why do you collect?

[tex27]

I'm sure this has been asked and answered many times before, but I'm curious...why do you collect?

I love the "gamble" of ripping open a new pack. I love building base sets to serve as a way to connect me to the game I love. I love looking back on a set and it serving as a kind of journal/memory of past seasons. It is an amazing way to spend time with my kids, as my dad did with me.

[key2win]

Love of hobby/sports. Been opening basketball packs and boxes since 1991 when I was 8 years old. Love building sets and pulling cards of my favorite team/players.

[CaptKirk42]

I always collected (now it would be called hoarding). As a kid I collected not only trading cards, but also comics, stamps, some coins, bottle caps, beer and soda cans, fantasy lead figures, plastic army men I guess, records and tapes.

Wish I still had those bottle caps, I never had a huge amount but I did have 50 or so of them glued to a piece of cardboard. I think I tossed all it in the recycling bin during the late 90s.

[drubacca117]

I think it is a combination of things... It's a way of connecting with a sport that I love, and all of the players and stats. It satisfies a need that I think lots of people have, but few realize... I think everyone is a little OCD about something, and it's human nature to want to classify things and find order, and I can do that with cards. There is also something soothing about ripping open packs and boxes, and sorting through everything, meticulously putting them in card protectors and 9-card pages. Finally, there is always a little bit of a thrill when you open a pack and wonder if that is the pack that contains the Kris Bryant rookie auto, or whatever the "big hit" may be at the time!

[shandsgator8]

I agree with the OP on the point about the "gambling" aspect of it. I love ripping packs - that's probably the most fun for me. A close second is getting cards of my favorite team. It's nice for me to have something tangible to represent my rooting interest.

[hoebob69]

I think the overlooked fact is the connection to our childhood. I love being able to talk about the hobby to other supporters. I collect for a number of reasons. I love the sports and players I go after,it's a rush bidding on ebay or going through packs,it's a hobby I can share with my kids but it's also simply a love for the hobby that will never go away.