Hey, what’s up, everybody? This is WASABI-YAKABI, and I’m here to talk to you about the fun and the sometimes ridiculousness of collecting sports trading cards. You know, those little pieces of cardboard with pictures of athletes on them that you used to buy at the corner store for a couple of dollars. Yeah, those things.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why would anyone collect sports trading cards in 2023? We have smartphones, we have the internet, we have holograms, we have virtual reality. We can watch any game, any player, any highlight, any time we want. We don’t need no stinking cards.
But let me tell you something. Collecting sports trading cards is not just a hobby. It’s a way of life. It’s a passion. It’s a nostalgia. It’s a culture. It’s a community. It’s a history lesson. It’s an art form. It’s a treasure hunt. It’s a gamble. It’s a thrill.
Collecting sports trading cards is fun because you never know what you’re going to get. You open up a pack of cards and you might find a rookie card of the next Michael Jordan, or the next Tom Brady, or the next Serena Williams. You might find an autograph card of your favorite player, or a jersey card with a piece of fabric from their actual uniform. You might find a rare card that’s worth thousands of dollars (refer to “sometimes ridic”), or a card that’s so ugly it makes you laugh.
Collecting sports trading cards is sometimes ridiculous, because well, some people take it way too seriously. They spend hundreds of dollars on boxes of cards, hoping to pull out something valuable. They grade their cards with professional services, putting them in plastic cases and assigning them numerical scores based on their condition. They trade their cards online, or at conventions, or at card shops, haggling over prices and details like they’re Wall Street brokers.
Collecting sports trading cards is nostalgic because it reminds us of our childhoods. When we were kids, we didn’t care about the value or the condition of the cards. We just cared about the players and the teams and the stats and the stories. We collected the cards because we loved the game and we loved the athletes. We traded the cards with our friends, or our siblings, or our classmates, making deals and alliances and rivalries. We played with the cards, flipping them, tossing them, sticking them in our bike spokes.
Collecting sports trading cards is supportive because it connects us with other people who share our passion. We can talk to other collectors online, or in person, or on podcasts, or on YouTube channels. We can share our stories, our opinions, our tips, our advice, our knowledge, our collections.
We can make friends, we can make enemies, we can make fun of each other, like we do here at FAN-YAK!
Collecting sports trading cards is fun and ridiculous and nostalgic and supportive and many other things. But most of all, it’s entertaining. It makes us happy. It makes us laugh. It makes us smile.
So if you’re looking for something to do in your spare time, something to spice up your life, something to challenge your mind, something to feed your soul, something to make you feel like a kid again, try collecting sports trading cards.
You won’t regret it.
Unless you get addicted to it and go broke.
But hey, you can always eat your cards….With a little wasabi!
This is Wasabi-Yakabi, not covering sports-just bringing out the flava!
Until next time-Remember, NEVER lick wasabi…Or yaks-One will make ya a puddle, other will wanna cuddle!
Wasabi-Yakabi
