What Does Card Collecting Mean to you?
By Jeff Hacket aka txtaz1102
What does card collecting mean to you? To me, growing up it was another way to connect with my parents, they would buy the packs of cards and we would open them and spend time together going over the cards we had gotten and the ones we still needed. My mother and I could sit for a few hours a week talking and putting together the sets that we were working on. It was a great moment in time and something I still remember when looking at all those boxes of cards that are still sitting on the shelves in the closet. The value of those cards still is not in the money that sits in those boxes, but in the value of the time spent with those I love. The memories are much greater in worth than the rookie cards and base that fill those dusty boxes.
We stopped collecting in my teenage years due to various reasons and I fell out of collecting all together. Sports and high school activities began to take a more pronounced role in my life and baseball cards did not fit into the time I had for all my activities. As time passed and my young adult life began to take shape, there was still no room for collecting cards. Then, marriage and work began and my adult life left little opportunity for anything but taking care of my family and paying bills. Even though I had my obligations, and we all have some form of obligations, I missed those moments when my mom and I would sit and look over the players we loved to watch on television and the moments we had shared during those years growing up.
On a whim one day doing the grocery shopping, I saw and purchased a blaster box of 2011 Bowman Chrome from the local Wal-Mart store just to see what had become of the baseball cards I had collected in my youth. What got my attention more than any autograph or relic card that came out of those packs (none did that day) was the fact that my six year old son was enthralled with the cards. He plays Little League ball and knows who the players are for the Astros, our hometown team, but the first question he asked was “Daddy, are the any Berkman’s?” He knew which player he wanted and did not care that Lance Berkman had moved on from the Astros. He has begun his start into collecting by knowing who he wants to root for and who he wants to collect.
That statement and his excitment for what we were doing brought back the same memories I had with my mom. Collecting cards will be something we do in my home for our family from today forward. The time spent sharing memories and creating new ones with both my son and my mom are going to be the best payment for returning to a hobby I had loved so much as a child. Sitting at the kitchen table with fresh packs of cards and teaching my son how to open the pack, how to handle the cards, and how to admire the heroes that he will have in the sports world. Teaching him how and why things are important (or not) and using something we can enjoy together as the vehicle to those conversations.
So I ask again, what does collecting mean to you? To me the most important part of collecting anything is the memories that are made while doing what you love. The paper and pictures will fade and the corners may round on that beloved card, but the memories of sitting there with family and friends will stay with me for as long as I live. Collecting is not about the money spent or the money made, there is no amount of money that will replace the feelings I had when we would sit around that table marking checklists. It was a wonderful time then, and it will be just as wonderful sharing the same experiences with my own child. Hopefully, he will remember it just as I do and cherish those memories when he is my age.
Print article | This entry was posted by Pheebs888 on November 30, 2011 at 7:22 pm, and is filed under Articles Contest, Contest Articles, Contest Entries, MLB, Sports Card Articles, Sports Card Forum. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. |
about 6 years ago
Great article! I remember in my youth that I got into collecting thinking I could make money. Sad but true and after a few years I realized it was not going to happen. I left the card collecting biz for quite some time. I did mostly baseball and some hockey. When I got into adulthood my sister got me hooked on NASCAR, and o have never looked back. I love it. Then one day in Target I discovered Press Pass. I started putting sets together by purchasing those 20 dollar blaster boxes and was hooked. I didn’t care if it was a nickel card or a 5 dollar card, it just didn’t matter anymore. Then one day I pulled my first auto. Wow what an absolute thrill. I then wanted to chase the autos which is my passion today. Life has thrown in some real tough situations with my sister who was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years back. She needs help from time to time and I have found she actually can do something with those sets and inserts that I could not. She can turn them into cash and help supplement her income to help a little with her expensises. So collecting to me now means so much more, I now know the true passion of the hobby in that I don’t care if it’s Reed Sorenson or Dale Jr auto, it’s what I collect and am happy with either, at the same time I know that all that box busting is also helping someone I dearly love.
about 6 years ago
For me, memories and pride. I collect New York cards, mainly Yankees, but i have cards in all sports. It brings back great memories of seeing these players play years ago, and that makes me think of my youth. Also, the pride factor comes into play in that while i grew up in New York and will always be a New Yorker, i live in another state now, and looking at all these New York cards brings a touch of pride to me that the great sports history shown on my cards is all New York sports history – and its the greatest sports history of any city.
about 6 years ago
Trading cards are an absolutely wonderful way to connect and have fun in a simple manner. No batteries required. There is so much about collecting that teaches responsibility, and value in a manner that is actually fun. Hopefully this passtime will be around for many generations to come.