Hey all from Myrtle Beach, SC ...Raised in Connecticut (also lived in AZ for a short period too lol)

[SCGiants]

Hey guys...
44 yrs. old... but I don't feel 44! I feel 84 most days! (unfortunately I'm not joking lol)... I collected football cards as a kid... had full sets from 1968 thru 83/84 I think it was... not to mention a LOT of great cards that some people would trade their wives for today and then one day at 15/16 years old I needed gas, cigarette, and beer money... so I sold the whole enchilada for $40 or $50 to a guy in a shop that didn't last long... (karma?) in Beacon Falls, Ct. - I knew I was getting screwed but I needed the money. He was around my age now and I made the mistake of telling him that I stopped collecting a couple of years before and he then told me how the market on them crashed pretty much and they were all but worthless... that it was only Baseball cards that were worth anything. I couldn't believe "my luck" but at around 15 years old and just out of my freshman year I was wet behind the ears and just never thought for a second that a adult would lie to me like that and completely screw a kid over.
Today I of course regret it. I did the next day... and it gets me sick thinking of it to this day. If I didn't use the money on getting wasted then I would have been able to tell my dad and asked him what he thought... and even though he wasn't a collector he certainly would have questioned if the guy wasn't a dirt bag and went to pay him a visit inquiring... but I didn't say anything as I knew he would ask what I spent the money on and where is it to show for what I spent it on... and I obviously couldn't burp and smile so I didn't go down that road.
ANYWAY... fast forward to 2007 and my then 23 year old step-son, his ol' lady and 3 year old came to live with my wife and I for a year and he and I got to talking about it one day and then the next thing you know over the course of that year that he lived here we started buying packs and boxes from that year. Once he moved away I stopped again but bought a pack here and there if I happened to stumble on them and then the complete set of commons from Walmart when they would get marked down 20% when the new year styles started.
Then about a year or two ago I started buying more and more... but not opening most of them. Don't ask me why I have no idea lol.. but now I am back in the game and just started looking thru what I have and opening some of those old packs as time allots.
I got on Amazon and got toploaders... learned a expensive lesson that jersey cards do NOT fit into regular toploaders (this morning I learned that....GRRrrr) and I got the big Becketts and a few of the monthly editions already and some en-route. I'm interested in learning how prices fall and rise thru the years depending on who as I think I held onto some that I could have dumped for some cash that are now worthless.
I am not getting into it for money so much as I am collecting but I like NY Giants players and defensive players.
I commish a couple of fantasy football leagues that are IDP.... and these are not your run of the mill leagues. These are AWESOME leagues as it takes a TEAM to win and not the luck of having one or two stars. Our STARTING LINE-UP WEEKLY IS OVER 50 PLAYERS! 1QB, 4RB, 8 to 10 WR/TE (depending on the lg), 4DT, 6DE, 10LB, 7/8CB, 9S and they are dynasty leagues... some are keep all players and drop as you wish or to draft. Roster 120 players... with a 30 man IR and a 30 man Taxi Squad... so being that it is Fantasy Football on steroids I get to learning on just about every player in the NFL... except O-line... (poor fat bstds ...I know) lol.... and being that I end up learning about most players I like collecting cards for players that some people may not care about... but I love defense... LBs especially.
Back when the NFL was tough? Oh man... nothing sweeter than watching some 190lb WR have the guts to come over the middle to catch a pass and then get walloped by a 250LB linebacker who ate his Wheaties that morning... to watch the receivers helmet go flying off... or backwards was like watching a car accident without all of that metal in place obscuring the view... or back when being a QB meant that you had to be tough too? Oh man.... lol... same thing.... to see a LB come barreling around the corner with foam drooling out of his mouth and land a flying tackle into the back of a QB who just let off a pass a second before - thinking he was safe lol... it was fun to watch!! Today I am looked at as psycho or "uncaring about their long term health" but then? It was called FOOTBALL and nobody felt bad because they were getting paid millions to take those hits and 99% of us irregardless of our health or athletic condition would take those same hits as often for that type of money! I know I would today and I am half crippled already! lol... anyway... that is why I like defensive players.... I like collecting my NY Giants (unless I dislike the guy... like Eli... not a big fan of his) an I like collecting my fantasy teams...
Outside of football I like to read about Traditional Catholicism (meaning back when the church was the Church... anything PRE-1958 before Vatican II (the Second Vatican Council) I also like reading or learning about the paranormal, and a lot of other non-fiction.... I like riding (Harley) and like old bikes... not new ones and I am NOT into chrome or these new so-called choppers.... I like Bobbers and old-time choppers... not too much rake tho) and I am just starting to watch the MLB again - finally getting over the strike (of 83'.... not that I hold a grudge lol).... Yankees are my team as I grew up with my dad taking me to games in the mid to late 70's and early 80's.... I know why most people hate them and I would also if I didn't grow up with them - loving them... but I also like the Padres and/or Angels for my "late game" teams... that's me in a nutshell... why I collect who I do. Also married over 18 years to a very good woman who must be either a saint or "mentally challenged" to last this long with me because I know that I cannot possibly be a peach to live with day in and day out... but I told her years ago... "I'm your Huckleberry" and she accepted the challenge... so she got what she got ;)

[creasecollector]

Hey there! Great story, thanks so much for sharing your own story. Welcome to SCF! I think you're going to like it here!

[JFried1029]

SCGiants- Welcome to SCF! We all have hobby regrets

[gojacks]

Welcome to the forum! Quite possibly the grandest entry I've seen! Haha! Happy collecting!

[creasecollector]

Welcome to the forum! Quite possibly the grandest entry I've seen! Haha! Happy collecting!

+1 here! It was great to see (and read)!

[Jeremy_Falcons]

Hello Brian and welcome to SCF. Great story!

[bcool022]

Welcome to SCF! Enjoy!

[Rybowski]

Welcome to SCF Brian, great story! Have fun here and enjoy yourself.

[scc76]

Welcome to SCF

[michiganMax]

Welcome to SCF, enjoy yourself here. The searching tools and Inventory tools here are very user friendly.
Take a couple tutorials...They improved my proficiency vastly.