#12: Sabrina F'N Ionescu and the Hobby Lifestyle

👋 Hello, I’m Brett from the Stacking Slabs Podcast and welcome you each week to my newsletter the Weekly Rip. The goal of this newsletter is to elevate the people who make the Hobby better.

How’s it going? 

I hit send on the 12th edition of the Weekly Rip from my hotel room in Dallas, TX. 

The spirits are high and there is a ton of in person energy around sports cards. 

This is the first time I’ve traveled for a show and can’t wait for many more. I’ve already got my room booked for the National so it won’t be the last. 

I think being here is a great reminder of how quickly someone can be pulled into (or back into) our hobby. The cards, platforms, relationships, shows, the rip, the LCS, and everything else that goes into the hobby experience is like magnetic forces for us. These things keep us here and keep us engaged. It’s easy to take all of these factors for granted until we all take a step back and zoom out. 

I’ve been back into sports cards for 18 months. Here’s what has happened since: 

• I started the Stacking Slabs Podcast and it’s one of the most listened to sports cards podcasts every week 

• I sold off pieces that I adored from other collections to fund hobby purchases 

• I’ve subbed with PSA and BGS a dozen times 

• I’ve spent thousands of dollars or sports cards 

• I’ve lost money on sports cards 

• I’ve interviewed 60+ guests

• Started and grew my hobby IG to 8k+

• Started the Weekly Rip 

• I traveled to my first big show 

These points aren’t meant to gloat. There here to display the pure power that this hobby has over me. 

I’ve been a collector of things my entire life. Wrestling memorabilia, vinyl, and vintage action figures to name a few. Nothing has ever come to have as strong of a grip on me as sports cards.

I know I am preaching the choir here, but the point is that there are going to be more people like me coming into our hobby soon. Some will come for the money and be gone 6 months later. Others will come looking to tap into those moments of their childhood that made them happy. The more people come and stay the better we will all be for it.

It appears and feels like we are nearing the finish line of the pandemic. I know the past year won’t easily be forgotten. 

People reading this newsletter have lost loved ones, lost jobs, are dealing with financial struggles, and are still trying to get back on the tracks. We all have struggles. Some big and some small. We all have a hobby and it’s here to be as big of a distraction as you need whenever you need it. 

It’s an honor to get out of the house for a few days and feel the energy of our community. It’s powerful and everyone is excited. 

Make it a point to get to a show when it’s comfortable for you and connect with friends that you’ve made over the internet in real life. 

It’s a wonderful thing.

On with the damn newsletter. 

💁‍♀️  IONESCU MANIA 

Sabrina F’N Ionescu. 

You’ve got our attention.

I woke up Saturday morning and saw a young baller, full of passion drain a game winner from BEYOND THE ARC in winning time to kick off the WNBA season against MY Indiana Fever. 

I’m not gonna lie. I haven’t watched much WNBA basketball. I haven’t felt a reason to. Once NBA season ends my focus is always on football, but that changes.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m about to be a Dad to a baby girl or what, but I can’t stop watching this shot. I can’t stop buying into the Ionescu hype. Her beginning of the season campaign continued as she stood with Vanessa Bryant for Kobe’s Hall of Fame Induction. Ionescu became close with Kobe during her training with him. 

Kobe connection...Mamba Mentality. 

New York. 

Winning time. 

What are we about to see?

The last sale of Ionescu’s PSA 10 Prizm was at $535. If you do an eBay search today you’ll see the mania has only begun. Here Prizm parallels are listed well into $1k+ territory and people will be participating in the action. 

I feel compelled to lead with the story on Ionescu because I believe that her play can catapult the WNBA and women’s sports cards into the level. She’s the total package and I’ve got my popcorn ready waiting to see where she takes it. 

***

By the time I finished this section Ionescu grabbed a triple double. This has only happened 10x in WNBA history.

***

A day later Ionescu’s Red Prizm PSA 10 sold for a stunning $1,650. Mama Mia!

🎈Population Pops the Air Out of the Hall of Fame Balloon

Last Saturday we all witnessed one of the most historic and emotional Basketball Hall of Fame Inductions of all-time. This night was a tribute to so many great contributors to the game and a much needed chance to memorialize the memory of Kobe Bryant.

If you spent any time over the weekend on IG you saw some absolutely incredible cards from amazing collectors that make our hobby move. Take one look at @spinotron’s page and it might take your breath away. 

I don’t collect Kobe, Duncan, or Garnett, but I had an absolute blast following along and feeling the passion of the Hobby burst at the seams in their honor. All champions, incredible contributors to the game of basketball, and now Hall of Famers. 

As I watched the festivities and smashed the like button across my feed I began to think about the hobby narrative of the elevation of the price of players based on their Hall of Fame induction. I’m not here to dump on anyone who has chosen to use this narrative in the past. Hell, I’ve been guilty of it. I do think with this historic ceremony passing and another on the horizon in football (PEYTON F’N MANNING!!!). I think it’s proper to begin to contextualize these statements.

We all knew Kobe was going into the Hall.

We all knew Duncan was going into the Hall.

We all knew KG was going into the Hall.

Did we as a Hobby start buying their cards because of this? I doubt it.

Collectors buy these players cards because of nostalgia, significance, and the connection. The Hall of Fame is a final exclamation point on a tremendous career and run. Does this move their prices?

Card Ladder data on their most populated graded rookie cards over the last 3 months would suggest not. 

Check out the populations and check out the decline. Now that’s significant. 

I’m not here to say the Hall of Fame doesn’t help validate or justify a player's place in the hobby, but I think the narrative needs further context. There’s a certain supply and demand with the “mainstream” cards of the hobby and people are getting smarter around them.

Go check out how these players have performed from a Goldin Auctions perspective over the past 3 months. Their rare and scare cards are hitting all-time highs.

Whenever you hear this narrative in the market from now on do everyone a favor and require context.

It will help make the Hobby that we love a better place. 

😎It’s More than a Hobby...it’s a lifestyle 

I want to close out this week by pointing you all to Jeremy Lee’s Sports Cards Live YouTube Channel. I’m a big fan of Jeremy’s work and most of all his passion for our Hobby.  

Sports Cards Live has become an institution. It’s a place where collections, creators, and industry leaders go to share stories of what they are working on and what they are passionate about. 

I was fortunate to join Sports Cards Live in January and had an absolute blast chatting with him and engaging with his audience. I knew I had to have him on SSP. The episode dropped today.

There’s nothing better than meeting someone else who is bullish and ALL-IN on this industry. Jeremy fits that bill and said something in our conversation that I’m not sure I’ll ever forget. 

“This isn’t just a hobby. It’s a lifestyle”

I’m not sure truer words have ever been spoken.

I ask you two things in closing:

1. Do whatever you can to use your skills to give back to the Hobby - we need it more than ever

2. Please share this newsletter with whoever you think can benefit

Happy collecting,

Brett (@stackingslabs)