The National

Ok, so Computer Boy and I just completed our yearly National experience. Frankly, I am not going to be real good with a comprehensive report or review. We don't do the autograph area, don't do anything with high-end cards other than to gawk at them and only periodically go in the corporate area to get freebies. We don't do wrapper redemptions in the corporate area or anything like that.

For what it is worth, we are player collectors and the cheaper the card, the better. I also look to fill some holes in my (baseball of course) collections from the 1950's and 1960's. We collect other obscure stuff but I will leave it at that as this is getting very boring.

This is the first year that we have gone on a Saturday as in previous years, we attended on Fridays. There were probably twice as many people as we are used to seeing but again this is not an "apples to apples" comparison so who knows if attendance is up or down this year. The corporate area is noticeably smaller as Topps is not here. Quite a few Detroit people here. Suffice it to say that as usual, we had a successful National.

Anyway, I will leave you with one tidbit from the day.

As we were checking into our hotel, a guy with his family was also checking in and he asked the check-in person (I know that she has a formal title but it is not coming to me and it is late, you know) why the hotel was so crowded. She responded that they had a wedding reception* and also a sports card convention. The man responded, "A sports CAR convention?" and she said "No, a sports CARD convention." The man laughed and was frankly incredulous that this many people cared about sports cards. Oh, well.

The few (well not so few), the proud (definitely), the baseball card people (100%).

*Wedding music has not changed much in the last 20 years. The reception is across the hall. Right now, they are blasting out "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson. Before that was that "hustle" song that I hear at every wedding.