The art of building a collection can take many turns. If you are a player collector, it becomes a chase to get all of the cards of that particular player. If you open a lot of packs, sometimes you get into a rut. You might want to find a particular player and wind up getting another. This year I've been a magnet for the Colts Coby Fleener. It's gotten so bad that I've coined a phrase about it so that when I find one, I call it "Getting Fleenered".
Over the years there have been some players that have signed a lot of autographs for trading card products completely devaluing the worth of their signature. The big three that come to mind for me are Bob Feller, Pete Rose and Bill Mazeroski. This year, it seems that I could add Coby Fleener to that list. The guy has so many autographs in the overabundance of 2012 football releases that there is no way it'll attain a solid value unless he sets a bunch of records and notches a Super Bowl or two. It's a shame too, because with Andrew Luck as his QB, he has a chance to enjoy a great NFL career.
Anyway, I am rambling, and my point was that sometimes pack opening dictates what or who you collect. As an avid fan of TNA Impact Wrestling, I was drawn to the Tristar products when big names like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Sting, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, Kevin Nash and Mick Foley graced the autograph checklist. However, as much as I loved those guys during their careers, I've had the opportunity to interview and interact with several of the TNA Knockouts. Traci Brooks, Gail Kim, Tara, and some past Knockouts including Trinity, Chelsea, Goldy Locks & Lollipop all have appeared on Cardboard Connection Radio. All were incredibly fun and passionate about their craft.
I'll tell you that the fact that I helped write card backs for the very first TNA Trading Card set from Pacific Trading Cards made me want to see what was next for the card line. Tristar has done an awesome job with them and I own every single set they've produced. My only beef with them is that they need to do an ON-CARD set. It seems they only deal with stickers and it's just lame that they can't do one series on-card after all this time.
That said, they have really nailed the autographs. They have gotten just about anyone that laced up the boots, or spoke a word on TNA television or PPVs to be a part of one or more of their sets.
Back to the Knockouts... I was already a huge fan of Tara, Traci and Gail Kim. As the Knockout division has grown, I also became a fan of Mickie James, Brooke Adams (Tessmacher), and Velvet Sky. Honestly, I was shocked when she disappeared from the Impact Wrestling scene for a tad last year. You could see that beyond her beauty, she had a relationship with the TNA fans that was unparalleled among her peers. The Knockouts are the main reason many people watch Impact Wrestling in the first place. She was one of the biggest draws for the company and quite frankly her Beautiful People gimmick with Angelina Love is arguably the best Knockout angle to this date. She returned in late 2012 and it was evident that she was missed by the crowd reaction.
As I've opened a lot of Impact Wrestling product, Velvet became the wrestling version of Coby Fleener for me. Like I said, it's not a bad thing. I always enjoy adding new cards to my collection of people that are great at what they do. Unlike Fleener, and yeah I get that its Sports Entertainment, in this case though she is a proven commodity, and has a Knockouts Championship on her resume. I imagine she'll add several more before her career is over. Here's to hoping both of them have stellar careers, then they benefit, and my collection does too.
All of these cards with the exception of the personalized one came out of a pack of cards, I didn't get any on the secondary market. The personalized one was a purchase I made when Velvet offered them up to assist her friend and fellow wrestler Daffney, who was involved in a car accident (another reason ya gotta love Velvet).
I'm hoping someday we'll get Velvet on Cardboard Connection Radio. She's a bit of sports fan herself, a Yankees fan and it would be cool to hear her perspective about being on trading cards and signing autographs.
Here's a look at a few cool cards from my Velvet Sky collection:
Over the years there have been some players that have signed a lot of autographs for trading card products completely devaluing the worth of their signature. The big three that come to mind for me are Bob Feller, Pete Rose and Bill Mazeroski. This year, it seems that I could add Coby Fleener to that list. The guy has so many autographs in the overabundance of 2012 football releases that there is no way it'll attain a solid value unless he sets a bunch of records and notches a Super Bowl or two. It's a shame too, because with Andrew Luck as his QB, he has a chance to enjoy a great NFL career.
Anyway, I am rambling, and my point was that sometimes pack opening dictates what or who you collect. As an avid fan of TNA Impact Wrestling, I was drawn to the Tristar products when big names like Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Kurt Angle, Booker T, Sting, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Hardy, Kevin Nash and Mick Foley graced the autograph checklist. However, as much as I loved those guys during their careers, I've had the opportunity to interview and interact with several of the TNA Knockouts. Traci Brooks, Gail Kim, Tara, and some past Knockouts including Trinity, Chelsea, Goldy Locks & Lollipop all have appeared on Cardboard Connection Radio. All were incredibly fun and passionate about their craft.
I'll tell you that the fact that I helped write card backs for the very first TNA Trading Card set from Pacific Trading Cards made me want to see what was next for the card line. Tristar has done an awesome job with them and I own every single set they've produced. My only beef with them is that they need to do an ON-CARD set. It seems they only deal with stickers and it's just lame that they can't do one series on-card after all this time.
That said, they have really nailed the autographs. They have gotten just about anyone that laced up the boots, or spoke a word on TNA television or PPVs to be a part of one or more of their sets.
Back to the Knockouts... I was already a huge fan of Tara, Traci and Gail Kim. As the Knockout division has grown, I also became a fan of Mickie James, Brooke Adams (Tessmacher), and Velvet Sky. Honestly, I was shocked when she disappeared from the Impact Wrestling scene for a tad last year. You could see that beyond her beauty, she had a relationship with the TNA fans that was unparalleled among her peers. The Knockouts are the main reason many people watch Impact Wrestling in the first place. She was one of the biggest draws for the company and quite frankly her Beautiful People gimmick with Angelina Love is arguably the best Knockout angle to this date. She returned in late 2012 and it was evident that she was missed by the crowd reaction.
As I've opened a lot of Impact Wrestling product, Velvet became the wrestling version of Coby Fleener for me. Like I said, it's not a bad thing. I always enjoy adding new cards to my collection of people that are great at what they do. Unlike Fleener, and yeah I get that its Sports Entertainment, in this case though she is a proven commodity, and has a Knockouts Championship on her resume. I imagine she'll add several more before her career is over. Here's to hoping both of them have stellar careers, then they benefit, and my collection does too.
All of these cards with the exception of the personalized one came out of a pack of cards, I didn't get any on the secondary market. The personalized one was a purchase I made when Velvet offered them up to assist her friend and fellow wrestler Daffney, who was involved in a car accident (another reason ya gotta love Velvet).
I'm hoping someday we'll get Velvet on Cardboard Connection Radio. She's a bit of sports fan herself, a Yankees fan and it would be cool to hear her perspective about being on trading cards and signing autographs.
Here's a look at a few cool cards from my Velvet Sky collection:
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That is very awesome! I'm big on Velvet Sky as well. She's one of the main athletes I collect. I even own that first autograph you showed!
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff! I'm glad to see a fellow collector interested in Tristar's wrestling product : )
If you are ever looking for someone to trade with, lemme know.
ReplyDelete