Nonsense Newsletter No. 141: I am not at the National, Bucket Lists, Secret Lair MTG and More!
In this week’s charming edition of the Nonsense Newsletter, John Dudley talks hobby bucket lists. I lament about why I didn’t go to this year’s National Sports Card Convention, and, of course, the Quick Hits are Dyno-mite! So, now that the dog days of summer are here, kick up your paws and enjoy this week’s installment of the Nonsense Newsletter!
By John Dudley
I’m just about finished with the main part of my PC (graded HOF rookies elected from 1999 on). Finishing a collection is great but it can leave collectors feeling listless. I ran into that problem over a decade ago when I finished a similar ungraded collection I started when I was in high school. That time, I realized I was just buying cards out of habit and made the deal with myself that I’d stop collecting when I hit a Ken Griffey Jr. auto. I never pulled an Upper Deck one, but hit one in 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen and stopped collecting for seven years.
That’s not happening this time. I’ve been building smaller collections like a Braves team set of 2024 Topps Team Color parallels and haven’t gotten bored at all. The hobby has a ton to offer, but I find I enjoy it exponentially more when I have a collecting goal. In fact, I’ve got so many things I want to do in the hobby I decided to make my top 10 hobby bucket list items. There are more things on the list but these are the 10 I’m most excited for.
By John McTaggart
At this moment, the National Sports Card Convention 2024 edition is about to kick off, and for the first time in more than 25 years I will not be there.
The routine was the same for me for a very long time — arrive Wednesday, get settled in, head to the show Thursday, go back all-day Friday before heading home after spending the morning at the show Saturday.
It was always such a great time for me, too.
I’d see hobby friends, grab dinner with them and talk about cards and sports. I’d get introduced to new folks, who then became new friends who I would meet with the following year and so on…
At its peak, the group was over two dozen guys, all ages and backgrounds, from all over the country (and Canada) — every one of us with a real passion for sports cards.
In many ways I, and this group, grew up at The National.
Quick Hits
Pop Culture News — Magic: the Gathering continues to bring the pop culture goodness. This time with Monty Python-themed cards. The cards look amazing and are sure to delight fans of the quirky British comedy group. They are being sold through the Secret Lair site for a limited time (not yet) and are open-order with both a non-foil and foil version. It varies based on card count, but I’ve found the MTG secret Lair cards to be great affordable pop culture cards with sets going from $25 to $50 for the most.
Vintage — I was just thinking to myself that I need one, or two, or three… or seven Jimmie Foxx cards in my collection. And low and behold, I see this article on Sports Collectors Daily about the seven greatest Jimmie Foxx cards to have in your collection. If you were thinking the same thing I was about Foxx, then here you go — click here!
Hobby News — Katie Ledecky, Alex Morgan, Michael Phelps, Mark Spitz, Carl Lewis, and Xander Schauffele headline the Olympians who signed for 2024 Topps Chrome US Olympic and Para Hopefuls set. It’s a strong checklist but there are a lot of names on it that will require Google to see what you hit. I worry a little bit that they are about to flood the market with Ledecky cards as she is featured prominently in this product.
The Sports Card Nonsense newsletters reflect the opinions of only the authors and contributors. They are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation for purchases or of an investment strategy or to buy or sell any assets.