Posted By:
Al C.risafulliTed, your COMMENTS are understood. Perfectly. It's the insulting nature of Frank's repeated posts that are frustrating.
Frank writes - frequently - about how he wishes we could get back to just talking about the cards. And yet most of his posts don't relate to cards at all - they just relate to how stupid grading is. Here's a brand new thread, started by Frank, with the sole purpose of being insulting towards people who collect graded cards.
It has nothing to do with being a "dinosaur." There are plenty of long-timers in the hobby who are well-respected. Heck, to some people on this board I might even be a dinosaur, having been a collector for 25-30 years.
I understand and appreciate the way people choose to approach the hobby. There's a lot of stuff to collect, and a lot of different ways to do it. I've chosen to embrace grading for a variety of reasons - none of which relate to paranoia, and none of which relate to maximizing the value of my collection. I've embraced grading for two primary reasons: first, it makes it easier for me to feel confident buying cards over the internet, sight unseen. Second, I like the way cards display in the holder. There are some other, ancillary reasons as well, but those two are the main ones.
Ted, when you post about your T206 collections, and attempting sets with various backs, I can feel the enthusiasm, and it's infectious. Yesterday when you and I went back and forth about Tommy Henrich and Charlie Keller, I could read your passion for baseball, and it was great.
I wish I could feel that same passion in Frank's posts, because he clearly knows a lot about cards and I'm sure I could learn a thing or two. But instead, all I get from his posts is a condescending and insulting attitude about a supplemental part of the hobby that really has nothing to do with the cards whatsoever. It's frustrating and boring, and I'd avoid it if I could - but I can't. It seems like if I want to participate on this board, I'm going to need to deal with a daily diatribe from Frank Wakefield about how stupid I am.
And that bugs me.
-Al