Why do you collect?

[82Redbirds]

So today I decided to bring a box home from work for the express purpose of storing some of the Cardinals Game Day magazines that have been piling up on my desk. As I'm carefully placing the magazines in the box, my wife asks me why am I keeping them. Now, to me, it's a no-brainer. Those are Cardinals magazines. I can't throw those away. They're sacred. In my mind, it's as simple as that. But when it came to verbalizing the reasons I want to accumulate items related to my favorite sports team, I had a hard time.

I suppose there's probably some instinctive behavior involved that stems from some hunter/gatherer gene that's been present in humans since the beginning. But in our modern era of paperless offices, and hand-held devices that store gigabytes of data, it's hard to believe that there are still some of us who want to take up all the closet space in the house with boxes and boxes full of little pieces of cardboard with pictures of athletes on them (or in this case, magazines). It's crazy. Right? Yet, here I am going to Wally World today and grabbing another blaster box of 2010 Allen & Ginter to work on the set. Why do we do this?

To me there's something nostalgic about baseball cards. I think I'm drawn to the memories that are stored in a single image of a baseball player and his statistics. I'm drawn to the fact that I can hold the memories in my hand and touch the history of the game. Each baseball card I own has a story associated with it. Even the overproduced cards from the "junk wax" era can tell you some fascinating stories. You just have to listen. Once you listen to the stories...you'll be hooked.

Just like every baseball card has its own story, I'm sure that each collector also has his or her own story about how they fell in love with collecting baseball cards. Whether it was sitting at the table with your dad reading the stats on the back of the cards, or trading with the other kids from school when you were young, or even (like me) falling in love with collecting later in life, I want to hear why you collect. It doesn't have to be some 500 word essay. I just want to know what you love about collecting sports cards. It's very comforting to know that there are like-minded people out there enjoying the hobby right along with me. So please tell me what it is you love about collecting.


More...

[Dacubs?]

I started collecting as a kid, kinda funny as my older siblings were never into it...They prefered comic books, but I was out there in 1984 when the Cubs were doing good and I wanted those Cubs cards. So I'd buy a pack here or there and collected until 1991...That was the year I graduated High School and went to college and had to start working and paying bills and books and stuff, so my collection stayed at home in my parents place. The collection remained untouched and I didn't give cards another thought until 2001, The hype of an asian born player coming to play in the majors was overwhelming...being asian, I had to get my hands on an Ichiro RC, so I bought a ton of Sweet Spot and never got one. It was the beginning of the hook though as now I had a taste of the new baseball cards...autos, game used (when they weren't a dime a dozen), Pujols, Ichiro...what more could I ask for. Since then I have been into it again, but as I am getting older and my kids are as well, its time to slow down on the collection and prepare for new expenses like college for the kids. Its now about getting the big hit though, although I'm not a big seller, I still love the thrill of busting wax...I guess thats the closet gambler in me...better to spend it on cards than blackjack huh??

[cornwellfamily]

What is more exciting then to open a pack and see that one impossible card drop into your hand that you've always wanted. I remember going into a convience store and they had a box of various packs for 1.49 and I bought a pack of Topps Gallery that was in there and when I got to my car and opened the pack I pulled a Lou Gehrig bat card. How could you not collect after that?