2021 NSCC Recap

​After a one year hiatus of the National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) due to the pandemic, the National Card convention opened up with a bang this summer in Chicago. I was fortunate enough to attend three days of the show. I have gone every year since 2016, and it was such a shock to see how far the hobby has come since then. Before, it was mainly men that would show up to the shows, but this year, I noticed younger children as well as families showing up to attend the convention. I believe this to be partially due to the increasing popularity of sports cards. Most recently, a Patrick Mahomes football card sold for $4.3 million, a record high for any football card. This card was on display at the convention, and people were lining up to get a glance. Although there was not an exact head count, it was reported that over 100,000 tickets to attend the convention were sold. Normally only around 50,000-60,000 people attend the show on average. This is a huge increase, and it definitely was noticeable while walking around from each table. Walking around the show, I could feel the energy from everybody as people bargained for deals or worked out trades on the side. Words can't really explain how hectic the show was. I had a great time talking with old card friends and helping out PC Sportscards at their booth. To reinforce how healthy the hobby is, after the show closed, in the small lobby at the Loews hotel, easily a thousand people would go and set up their cards for sale. It practically became a smaller card convention outside the national card convention. As a seller of one of the highest priced cards recently, it was interesting as some dealers would ask me why I even bothered to show up. They assumed that because I sold a card for nearly two million dollars that I am too high end for the show, but for me, I enjoy talking to new collectors and conversing with card buddies that I have known ever since I started to delve deep into cards. Overall, to say I was amazed by the convention would be an understatement, and I hope to see just as many people if not more next year at the convention in Atlantic City.