I was reading some of the headlines on Yahoo this morning and saw this article in my news feed. It kinda got my blood boiling and my passion for the hobby reared it's (ugly?) head. I went on a semi rant because even the title says the article was about 2014 Topps, it just seemed like a vehicle for
I'd love to hear your reactions so please leave a comment if you are inclined to do so.
Haters gonna hate. I liked the article, but I still don't see why everyone hates the new set so much. I think your retort says everything that needs to be said. My only input is that you should have linked to my blog, too. :-)
ReplyDeleteHaha, there are so many great blogs out there, I couldn't possibly link them all. I was typing with such passion this morning those were the only 3 that came to mind right off the top of my head!
DeleteI couldn't agree more with the comment you posted on the article. Well said.
ReplyDeleteIf I put that much thought into posts here on my own blog, I'm sure I'd be pulling in a lot more page views per day!
DeleteYour comment on there was spot-on. People, whether directly or indirectly, are always comparing this hobby to the way it was in the late '80s and you can't do that. Anything looks like it's dying if you compare it to its peak.
ReplyDeleteI honestly couldn't get through the article. I don't know if it was too much of what I already knew or too many adjectives.
That said, it's just one person's opinion and nothing anyone hasn't said before -- I don't see why people (especially on Twitter) are getting so upset about it.
It's literally like comparing apples to oranges. The internet has just about changed the way everyone does everything these days. I've seen some articles circulating that are touting the death of Facebook and saying it's not what it used to be!
DeleteI hesitated for a moment before linking it for the reason you stated. Most of it was stuff we already knew about 2014 Topps but I think we bloggers have already analyzed the crap out of the set. It just cranked my tractor when the author started talking about the death of the hobby again.
You tell 'em, Ryan! Thanks for the shoutout as well. I've seen quite a few reports and articles ringing the death-knell of the hobby, but they continue to report on the 'death of baseball cards as an investment' aspect of it. I don't collect cards to make money off of them, hell, anyone who's traded with me will see that I throw in so much free stuff, I have to be LOSING money. Furthermore, if the hobby is so dead as these articles like make us believe, then I challenge them to take a look at all of the 10-14 year olds buying/selling/trading on Instagram alone. I was amazed to see how many kids are collecting (high end stuff, too). I feel like these types of articles are going after the 'low hanging fruit', so to speak. It's easy to pick on the hobby because it isn't booming like it was in the early 90s. There are a lot of things that aren't booming like they once were. Folks' entertainment dollar is so spread out now, of course collecting cards is going to take a hit. I imagine the board game, puzzle, physical toy industry have all taken hits as well, especially with the digital world we live in these days.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being the steward of the hobby that you are. We all know that it is alive and well, and if some folks can't see that, then maybe we don't want them in front of us in line in front of the dime boxes anyway.
It's funny that most of these articles pop up after the author has gone and sampled some of the newest product or attended a card show! The "death of the hobby as an investment" happened back in 1994. That ship has sailed! I never bought into that aspect of collecting back then anyways (I was 10 years old in '94). It's always been about the appreciation of the cards and having fun collecting them for me. Just over the past few years has it become more of a social thing here in the blog world.
DeleteYou and I have witnessed first hand how many kids are collecting cards these days. Your son Chris has taken more of an interest over the last few years. There are a couple teenage bloggers in our midst. There are kids that we have met at O's Fanfest and at shows that amaze us with their knowledge of the hobby.
The article really rattled my cage this morning. I take offense to people who publish these half-assed articles that don't know what they are talking about. This one was scant on the facts so I couldn't just stand back and not say something.
Your comment was spot-on, Ryan.
ReplyDeleteShe did very little research, and the broad point of the article was that it is not what it once was. She's a pretty good writer most of the time, but gets insanely offended by the littlest things. Following her on twitter will get you an idea of how she works.
I don't think the the hobby will ever die, but I am doubtful I'll ever enjoy it the way I once did. I wrote earlier about it, and it was ripe with bitterness, but that's mostly because I am so incredibly disenchanted with Topps' rubbish products of late.
I definitely think that the quality of Topps' products over the last few years has declined. We can't put 100% of the blame on their backs though. MLB is mostly to blame since they are stingy with their licensing. UD and Panini can't compete because they aren't on a level playing field. Without competition pushing them to get better, Topps has gotten increasingly lazy.
DeleteI don't have the time to do Twitter. I don't have a smart phone plus I really don't see the value in reading about where this celebrity ate breakfast or some shallow thoughts from some actress. Just seems like a popularity contest to see who can get the most followers. And get off my lawn!
I get that people are sticking up for the hobby in general, and that's a good thing. I can't claim to be inspired by this year's flagship Topps set, however. This is more of the same, year after year, and I think that was one of the author's points that might have gotten lost in a sea of snark.
ReplyDeleteI think the general consensus is that 2014 Topps is uninspiring. I agree with you that it's probably time for Topps to shake it up a bit. Maybe I missed that point because the author seemed to attack the whole hobby instead of just Topps. Instead of adding more junk into flagship (parallels, dumb inserts, etc.) why don't they try to make it simpler?
Delete