Ze National.

The National is always a fun thing.

Sports collectors and dealers from all over the country get together in one place to find that elusive “white whale,” complete their sets, swing big trades and sell their inventory.  Guys from the hobby message boards meet each other in person – sometimes for the first time.  It’s a time of friendship, camaraderie, and fun for everyone.

This year, the National will be a little different for me.  Instead of going to socialize, or meet up with clients, I will be launching a business.  I’ll be walking the floor, and will also have a small presence in my friend Ryan’s booth (he runs the awesome Cuban Baseball Card Auctions), which is booth #803.  I’ll have a laptop there so that you can register to bid in the auction.  I’ll also be thrilled to discuss the possibility of consigning your material to the first auction.  And of course I’ll be attending a lot of the post-show collector functions, meeting up with people and trying to spread the word about Love of the Game Auctions.

But despite the business-centric nature of my Baltimore visit, I can’t attend a National without trying to have fun.  I’ll have a lot of friends there, and I’m looking forward to seeing them.  The National is fun, because the hobby (and the people in it) are also fun.

The past several years, there’s been sort of a dark cloud that hangs over the National.  Scary words like Federal Investigation, Subpoena, and Grand Jury seem to have become the big National buzzwords.  With good reason, for sure, as we all want a clean hobby.  But I think it also makes it difficult sometimes to remember what a great pastime it can be to immerse yourself in the history of the game you love.

So, in addition to setting up at the National, registering bidders and begging for consignments, I’ll also be tweeting, blogging, and taking pictures of the sights and sounds of The National.  Watch this space, and also follow us on Twitter at @LOTGAuctions, to keep tabs on what’s happening, what we’re doing, and whatever interesting stuff we see at the big show.

We leave Wednesday, but the festivities begin even earlier, as a few New York-area collectors will be getting together between now and then for dinners and general fun.  Keep an eye on this space – it’s bound to be an interesting week.