Getting it off the Ground

I work at a Sports Card Shop. When I tell people this, they generally think they hear “car” and think I an a car salesman… no, I work in the sports card industry, often time called “The Hobby” and I have the best job in the world!

This morning I woke up and rolled over to find my son had climbed into bed with my wife and I in the middle of the night. He woke up and made me pinky promise that I would do a 750 piece puzzle with him before work. I found 4 corners and a few edges before making coffee and getting dressed. We would work on it more when I got home this afternoon.

My drive in is always amazing. I drive a Jeep wrangler and in June, the top and doors are generally off and the freedom and open air makes for a wonderful ride to paradise. I walk in and am greeted by the owner who asks me “How’s it going” and I always reply “best day of my life. I love it here.” No lies detected.

Today I walked into about 40 cases of baseball cards that need sorted, opened, priced and sold. The smell of old 1980’s stale gum fills me up every time I open a fresh case. I gag and smile at the same time. I LOVE IT.

I’ll get to work on that after I write this.

What else is up Chris? Oh, a lot!

I get stopped and asked about my “Rated Rookie” tattoo a few times a day. Cool story behind it. I raised over $5,000 for the Ohio Special Olympics and let Hobby Twitter decide my tattoo. Rated Rookie was the winner, and really may be the reason why I got my job. They know I am dedicated and I love this stuff. I tell this story at parties.

Take me back a year and a half, in the middle of a pandemic and unhappy at my previous job. I worked for my local government and had started my own Sports Cards Company and LLC. My current boss and old friend saw what I was doing in the hobby and invited me into the shop for lunch. That lunch turned into a job offer and that job offer turned into me sitting at this computer writing this blog.

Why do I love this hobby? Why do you love this hobby? I just do. There are many ways to enjoy this hobby. Some people love nostalgia and rip junk wax. Many people collect vintage. Many people collect players on their favorite teams. A lot of people collect players that have some meaning to them. I’m talking about you Che’ and Devin Mesoraco! or Kyle with Bishop Sankey, Eloy with Cooper Kupp or my daughter with Jesse Winker. I love that I share this hobby with my wife and kids, and now it has also become my profession.

I never know what or who is going to walk through the door each day, as the boss says “Just another Thursday at LJ’s.”