The Spirit Awakened

[Batman72]

The Spirit Awakened
by Drew Hall aka Batman72

A few years ago I attended a card show that would change me forever. $200 I had taken from the ATM. Money I had somehow convinced my wife to allow me to waste away again. I tensed up as I walked through the doors. The choices were many. Numbers and calculations raced through my head as I battled to get the best I possibly could out of that $200. An hour passed… on to another table. Another hour passed… on to another table. Finally the equation was balanced, my accounts were reconciled, and my decision became final. My exhaustion was evident but my relief was sweet. My fate was sealed.
It had been awhile since I had last broken the plastic off a box and broke open a pack. After having been out of the hobby for awhile I decided I was just going to collect jersey and rookie cards from now on along with Topps Football 1976-1993. Autographs were just too hard to come by. At least I was certain I could get a few rookie cards and a few jersey cards for each box I purchased. I had no signature pull as we say now. I never experienced the excitement of discovering the golden ticket. Experiencing the elation that somehow my collecting ability was superior to someone else’s had eluded me. I was just a collecting scrub. Always one of the last to be picked, on the neighborhood football card collecting team. I was a wannabe almost ashamed to show my face at such a prestigious event. This was where the big guys came to buy and sell. Maybe one day I would save enough money to be like them. In the meantime I’ll just pretend. I was only rich enough to overpay for middle priced products only to be disappointed and come up empty over and over and over again.
I know I’m not alone. I’m sure many collectors just gave up. It’s not easy hitting the big time. Others wish it would go back to the old days with just a few products to choose from. The ability to actually complete a set was within reach. When pulling a common card out of a pack could be exciting because it was a card you needed to complete the set. Those day’s are long gone my friends and we can only blame ourselves. The Big Time’s have moved on to far better things and we were left in the dust full of envy.
It was that fateful day in August of 2007 that the collecting spirit within me was awoken. My room was filled with the fresh scent of newly opened cardboard. As I sifted through the pack I fell upon a facing a different direction than the others. The back of the card staring at me #’d to just 75. Seeing that Colts logo stirred within me some excitement as my eyes glanced down further to the name. It read Joseph Addai. Wow I thought to myself a low numbered Joseph Addai Rookie card. Only 75 of these were produced and I was one who had one. As I turned the card over I experienced something I had not before. I noticed a shiny reflective rectangle surface at the bottom of the card with some writing on it. “Could this be” I asked to myself. I quickly turned the card over to verify the number. Back over again as my finger slid along an autograph. It was real. It was a Joseph Addai Autographed Rookie card #’d to 75. My eyes grew big and my hands shook trying to be so careful with it. I quickly put it in a sleeve and a top load. It was now secure and completely in my possession only. It’s mine, all mine! This must be worth a lot of money! I quickly went to my Beckett, flipped quickly through the pages. Ok, here we go got the year and brand ok, got the subset ok, got the number ok, here we go found it $120.00! Yes I said with a fist pump. Never had I pulled such a valuable card. It was my turn, it was my time! I must have carried that card around with me all day. I propped it up on my nightstand when I went to bed. The next day I displayed it on my mantle. Finally I can get some respect. People will nod and lift their eyebrows up when I speak of my signature pull. Finally some respect. No more walking the aisles at the card show ashamed, wishing and wanting. It was this pull that renewed the collector inside me. It made all my money well spent. It made my collecting prowess reach a new level. It made me legit. The spirit awakened.

[Pheebs888]

The Spirit Awakened
by Drew Hall aka Batman72

A few years ago I attended a card show that would change me forever. I went with the $200 I had taken from the ATM. Money I had somehow convinced my wife to allow me to waste away again. I tensed up as I walked through the doors. The choices were many. Numbers and calculations raced through my head as I battled to get the best I possibly could out of that $200. An hour passed… on to another table. Another hour passed… on to another table. Finally the equation was balanced, my accounts were reconciled, and my decision became final. My exhaustion was evident but my relief was sweet. My fate was sealed.

It had been a while since I had last broken the plastic off a box and broke open a pack. After having been out of the hobby for some time I decided I was just going to collect jersey and rookie cards from now on along with Topps Football 1976-1993. Autographs were just too hard to come by. At least I was certain I could get a few rookie cards and a few jersey cards for each box I purchased. I had no signature pull as we say now. I never experienced the excitement of discovering the golden ticket.

Experiencing the elation that somehow my collecting ability was superior to someone else’s had eluded me. I was just a collecting scrub, always one of the last to be picked, on the neighbourhood football card collecting team. I was a wannabe almost ashamed to show my face at such a prestigious event. This was where the big guys came to buy and sell. Maybe one day I would save enough money to be like them. In the meantime I’ll just pretend. I was only rich enough to overpay for middle priced products only to be disappointed and come up empty over and over and over again.

I know I’m not alone. I’m sure many collectors just gave up. It’s not easy hitting the big time. Others wish it would go back to the old days with just a few products to choose from. The ability to actually complete a set was within reach. When pulling a common card out of a pack could be exciting because it was a card you needed to complete the set. Those days are long gone my friends and we can only blame ourselves. The Big Times have moved on to far better things and we were left in the dust full of envy.

It was that fateful day in August of 2007 that the collecting spirit within me was awoken. My room was filled with the fresh scent of newly opened cardboard. As I sifted through the pack I fell upon a card facing a different direction than the others. The back of the card staring at me numbered to just 75. Seeing that Colts logo stirred within me some excitement as my eyes glanced down further to the name. It read Joseph Addai. Wow I thought to myself a low numbered Joseph Addai Rookie card. Only 75 of these were produced and I was one of those who had one. As I turned the card over I experienced something I had not before. I noticed a shiny reflective rectangle surface at the bottom of the card with some writing on it. “Could this be?” I asked to myself. I quickly turned the card over to verify the number. Back over again as my finger slid along an autograph. It was real. It was a Joseph Addai Autographed Rookie card #’d to 75. My eyes grew big and my hands shook trying to be so careful with it. I quickly put it in a sleeve and a top load. It was now secure and completely in my possession only. It’s mine, all mine! This must be worth a lot of money! I quickly went to my price guide, flipped quickly through the pages. Ok, here we go got the year and brand ok, got the subset ok, got the number ok, here we go found it $120.00!

Yes I said with a fist pump. Never had I pulled such a valuable card. It was my turn, it was my time! I must have carried that card around with me all day. I propped it up on my nightstand when I went to bed. The next day I displayed it on my mantle. Finally I can get some respect. People will nod and lift their eyebrows up when I speak of my signature pull. Finally some respect. No more walking the aisles at the card show ashamed, wishing and wanting. It was this pull that renewed the collector inside me. It made all my money well spent. It made my collecting prowess reach a new level. It made me legit. The spirit awakened.
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good article, thanks for submitting!

[Pheebs888]

digg: http://digg.com/other_sports/The_Spirit_Awakened
propeller: http://www.propeller.com/story/2009/...orum-articles/

and here is the link to it on the article site: https://www.sportscardforum.com/articles/?p=615