This past weekend, I made my third trip to the National Sports Collectors Convention. The name, of course, seems to apply less these days than it used to. The event not only includes a lot of non-sports cards, but is also dotted heavily by autograph appearances from famous celebrities without a sports background.

But it’s still the place to be if you’re looking for the largest conglomeration of sports ‘stuff.’ There’s truly something for any type of sports or memorabilia collector. As someone with a pretty narrow collecting focus, I don’t need five days to get through the entire show. I managed to get through it all in one day because there were many tables I could simply skip over. But I used a second day to really take my time, hit up a few particular spots again, and just generally have a better look.

What did I think of the show? Well, you can take a look at my card pickups over at Sports Collectors Daily. But here are my thoughts on the event in general.

The Good

The Cards, Of Course

While pre-war cards are still a very small part of the overall show, it remains the best place to for cards from that era.

You see stuff that you just don’t see everyday and while eBay remains king for buying early cards, the National is still the best show when it comes to finding a bunch of dealers all in one spot. I bought a lot of great stuff to fill some holes in my collection and I had the chance to see some cards you don’t see everyday, like this Honus Wagner T206.

Travel

Travel was a breeze for us personally. I read about a lot of horror stories for some people, so I was grateful to have nice, tidy flights both ways.

I know this will be different for everyone but lots of places fly direct into Chicago and for us, it’s basically a 90-minute flight. Quick, easy, and were able to leave the hotel and be back in the house in about four hours total.

I know there’s always a clamoring for different locations for variety’s sake, which I can understand. But Chicago is a pretty accessible meeting spot for many attendees. If I had to take a connecting flight, the chances of me going are pretty slim.

Meeting Folks

So much of the experience is just meeting up with folks and connecting. For me, it’s the only time I’ll get to see my favorite dealers, usually, and it’s great to meet people I’ve connected with on Twitter and social media.

Got a chance to meet my usual friends at auction houses and swing by the dealer tables I wanted to hit. Also met a bunch of people from social media who were gracious enough to find me and say hello. And I even met some new dealers I’ll be keeping in touch with and had some great conversations with entirely new collectors.

Always a highlight of the trip.

Food and Lodging

We didn’t venture out much but all of our meals, highlighted by a deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati’s, were very good. Should have thought to take a picture before we ate half of it, but oh well.

I was also a big fan of my hotel, despite the distance. Upgrading to a room with a jacuzzi tub was extra nice to soak in at the end of a long day. Drinks and food at the hotel were excellent.

Getting Into the Show

I know a lot of folks had bad experiences with longer lines but my experience getting into the show was great because I took a different approach this time.

In the past, I’ve fretted over trying to get in as soon as possible. I’ve stood in the nightmarishly long lines in the past when I wanted to arrive early. This year, I took my time and didn’t sweat it. We’d get there when we’d get there.

The show opened at 10 a.m. to non-VIP guests (9:00 a.m. if you were a VIP) and we showed up around 11:00-11:30. By then, the lines were basically non-existent and getting inside was a breeze. If you’re willing to wait a bit to get inside, that’s the better play.

Attitudes

People were just overly friendly. Like, everywhere. Everyone I interacted with was, to a person, incredible. It was extremely crowded and instead of it leading to fights or anger, people just seemed to make the most of it and were happy to be there. Every minor bump was met with an “I’m sorry” or “Excuse me.”

I could be making too much of it but people were very nice. That made the experience even better.

SGC Dropoff

I remember going to a previous National where SGC was not taking grading submissions to bring back to their offices. I was glad I could take advantage of that by dropping off about 40 cards for grading. It doesn’t save all that much in terms of money but allows you to avoid paying the shipping fee to mail them out and you also eliminate the risk of shipping and getting your cards lost in the mail.

Here’s a look at what I’ve got heading in, by the way. Some 19th century stuff, a few Amelia Earhart cards, a good bit of baseball, actors/actresses, and my usual, overall mix of sports and non-sports.

Thanks to the fine folks at SGC, too, for a free t-shirt!

The Bad

The Filler

This is one that’s going to vary depending upon your interests. But for me as a vintage collector, the show just has so much filler that it’s almost a nightmare in some areas.

There are breaks going on, interviews, kids running around trying to flip card of Prospect X before he goes on the disabled list, people with microphones hyping up the crowd — it’s a bit like a carnival. I am sure that some would suggest that is the allure of it. But while I don’t hate it, it’s simply not for me and gets in the way of the focus of what I’m there for, which is old cards.

