]

I began collecting in 1987. Started off with baseball, then sometimes in the 90's I slowly got into basketball. Didn't get serious at first until I started picking out some players to like, among them was David Robinson. I really liked the way he carried himself on and off the court so I decided to PC him. Then came Tim Duncan and the rest is history. I don't bust wax anymore due to the pricing and the fact I don't really collect any other players.

[BBallCT]

I used to collect hockey cards in the 90's, I remember heading to the corner store with my brother everytime we got our weekly allowance to chase those packs :)

I stopped collecting during university, and this is when I really got into basketball. I enjoy investing, and eventually I realzed that combining basketball and collecting could lead me to do business that I enjoy, so started selling online. I enjoy scouting for low value with a potential to rise, hence why I flip, fairly consistent with my fantasy keeper league strategies and PCs.

[8collector34]

Interesting. I'll look up Kingsley.

Check out his blog; Cardborad Histrory. His style of writing can be really dry sometimes, but I like that. If I want something exciting I go out and get chased down by cops for doing graffiti.

[Starman101]

I got a job in a card store from 1993-1998 and basketball cards were hit with the whole Shaq craze in the 90s

I used to collect baseball cards and comics in the late 80s aand early 90s. I used to have Jordan posters on my wall and wore Jordan 4s but I never got into basketball cards.

When Jordan retired in 1995 I began to PC Jordan cards insessively until 1999 when I quit collecting.

Enter October 2011 when I saw a Beckett with Jordan on the cover in a local collectibles shop and that singlehandidly got me back into PCing those really expensive Jordans I couldnt afford back in the 90s

From 2011 to present I acquired killer MJ cards on top of what I got from the 90s

The rest is history :)