My Hobby Blog/Vlog Story of the Month details the sights and sounds of a weekend of Hobby 1st and my personal and vulnerable exploration of what these two experiences meant to me, how they have shaped my collecting journey as a Black Collector, and how I can help move the hobby forward in becoming more accessible and inclusive.
My Break At The Homestead—A Moment of Reflection and Affirmation
Once Skylar and I reached our final destination—North Hills Train Station, we both exited the train with smiles on our faces. Our day at the Pennsylvania Convention Center was a daddy-and-daughter outing I will never forget. As we took the long walk down the station steps back toward the car, I replayed several of the most memorable moments from our nostalgic cardboard experience in my mind. Reliving these standout cardboard moments, individually and with my sidekick, had me floating on cloud nine. When we finally made it to the car, I couldn’t wait to get home to look at the new additions to my PC and listen to Skylar recap her day in Philly with Mommy—Skylar’s recaps are always fascinating.
While at home, I took a moment to catch my breath and have private solitude in my cardboard lab. During this quiet moment, I used my photographic memory to relive all the cardboard moments that mattered most to me. I also took the time to appreciate what this cardboard dream come true meant to my cardboard story. This moment of cardboard solitude was necessary because, as the little Black boy in me smiled profusely, I realized that my choice to return to this unwritten chapter of my childhood twenty-eight years later was a childhood and adulthood exploration I needed. Attending the Brotherly Love Card Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center was fun and nostalgic because I got to hang out with friends, buy cards, look at cards, and spend time with my sidekick. These outcomes were fantastic to experience. However, the one aspect of this experience I will always be grateful for is the impact that the Brotherly Love Card Show had on my mental health (i.e., my inner kid and 40-year-old me).
Cardboard collecting and every aspect of it can be or mean many things to different people, and I understand and acknowledge that everyone’s journey/experience with cards is different. However, as it pertains to me and my identity as a Black man, all I want anyone who reads this article to know and appreciate is my profound gratitude for cardboard and everyone who has contributed to my overall story as a cardboard collector, hobby contributor, and advocate for collecting. I am also grateful for all the cardboard experiences that I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy first-hand and vicariously through other collectors. These experiences, first-hand and through other collector's points of view, have been therapeutic beacons of joy, hope, imaginative exploration, and individual expression. The joy, hope, imaginative exploration, and personal expression never get old because cardboard experiences like the Brotherly Love Card Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center have added another layer to elevating my cardboard content and voice as a cardboard storyteller.
As I concluded my moment of solitude in my cardboard lab and filed the memories of the day in both my short-term and long-term memory banks, it was time for me to hit the road. While saying my I love you and goodbyes to the family; I asked my sidekick one more time if she wanted to tag along with me to Topps Rip Night at Wheelhouse Sports Cards. Skylar gave me a look that read… “Daddy, I had a long day, and I’m tired. Plus, there aren’t any fun stores nearby where I can spend your money.” So, after my sidekick finished with her look, she gave me a big hug and a kiss and said, have fun at card night, Daddy.
Wheelhouse Sports Cards—The Opening Moments
When I arrived at Wheelhouse, I didn’t know what to expect—I mean, this was the first time I’d ever participated in a Rip Night. Despite the unknown, once I crossed the threshold of Wheelhouse Sports Cards, I felt right at home. The entire showroom was filled with collectors from the front to the back of the showroom floor. As I surveyed the showroom, looking for familiar faces, the Topps Series 1 display shelf, and my ripping landing spot, I realized two things: the HYPE surrounding Topps Rip Night was real, and the nostalgia of this magical event exceeded all my expectations as a first-time participant. The nostalgic air was thick, and as I stood at the door's threshold, I felt that my night at Wheelhouse Sports Cards would be a magical night of rippin’ packs.
The Official Wheelhouse Logo of Topps Rip Night
Before purchasing my Topps Series 1 wax, I stopped by the checkout register to exchange some pleasantries with Jon and the Wayne Wheelhouse crew. In our conversation, Jon shared how happy he was with the turnout of Rip Night, and I shared how dope my cardboard experiences were at the Brotherly Love Card Show from earlier in the day. After our check-in, I made my way to the sealed wax shelf because it was time to do what I had come to Wheelhouse for—it was time to Rip some packs! I started my Topps Rip Night with a hobby box in my left hand and a jumbo box in my right hand. Next, I used my 6’6 frame to look over the massive sea of collectors occupying every inch of the Wheelhouse showroom for a ripping landing spot. I found a nice rippin’ spot at the back table, and before I opened my hobby box, I took a moment to “see” the room one more time.
