#17: Chasing PMG Greens and Tommy Teflon
👋 Hello, I’m Brett from the Stacking Slabs Podcast and welcome you each Hey 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?
It’s amazing what a year can do for you in the Hobby. There were a couple of items that popped up for me this week that reminded me how far I’ve come in my evolution.
First, it’s how I am consuming the NBA Playoffs. I am looking at each game from the lens of being a fan of basketball and appreciating the performances on the court. I can say that without a shadow of a doubt Game 7 between the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks was one of my favorite games that I’ve watched in recent memory. I’m getting goosebumps as I type this.
I don’t need to rehash what happened on the floor, but it triggered a reminder for me of why I love basketball so much. I didn’t watch that game with a gambler’s mindset. I watched that game as a fan of basketball and it delivered. I’ll admit it. Last year I was caught in the Hobby Hype Train and was there to find opportunities to make money to fund my PC. The market was reactionary and it didn’t matter the card or player. If they had one good game and the card was in a slab then you were looking at substantial profits.
I spoke about this on the Wednesday episode of SSP, but I’m glad PSA put a pause on service levels to avoid this hysteria from continuing. I was guilty of contributing to the PSA backlog as I am sure many of the readers of this newsletter were too. These moments matter and allow us to take a step back and reflect on why we really are here.
Second, I received a small PSA sub this week that I completely forgot about from a group submitter back in July of 2020. That goes to show you how much those cards meant to me. I couldn’t even tell you about the contents that were inside of the box.
It hit my mailbox and here’s what I was left with:
5!!! 2016 Select Jaylen Brown Orange Prizm Rookie Swatches (/60) - I got 1 PSA 9 and 4 PSA 8’s
2013 Select Victor Oladipo Draft Selections Purple Prizm / 99 PSA 10
2013 Select Victor Oladipo White Hot Purple Prizm / 99 PSA 8
2013 Prim Victor Oladipo RC Base PSA 9
2012 Hoops Anthony Davis RC Base PSA 9 x 2
I couldn’t even remember submitting these cards and I hope that goes to show you how much I actually care about them. They should be live on eBay by the time this newsletter hits if you are interested!
I think it’s important to have these moments of reflection and understand how quickly we evolve in the Hobby. Personally, I’m having more fun than ever because I’m blocking out all of the noise and focusing on my NorthStar.
This is about building relationships with other passionate collectors and obtaining cards that trigger important memories that I hope to never soon forget.
Always use your mind to collect, but don’t forget about what your heart can offer.
🟢A Chase for the Green
I had just got done watching the Pacers blow their shot at this year’s playoffs from my hotel room in Dallas. Everyone I knew and came to meet at the Dallas Card Show was participating in the Thursday evening of the show and I was by myself screaming at a TV as my Pacers let the game slip out of reach.
Oh well...always next year!
I had plans to meet the Card Ladder team for some wings and I left the hotel for a short walk over to the restaurant. I arrived and immediately saw someone that was vaguely familiar, but couldn’t put a name to the face.
He looked over and in a very polite way stuck out his hand and said, “My name is Bennett, I go by @devinkurant37 on Instagram.”
Immediately it hit me. When I got back in the Hobby his conversation with Josh on Cardboard Chronicles was one of the first pieces of content that I watched. I remembered he showed his Stephen Curry NT RPA and they talked about him being banned on Blowout.
It was like catching up with old friends when we sat down at the table. He was jacked about a Green PMG Rodney Rogers that he picked up at the show and we started talking about his collecting. He had so much energy around 90’s basketball cards and it was an amazing conversation.
When we were finishing up he off-handedly mentioned that he had won the Green PMG Tim Duncan at Goldin.
GREEN PMG DUNCAN! THAT WAS YOU!!!
That card was the talk of the Hobby when it was up for auction and it was simply incredible that I was sitting at a table with its owner. The conversation concluded and I couldn’t stop thinking about his story and PMG pursuit.
The memory burned so deep in my brain that I knew I had to get Bennett on SSP to talk more about his chase.
This conversation was a reminder for me to not let outside influences take you off your track. This Hobby can take you on many twists and turns, but it’s all about the people you come across along the way.
🤼Wrestling with Cards
I’m never shy about my affinity for professional wrestling.
The bright lights, the larger than life characters, the in-ring competition, and oh yes even the cards!
I’ve been hooked since I was a kid. I’ll never forget looking up at the TV and seeing Demolition on my TV. The face paint, the yelling, and of course stories that followed.
Wrestling cards were the main catalyst to bring me back into cards almost 2 years ago. I’ve been running in wrestling collectible circles for as long as I can remember online, but had never really thought about wrestling cards. It just took one post highlighting some autographs from the 2019 Topps Undisputed product to get me sucked in.
The wrestling card community is special. It’s a group of people who are not only passionate about wrestling, but dedicated to educating others about the complex world that is wrestling cards. Everyone celebrates big wins and the mail days are second to none on Twitter.
When I got into wrestling cards there was a special connection for me. Cardboard is amazing and can not only jog distant memories, but introduce you to other people who share in this love.
That’s why I want to spend a moment to promote Wrestling with Cards. This is a channel from Zhan Mourning, one of the most passionate wrestling card collectors this Hobby has to offer.
Zhan has been a day 1 supporter of SSP and he goes all-in at creating helpful content for his audience. I can’t put his stuff over enough.
If you are into wrestling cards or have an interest in wrestling cards look no further….brother!
🐐TB12 is Teflon
Colts season ticket holders aren’t supposed to cheer for Tom Brady.
The guy who helped put an end to so many opportunities at a Super Bowl.
Yeah, the same guy who somehow always seems to defy the odds and walk away at season’s end with ANOTHER Lombardi trophy.
I’ve spent the better part of 2 decades feeling my stomach turn in knots every time his name came up until recently. I decided it was time to hang up my hater hat and start appreciating. It has been a massive undertaking for me, but can tell you that I feel a lot better about football not hating Tom Brady. Plus, he’s friends with Peyton in real life and that says something, right?
Although I can do without ANOTHER TB12 Super Bowl party that involves boats and tequila I can say I am cheering for his cards. He is the gold standard of football cards and as his market goes so does football cards.
It seems like most of the sales over the past few months have been downers until TB Teflon had something to say about it this week when his 2012 Panini Prizm Silver sold for a record smashing $25,100! Now that’s a lot of chowder.
This sale was a reminder to me that we should always be cheering for the GOAT’s card prices to stay consistent in whatever market we collect in. I spend a majority of card cash on the football card market, which causes me to focus a lot of my energy on Tom Brady cards.
I’d never thought I’d say this, but keep doing your damn thing Tom.
I ask you two things in closing:
Do whatever you can to use your skills to give back to the Hobby - we need it more than ever
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