Wow, there’s cards on shelves: Finding and breaking a booster of 2020-21 NBA Chronicles

When I restarted my sports card collecting habit two autumns ago, global demand for cards was sky-high and global supply was super low. A would-be collector walking into a big box retailer anywhere in the country with a wallet full of cash in those days (at least a year starting in summer 2020) would almost… Read More Wow, there’s cards on shelves: Finding and breaking a booster of 2020-21 NBA Chronicles

January 14, 2022October 19, 2022 Andrew1 Comment

The a-Topps-calypse is upon us: Speculation on the Fanatics takeover of the sports world

A few weeks ago, I purchased one of those “Southside” City Edition Chicago White Sox caps online. I purchased it from the official Chicago White Sox online merchandise store, which, like the online merchandise stores for every other MLB team, and every NFL team, and every NBA team, and every NHL team, and every WNBA… Read More The a-Topps-calypse is upon us: Speculation on the Fanatics takeover of the sports world

August 20, 2021 Andrew1 Comment

The Singles Mixer: Football’s back, baby!

Welcome back to The Singles Mixer, an occasional feature where I write about a few notable sports card singles I’ve either added to my collection recently. This time around, I’m going to dig through my football (American version) collection to highlight some cards in advance of the start of the 2021 NFL season. Since I… Read More The Singles Mixer: Football’s back, baby!

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

Blast From the Packs: A set of 2020 WNBA Prizm

I’ve been a basketball fan for pretty much my entire life as a sports fan. It was easy, coming of age during Michael Jordan’s rise to GOAT-hood (and doing that in a city very close to mine), to fall in love with the game, even though I admittedly grew bored at times with the Bulls’… Read More Blast From the Packs: A set of 2020 WNBA Prizm

April 6, 2021 Andrew2 Comments

SportKings, Topps Gallery, and Panini Diamond Kings: Sports cards as art

When I was a young sports card collector, I didn’t really “get” the whole Donruss Diamond Kings thing. Diamond Kings was an insert in the Donruss baseball card sets with hand-drawn/painted images of some of the day’s most popular players. I always thought the drawings/paintings looked kinda lame, and the design of the cards was… Read More SportKings, Topps Gallery, and Panini Diamond Kings: Sports cards as art

February 23, 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

I hate/love Panini: A two-sided essay on the current king of sports cards

The weirdest thing to me about the modern sports card collecting industry, after having awakened from a 25-year slumber of sorts, is finding that an Italian sticker company previously unknown to the vast majority of American collectors had snuck in and taken over the hobby. I remember reading that Panini (like the sandwich?) had signed… Read More I hate/love Panini: A two-sided essay on the current king of sports cards

February 10, 2021May 19, 2021 Andrew3 Comments

The Singles Mixer: A few of my personal basketball faves

The thing about being a casual sports card collector in the year of our lord two-thousand-twenty-one is that I’m not really “in the running” for a lot of the more premium cards on the market. I don’t have the bankroll for the /5 autographed Luka Doncic jersey card pushing five figures on eBay with a… Read More The Singles Mixer: A few of my personal basketball faves

January 22, 2021April 30, 2021 AndrewLeave a comment

What did you SAGE? Hit High Series 2020 Football blaster box

As the 2020 NFL season draws to a close, I thought back to one of the only current-year football products I opened recently, something I had never even heard of: SAGE Hit football. As part of one of those eBay wax pack grab bags I purchased in the fall, I received this nondescript white cardboard… Read More What did you SAGE? Hit High Series 2020 Football blaster box

January 3, 2021January 3, 2021 Andrew1 Comment

Blast From the Packs: Appreciating Nick Anderson

When it comes to sports fandom, I’ve always been a bit of a rebel. I never just rooted for a team because it was the “home team.” I don’t live in a major league city, but I live well within the media market confines of Chicago, meaning that the Bulls, Bears, Cubs, White Sox, and… Read More Blast From the Packs: Appreciating Nick Anderson

November 30, 2020 Andrew1 Comment

Blast From the Packs: Panini’s Absolute-ly fine football offering

I’m just a simple caveman — er, an old-school sports card collector who’s re-emerged, as though frozen in ice these last 25 years or so, into a hobby that bears little resemblance to the one I left as a high schooler in the late 1990s. Many of the new trends are still, even after a… Read More Blast From the Packs: Panini’s Absolute-ly fine football offering

November 23, 2020November 23, 2020 Andrew3 Comments

Andrew Taylor Recommends

Good taste. Personified.

Tag: panini