A Journey Into Blogging...and Trying to Define My Collecting

It seems that many bloggers begin with the purpose of a bit of self-discovery and self-sharing.  This blog is no different.  As my wife would attest, self-discovery and self-sharing are two of the biggest needs.  But my collecting habits are probably not what she would want me to focus my journey on.  Oh, well.

I started collecting when I was six years old, when my dad brought home a pack of  1988 Topps football for me.  He probably thought I'd be more interested in the gum, but for some reason it sparked an interest that would blossom into all-out obsession.  Maybe it's just a soft spot for where it all began, but I still think the 1988 Topps football was one of Topps's best designs of the time.

My parents to this day poke fun at the hours I spent with my favorite hobby, but I don't think my dad realizes or remembers that he started it all. In fact, that 1988 set was kind of my introduction to football, not just card collecting.  Now that I think about it, my wife probably has more reason than I thought to curse that fateful day.  I wish I still had more of that set, but I was only six at the time and most of those cards did not survive.  I've given thought to going back and collecting that set, but that's just one more scattered collecting goal that I would need to sort out.

Which brings me to my point.  I'm creating my first blog in an attempt to focus my collection a little bit.  I build sets.  I have too many individual players to chase.  I've dabbled in box breaking trying to score big hits, and have recently considered going with less quantity and building a graded collection.  Throw in my favorite teams to collect, and I'm all over the place and don't have the money to make too much progress in any direction.  The fact of the matter is, I am a small-budget collector with too many tastes to satisfy.

Here is what I currently collect.  Later along, I'll share my joys and frustrations with each theme, and give you my thoughts on a few cards while I'm at it.

Football Collections:

• All-Decade Team Players (1980s, 1990s, 2000s)
• Super Bowl Winning QBs
• Green Bay Packers (with a focus on Eddie Lacy and Jordy Nelson)
• Former BYU Cougars
•  1 or 2 sets each year (This year it's Prestige and Topps Chrome)

Baseball Collections:

• All-Star Game MVPs
• Rookie of the Year Award Winners
• Clutch World Series Performers
• Chicago Cubs
• 1 or 2 sets each year (Just completed 2015 Topps Chrome!)

As a side note, this blog will primarily focus on football cards.  I love reading the card blogs out there, but I've found that they almost always gear toward vintage baseball.  Don't get me wrong, I love my baseball collection and vintage cardboard of America's Pastime is great, but I have always been a football-first guy.  Given that the NFL is now king in American sportdom, I feel it's a bit underrepresented.  I'll post about baseball cards here and there, there will be a football focus here.