Nonsense Newsletter No. 157: 2000 Bowman, uniforms, community and so much more!
Yo! Happy Friday and welcome to yet another brilliant edition of the Nonsense Newsletter! In this week’s installment John Dudley looks at the fit of players and how it might impact the value of some cards. Guest contributor Sean Ulman takes a look at the beauty that is 2000 Bowman, while I write yet another column about community (you’ll like it, trust me). And then, of course, there is the brilliant Quick Hits section sure to blow your mind! So, let’s do this again — kick back and enjoy this week’s edition of the Nonsense Newsletter!
By John Dudley
n the next few days, Juan Soto will sign a massive contract befitting his status as one of the game’s best players at only 25. It’s puzzling but he could be getting his fourth different uniform in his brief, but eventful, career. He also is a great excuse to think about the importance of uniforms on a card’s value/desirability.
Do Uniforms Matter?
Do jerseys matter for card value or sales? Anyone who has tried to sell a Juan Soto card in a Padres uniform knows the answer is that jerseys absolutely matter. The chorus of keyboard warriors voicing their displeasure any time a card with a player in a college uniform should also show that jerseys matter. Of course they matter, the bigger questions are when and how they matter.
By Sean Ulman
As December football begins the race for NFL MVP is down to three.
Well okay, maybe two. Saquon Barkley and Josh Allen moved ahead of Lamar Jackson in week 13. But Jackson is on a title defense and his stats are gadzooks.
It's setting up to be one of the closest contests in my recollection. I had to add these superstars to my collection of hand-drawn cards.
When choosing a classic set for the design it was no contest - 2000 Bowman.
Prize cards make iconic sets. The Brady Bowman rookie is as recognizable is as these other distinguished treasures - '86 Fleer Jordan, '79 O-Pee-Chee Gretzky, '87 Topps Rice, and, for baseball, let's go with '75 Topps Brett, or another Royal, 89 Donruss Bo (the baby blue uni beside Rated Rookie!).
These highly sought-after rookie editions made their sets more collectable. Most hobbyists can't afford the marquee card. But purchasing other pieces from the set, even commons, move us closer to the grails.
By John McTaggart
’ve written about this before here on this platform, but it’s worthy of revisiting every so often.
So, without simply repeating what I stated in previous columns, I’ll be brief here.
This hobby is about community… first… foremost… and always.
It’s not about comps.
It’s not about color, or numbered cards or autos.
It’s not about grades or condition.
And it’s not about flippers or collectors, or any other hot-topic debate going around the hobby, either.
It’s about community. End of story.
It’s a group of people who share a common love and a similar passion for pieces of cardboard with pictures on it.
Quick Hits
Hobby News- In a turn of events absolutely no one saw coming a year ago, Topps Now took its place as the most graded product last month. For perspective, a quarter of all Topps Now graded cards were graded in just the last month. With multiple big chases leading to high print runs, the product has moved out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Check out more graded numbers from November at Gem Rate. -John Dudley
Hobby News- CGC seems to have finally staunched the bleeding in their sports department and is on the mend. Lower pricing has meant that for the second month in a row CGC has seen large gains in their sports grading numbers (TCG is solid as ever). They still haven’t regained even half of their volume from 2021, but they are trending in the right direction for the first time since they dropped their $8-a-card bulk pricing in 2021. They are also still a distant third to PSA and SGC in terms of the big sports grading about 5% of PSA’s volume and 25% of SGC's volume so there is ample room for improvement. -John Dudley
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.