Why Are “Undervalued” Legends Suddenly Exploding? + Who’s NEXT? + The Real Glue of the Hobby
Sports Cards LiveShow Notes
Why can a retired superstar be called "undervalued" for years...and then suddenly explode?
Guest co-host Adam from Splendid Sports joins Jeremy Lee and David Chase to examine what's happening with players like Shaquille O'Neal, Peyton Manning, Allen Iverson and Barry Bonds, whose cards have recently moved dramatically after years of hobby observers wondering why they weren't worth more.
What finally flips the switch?
Is new money entering the hobby without the old biases about big men, pitchers and certain positions? Are collectors simply getting priced out of Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant and other top-tier names and moving down the ladder? Can social media attention actually reprice an established player's market? Or is this simply what happens when a hot market begins searching for value?
Then comes the obvious question: Who's next?
Tim Duncan? Hakeem Olajuwon? Roger Clemens? Greg Maddux? Randy Johnson? Jerry Rice? Magic Johnson? Larry Bird? Wayne Gretzky? Barry Sanders? Tony Gwynn?
We also discuss why the era in which an athlete played can dramatically affect their hobby popularity, why the incredible cards produced during the late 1990s give certain players an advantage, and whether pitchers and defensive players could finally overcome some of the hobby's longest-standing biases.
But the conversation eventually leads somewhere bigger.
Are GOATs really the glue holding the hobby together? Or is the hobby actually built on everything beneath that level: hometown heroes, favorite players, childhood memories, nostalgia, personal connections and the cards that remind us of meaningful moments in our lives?
Because sometimes all it takes is one moment to create a collector.
Check out The Hobby Spectrum at thehobbyspectrum.com and discover more about who you are as a collector.
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And check out Pops & Comps: A Sports Card Collector's Guide to Navigating the Modern Hobby, available on Amazon.
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