While scanning every inch of the Wheelhouse showroom, the heightened attributes of my eyes, ears, mind, and heart became overwhelmed with astonishment. My eyes became enamored at the visible joy that permeated the room. My ears became overstimulated and inspired by the stories I heard and the excitement from collectors as they unearthed their most exciting cards. My mind enjoyed the stimulation of community and the moments of connectedness between fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, siblings, friends, and acquainted strangers. Finally, my heart fell in love with the moment because Topps Rip Night was another check off my cardboard bucket list. The internal and external cardboard introspections I experienced during that moment of “seeing the room” made the joy of my inner child bust through the roof.
It’s Time To Rip—A Night of Pack Rippin!
The moment I’d been waiting for, for weeks, was here—Topps Rip Night, and the only thing standing between me and another cardboard milestone was the tightly sealed plastic on my Topps Series 1 Hobby Box. I pulled out my keys to use my utility key to break the seal; as I punctured the sealed plastic, the nostalgia of this special cardboard moment began to permeate throughout my entire body. Next, as I carefully ripped open the hobby box, my hands went into cruise control as I put aside the exclusive hobby box pack and prepared to open my first pack of cards as an official participant of Topps Rip Night. This was it; as I ripped open the sealed pack, what happened next felt like a scripted movie scene. In my first pack of Topps Series 1, I pulled a case hit card—The Home Field Advantage Fernando Tatis Jr. Insert Card, #HFA-6.
Topps Rip Night—My First Pack Mojo Card
Starting my first-ever Topps Rip Night experience with a case hit pull was magical. After showing off my Tatis case hit card to the Wayne Wheelhouse crew, I resumed my pack rippin’ with increased enthusiasm and steadily rising excitement. As I continued opening up packs, I realized that I was playing with house money, and the hits from my Topps Hobby Box kept coming. I ended this rip with several dope inserts of Ken Griffey Jr. and some fantastic Topps 35th anniversary cards of iconic players and Hall of Famers such as Bo Jackson, Johnny Bench, Barry Larkin, and Nolan Ryan. This Topps Series 1 hobby box was so next level that I had to go back for more, but instead of buying another hobby box, my eyes, ears, and heart became obsessed with the lure of the Topps Series 1 Retail Box. Out of all the Topps Series 1 boxes opened at Wheelhouse on Topps Rip Night, the Retail Box was the product of the night, and the roar of what everyone pulled from this product could be felt and heard throughout the showroom.
Topps Rip Night—My Hobby Box Exclusive Pack
Before I opened up the two retail boxes I purchased, in every pocket of the showroom floor, I could hear an ooh, aah, bang, and other nostalgic sounds coming from every age group of collectors. As those nostalgic sounds continued to make waves throughout Wheelhouse’s showroom floor, it was evident that the theme of Rip Night at Wheelhouse was an Elly and Kid night. Those sweet sounds of kids screaming, I pulled an Elly, and collectors my age showing off their anniversary Ken Griffey Jr. inserts set the stage for one of my most profound Topps Rip Night moments. This moment was climatic—how could I possibly top “My First Pack Mojo” moment? Well, in moments that followed, I relearned a vital cardboard moniker… when you are rippin’ packs, expect the unexpected.
As I went through pack after pack of my Topps Series 1 retail box, two themes started unfolding. The first theme of my retail rip was I pulled several dope insert cards! The second theme didn’t occur to me until I reached the halfway mark of the retail box. During the halfway mark of this Topps Series 1 retail box, I pulled two Elly De La Cruz rookie insert cards (i.e., Stars of MLB and 2023 Greatest Hits). Before my Elly pulls, I consistently heard the oohs and aahs of unearthed Elly rookie cards for the first hour and a half of Rip Night. I decided to contain my nostalgic reactions to avoid a premature letdown for the 2nd half of my retail box rip. However, unbeknownst to me, the hobby gods would continue to pour in the cardboard blessings with an overwhelming amount of dope insert cards and THREE MORE Elly rookie insert cards.
Topps Rip Night—The Elly De La Cruz Hot Box Moment
Of all the Topps Series 1 boxes opened at Wheelhouse on Topps Rip night, I was the lucky collector who pulled the Elly De La Cruz RC hot box! The nostalgia stemming from my Elly De La Cruz RC hot box moment was enchanting. I could not contain the nostalgia moving throughout me, internally and externally. Several collectors, both kids and adults, noticed my cardboard excitement, and as I began to open another retail box of Topps Series 1, a few spectators started to watch me rip open the first pack. I welcomed each collector with a smile and a pack. This kind gesture of welcoming sideline spectators to join me in my retail box pack rippin’ would set the stage for future cardboard moments that would supersede all the nostalgia I’d enjoyed from “My First Pack Mojo” and Elly De La Cruz Hot Box pulls.
THE BEST OF MY TOPPS RIP NIGHT WAS YET TO COME!
To Be Continued…
Keep Collecting,
#thesprtzcardcoltr #thehobbyexperience #everycardhasastory #thebrotherlylovecardshow #toppsripnight #wheelhouse #thehobby #whodoyoucollect
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