Sports Card Collector Stereotypes

99goals

99goals

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Guys & Gals,

have you had this happen to you. You are in a random place meeting a random person like a DR's Office, (today i was at an afterhours clinic to see if there was anything i can do to get rid of this stupid a__ cold)

So you are asking a person what their hobbies are and when it comes to your turn, you tell that person you collect hockey cards.

What happened next was astonishing..

"wow its true boys never grow up" was statement #1
" You don't look like a computer geek, so why do you collect cards" #2
" .... and your wife let's you do that" #3

I will tell you, for the first time in my life i wanted to yell at someone for being so obtuse..

Has this ever happened to any of you guys..
 
I know what I do is geeky, so it doesn't offend me when someone questions it. It really is a child's hobby that adults have taken over. I guess I have a thick skin about it all...

As for stereotypes, I don't think I fit the ypical "Comic Book Guy" mold. I think I'm a regular guy who'll hang with anyone so long as we can get along. I like to shower (if you've been to the Expo, you get the odd waft of funk walking by some guys), I actually play some sports and I am pretty social. I'm not in the habit of wearing hockey jerseys to church either, but those that are that way are that way for their own reasons.
 
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I'll be honest, Im a crossbreed.

I collect cards what puts me in the geek bin.
I play in a band which makes me hot!

So I guess you could say, Im probably the coolest card collector out there.

All jokes aside....my brother and I joke about this all the time when we do shows.....why do dealers have to smell so bad? I feel out of place because I wear nice clothes and smell like the finest colognes.

Also, most dealers have no social skills......I am talkative and shoot the poop* with most people. thats why my sales are better than most. some guys just dont get it.
 
I'm not embarrassed by it anymore.

Yes - I collect pictures of men - some with their clothes and name on. I am a proud nerd. Don't call me that to may face though, my wife may pummel you. Ha.
 
If you've ever been to a card show then you know where the stereo type comes from, but were not at the bottom of the food chain. Theres always DND players and Star wars collectors :owned:
 
I've never considered what I do geeky. I do understand it's not a particularly popular thing, but I don't see anything wrong with it really. I have friends, can be social, get along well with others, etc. Just because you are a card collector does not mean we have to be stereotyped like we're the comic shop guy off the Simpsons!

You should have explained to the people you were talking to that cards can carry real value - like a Jordan RC Graded 10 which sold for 250,000$ this summer past. Ask them their hobbies - oh the club? reading fiction? watching movies? When was the last time reading a story about fake people in fake situations sold for 500$ on eBay? Oh right your hobby isn't an investment for the future in any regard.
 
i think i brought it up to one of my friends sometime last year and he just kinda gave a weird look and didnt say much. i never really bothered to bring it up with anyone else. seems like everyone at my school is under the impression that if you actually have a hobby, and spend your money on something that doesnt alter your conscienceness(sp) your an idiot lol
 
At work, all the guys says, "I used to collect cards but I stopped collecting at the age of 13."

My old friend said to me, "never tell a chick you collect cards."
Whats funny is most of the girls at work know I collect cards and they don't think that theres anything wrong with it. I even have a tradition, whoever is the weekday day leader must come to a card show with me. The current one will be going to the next big one, she even wants to come. Didn't need to force her. She got offended that I didn't invite her as the previous day leader told her about the tradition. Only thing people don't understand is the amount of money I spend on cards.

*If anyone thinks I'm a loser for collecting cards then they can go **** off and shut the hell up.
 
i agree with stacy. whoever thinks that way can shove it. i dont fit the "look" of someone who collects cards. so its quite funny when some of my friends ask what im doing all the time. my gf thinks its funny, some of my friends are amazed at how much money u can make if u have nice cards. some ppl are judgemental and ignorant thinking that only "geeks" collect cards and play video games. but i dont care. i do what i want to, how i want to and when i want to.
 
I think this forum proves that there is really no specific look of a hockey card collector and it is only ignorance that leads to the skewed stereotypes placed upon us.
 
Just to clarify the term "geeks"....EVERYONE is a geek about something. The term "geek" to me isn't negative. It just means your passionate about something. I love Star Wars, I love cards, I love sports and I love medium rare steaks. I geek out for all of those things.

LOSER is an entirely separate thing. You do what makes you happy. That doesn't make you a loser. Failing at everything you do and not trying to get better, falling and not getting up, depending on people to pay your way when you're fully capable of doing so...that's a loser to me. Collecting cards, stamps, coins, bottle caps, bugs, shoes...that's just fun. Maybe not to you or me, but SOMEONE gets enjoyment out of these things and that's okay by me.
 
99goals said:
I will tell you, for the first time in my life i wanted to yell at someone for being so obtuse
Click to expand...
Haven't hear the word obtuse used since I last watched "The Shawshank Redemption" and Andy called the warden that! :D

Usually, when I tell someone I collect hockey trading cards they ask me what it's like now. They are usually interested and not negative.

Everyone needs a hobby of some sort....ours just happens to be collecting cards. As long as no one gets hurt, who cares.....if it makes you happy, why not?? Have fun! :dance:

--Curt
 
All my friends laugh at me for collecting cards, but when I sell a card for stupid money...they all go running back to their 1990 pro-set collection that they have been saving for all these years to retire on, and want me to sell it for them. :|

As far as the women go...the trick is, don't let them know how much you spend on cards. It's only when they find out I spend more on cards than I do on them that they get pissed. If you're about to get in trouble...just buy them some more shoes...it usually keeps them quiet for another week or so :)
 
chihawk19 said:
Isn't a geek a circus freak who bites the heads off of live animals?
Click to expand...

Would you call Ozzy a geek then. And then try to decipher what he's saying back to you for an hour. I think that if someone called me a geek to my face, I might try and explain why I love collecting cards, or I could explain why I'm wearing a shirt that says "Wanna Get H.I". Either way it's easier just to mosy along :)
 
im actually "in the closet", when it comes to collecting.
only one of my friends know (royfan83) , and thats just cause we both collect.

my other friends think i havent been into the hobby in years.
 
Every now and then, we will get a couple ladies that will come into the store to pick up some pages or packs for a kid's gift. The conversation usually involves them asking a question like "do people actually still collect cards?". A quick view of the showcases and seeing the prices of some of the cards really opens their eyes.. including non-sport items that they may of had when they were kids... What was going to be a 3 minute visit spending $10 generally turns into 20 minutes and a bit $$$ for the shop.

When it's a guy who asks the question, trust me - he's the geek.

I know it must look weird for some people to come into the store as they enter and see all these guys hanging out, opening packs, talking hockey, watching the big screen ....

As for shows, Mike is right - most dealers are BRUTAL! Stinky - but then again, I know quite a few stores that make you scratch your head.... literally... LOL.

I know one store where everytime I go over for a visit, I feel like I should bring the vacuum from my store and show him what one looks like. I can just imagine what his house looks like.....
 

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