Remember the paper ticket? Your pass into the promised land. This piece of paper, however tattered or pristine it may be, was the only souvenir that every fan got with their purchase. But, like a fingerprint, no two tickets were the same considering everyone got their specific seat (General admission doesn’t exist in this example).
Gone are the days of preserving the tickets from yesterday in a scrapbook that’s inexplicably still in your mom’s house and they’ve been replaced with the electronic ticket. I understand why ticketing services like the idea of an electronic ticket but it really doesn’t benefit the fan overall.
I present to everyone a solution from Two Friends’ Big Bootie Land concert: The Passport.
Every fan at the DJ duo’s show on June 3 at the Huntington Bank Pavilion in Chicago (which was maybe 500 yards away from Taylor Swift at Soldier Field) was handed a paper passport that had a stamp that read “Big Bootie Land, Chicago, June 2023.” It was the first night of the tour, so one can assume that there will be an opportunity for passports to be stamped at future shows.
The idea is great and should be implemented by teams, too.
All they would need is a custom stamp for each game and to have the community relations intern set up a table near an entrance for fans to get their passport stamped. It’s a relatively cheap solution for fans, similar to the signs for first games.
A Topic That Hits Close To Home
Why is Topps inundating us with Mark Buerhle autograph cards?
First of all, Mark Buerhle is this White Sox fan’s favorite player ever. The pace at which he pitched was ahead of its time and he was the leader of the White Sox team that won the 2005 World Series. He was instrumental to that team and many White Sox teams in the following year while managing to add a no-hitter and a perfect game to his resume.
Having said all of that, why is this pitcher – who will never sniff the Hall of Fame – being used as an autograph subject for Topps over the past few years?
Everything is about money in the card world and I’m sure Buerhle is easy for the people at Topps (or Fanatics, now?) to work with. He’s been a great non-Frank Thomas option for the company to have as an autograph subject for White Sox fans.
At this point, this White Sox collector would like some variety in “club legend” autograph subjects. Where is my Joe Crede card? Why are we being robbed of a Jermaine Dye/Scott Podsednik dual-autograph? Bobby Jenks can’t be that busy.
C’mon Topps. Do us all a favor and make Tadahito Iguchi an autograph subject in 2024.
Volpe and First Editions
Anyone else have no idea what to do with their Anthony Volpe cards? I’ve got a 2020 Bowman First Edition of Volpe’s and I think I want to hold onto it for the long-term.
SportsCardInvestor.com says that this card is worth around $50 at this point and I think that number could at least double if he can have a decent second half of 2023 in New York.
I’m buying into the hype around the Yankees’ prospect and if he can perform well during a potential playoff run, his value could skyrocket by the offseason.
The Lone Box Theory
I’m a sucker for the final blaster box on the shelf when I’m wrapping up an errand run.
I was recently at a Target and had secured all the necessary items from the store before making my journey down the trading card aisle. Per usual, they were overloaded with hockey products with a smattering of basketball, football and baseball options from Topps, Panini and Leaf.
I ended up buying a 2022-23 Panini Donruss Basketball Blaster box because it was the last one of that product on the shelf while every other option I had in mind had multiple boxes.
For whatever reason, I prefer to get the box that doesn’t force me to think “what would I have pulled if I took the one behind it.”
It may not always work out* but the Lone Box Theory has saved me from many “what if’s.”
Purchase for the future:
*The aforementioned Lone Box Theory purchase yielded a Chet Holmgren Great X-Pectations Purple Holo Laser Parallel #/99. Imagine selling a Blake Griffin rookie insert before he came back in a big way after his knee injury wiped out his original rookie year.
Product I think I like: 2022-23 Panini Donruss Basketball
This product always gives you a few decent cards. I mentioned the Chet Holmgren insert I got in a blaster box, but I’ve always managed to pull at least a decent rookie card in any value pack I’ve purchased. It’s nice to have a product that provides a decent return more often than not.
Product I’m not a fan of: 2021 Topps Tennis Chrome
It’s 2023. I just can’t ride with a 2021 product being released as such right now, regardless of reasoning.
Random Memorabilia Item of the Month: Press Passes
I’m starting to accumulate a decent collection of press passes from events I’ve covered as a media member and I need to find a way to display these items. I think hanging them all on a nail on the wall would be a mediocre display, so I’m open to ideas. Have any? Reach out at JoeChatzMedia@gmail.com
See y’all next time.
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