The Impact of the Hobby on The National

Although this year's National Sports Collectors Convention has come and gone, time can still be set aside to reflect on the impact that it had on the hobby this year. Granted, it has an immense impact every single year, but this year saw an increased draw of athletes participating in live events, and interacting with members of the hobby community.

The National Sports Collectors Convention was initially held in 1980 in Los Angeles. Over the years, a variety of locations have held the event, such as Anaheim, Baltimore, Atlantic City, Cleveland, and Atlanta. Come 2028, Detroit will hold it's first ever National. Over the years, the hobby has certainly changed in many ways. For example, back in 1980, a majority of the dealers would have had vintage cards on display, and it would have been a much smaller show compared to the scale that it has reached today. At this year's National, dealers were at the show that specialized in a variety of things, like mystery packs, where collectors buy a pack of a sport (or multi-sport) usually trying to get one of the "chase" cards that are sometimes advertised. If someone were to go to the National today, there would be dozens of booths that offer mystery packs, signaling a shift from earlier Nationals.

This year's National saw a large number athlete signers, but was was different was in the inclusion of current players into the rotation. Perhaps most notably, Giannis Antetokounmpo was at the show alongside his brothers. He took part in an online event on eBay Live that saw him answering questions about his career and talking about cards. He also signed autographs at the show as well, which were available for purchase ahead of time prior to the show even starting.

Local athletes also made their presence known, including some fan favorites. Chicago Cubs 2B/SS Nico Hoerner teamed up with Rene Nezhoda of Bargain Hunter Breaks to open some baseball cards via livestream. They opened up two cases of 2024 Topps Dynasty Baseball, which is a very high end product with some potential big money cards. The boxes themselves were also opened in front of a viewing audience, which only added to the importance of having some hometown athletes participating in the National this year.

Live on-site breaking and selling were also a popular themes among collectors at the National this year. As in prior years, there was a whole breakers pavilion set up where collectors could go watch breaks happen, or buy into breaks. Many of the major online breakers and companies were present at the show, sure to address collectors needs. Compared to earlier National Conventions, the live breaking scene continues to grow and grow, yet another sign of how the hobby is impacting the National.

On top of all of this, there were countless tables to visit, alongside numerous giveaways from a variety of companies, including Fanatics, COMC, and more. Having a diverse variety of tables and giveaways for collectors to sift through only adds to the impact that the show made this year, not only in a historical context, but also in a monetary sense.

With the increased presence of athletes and events at this year's National, it should be interesting to see what happens at next year's, which also takes place in Chicago. Will there still be current athletes present? Will live on-site breaking grow as a sector? The answer to both of these questions are likely to be yes, and collectors should already be marking their calendar for Jul 29-Aug 2nd, 2026, the dates of next years show.