I’ve heard the suggestion that dealers should be located/grouped together by type. And while that would be a bit tricky because some specialize in so many things, it would be great if they could try to do this where possible. The pre-war dealers I needed to hit were all over the show floor. You do a lot of tripping over folks trying to make your way from Point A to Point B. And you also got absorbed into all of the stuff around you that you didn’t particularly care about.

At the end of the day, I don’t know that this can be fixed. I imagine that there are less collectors there interested in vintage and that would, as a result, make the areas for modern stuff that much more congested. But if there was a way to somehow group the vintage or mostly vintage folks in one area, that would make a lot of sense.

The Space

While the City of Chicago is a great host city, the actual location for the National (The Donald Stephens Convention Center) continues to be a snug fit. The traffic around the venue, surprisingly, was not very bad at all for such a big event. For those who went to Cleveland the last time it was there, you know what I mean. Getting in and out of the Cleveland show was a mess. It was night and day compared to that.

I can’t speak to the parking areas, which I imagine were probably worse. But if you were just getting a ride to the venue, it was really only congested the last few blocks in arriving. And even then, cars made their way in and out of the entry/exit point fairly quickly.

But the inside space for the show is just a bit inadequate. While I’m not sure I agree with the sentiments that it needs to be in a stadium, collectors would benefit from having more room. Every aisle was pretty full and it’s complicated by the fact that a large number of people are using roller bags to move cards around. The aisles look large when empty. But when you have a row of customers on each side looking at the tables, it shrinks in a hurry. You spend almost as much time dodging other collectors as you do trying to look at the actual cards.

Could have also used a few more places to sit. They do set up some chairs in a few places but a few more would have helped. In this picture, I’m just crashed out on one of the set of steps.

I don’t know what the solution is. And maybe it’s just one of those things that ‘is what it is.’ It wasn’t by any means impossible to navigate and was more just an inconvenience.

The Prices

Dealer prices were very hit or miss.

I found some really great deals. One of my favorite tables had large boxes of postcards and autographs that were already priced reasonably and, on Saturday, everything was half off. I spent over an hour there.

And then I saw some cards priced as if they were a mistake.

That’s always the case at shows where dealers have to factor in their travel and expenses. But I’m amazed at some of the prices I saw. I can see marking cards up because most buyers are expecting to negotiate. And I fully understand marking up cards that are particularly rare. But I’m talking Texas Tommy rare, not T207 rare. Many of the prices, particularly on stars, seemed to be unrealistic.

Roller Bags

I mentioned this briefly above but these things really deserve their own callout.

I typically take a shoulder bag and others might have a backpack. Both of those options don’t really cause much of a disturbance when navigating the show floor. The problems are the roller bags that some folks with more cards like to use.

I get it. Many of those folks are probably selling cards or buying bigger items, like wax boxes, etc. They’re a bit unavoidable and if you need one, you need one. But it also just clogs up the aisles and creates trip hazards because the folks around them need to give extra space.

One of those things that maybe can’t be avoided. But in a space that’s already tight, they don’t help.

The Ugly

Local Transportation

If you were without a car and needed to Uber, you likely spent a lot of money on transportation. That’s especially true if you were a little farther away from the venue.

I booked my trip as a last-minute thing this year. My hotel wasn’t terribly far away but I couldn’t get anything super close. With traffic, that nine-mile trip was about 25 minutes in travel time. All told, my six Uber trips (to/from airport, and then to/from show on two days) were roughly $300, including tip. Granted, that was for the ‘comfort’ level where you get a bigger car and more space. But even the lesser options for us would have still been about $250. You will have cheaper trips if you’re not quite as far away or if you carpool with others. Still, it’s a something to factor in for the future. You’re better off if you can get into a hotel that’s closer.

The lone bright side is that we had great, courteous drivers and no issues in getting around.

Theft

In case you hadn’t heard, two people (perhaps a father and son) allegedly stole a Patrick Mahomes card valued at about $15,000.

With such a high-profile event, I doubt that was the only theft. But in this age where, as demonstrated here, there are cameras everywhere, it takes a lot of nerve to just open up a dealer case and grab a card. Even if the dealer isn’t looking, chances are that someone else is.

It’s just the brazenness that surprises me. The idea that you’d risk being arrested for it blows my mind.

I’m Old

How old is dependent upon your point of view. But at least my body feels old after one of these things — and I was only there for two days.

At 48, I’m not typically used to that much movement in a day. I’ve felt worse but by the end of the day my feet were sore and my body was achy. I would have loved to get out and explore the City at night but frankly, I was nearly ready for bed when we got back to the hotel.

Summary

In summary, I had a great time. Definitely more positives than negatives and even some of my negatives are more about ‘Get off my lawn’ instead of actual, tangible issues. Organizers did a great job, I think, and it was a fun trip.

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