[KMayUSA6060]

This was my favorite National show-wise that I've been to. Granted, it was only my 2.5th National, and my favorite National overall was 2 years ago in A.C. when I was able to attend with my now-fiancee who had a blast, but this show was tremendous. Let me explain.

- I was able to attend 3/4 of that Thursday with my dad (I was there all day, and he left around 3 to work a different event). I learned very quickly that being accompanied by someone who is interested in sports, but doesn't necessarily collect memorabilia/cards, is a blast. My modest amount of knowledge really impressed him, and he couldn't believe the amount of history in the room, let alone the amount of money exchanging hands or the price tags he was seeing. I did explain to him that a good portion of the stuff in the room was listed at what we call "museum prices" but that the stuff is still worth a good amount.

- Being my 1.5th show in Cleveland, and fresh (pun intended, being 2 years ago) off my last National in A.C., I was very impressed with the layout in the IX Center. So much easier to navigate compared to A.C.

- I have developed a pretty good relationship with a few dealers, and it was great seeing them and catching up. Really, the best part of National is the in-person dealings and conversations. I know I'm young and wasn't around in the hay-day of "trading cards" (literally), but those deals and conversations at National are the roots of the hobby.

- Interesting selection. Being more focused this time around and with a lot of luck, I was able to knock out the majority of my targets on Day 1. This allowed more browsing and studying time, with my eyes fixating on future collection targets (T3s man... Wow will those look good on my Man Cave wall someday). I noticed a lot of the era's tier 1 names - Gehrig, Cobb, Ruth, Wagner - but was also surprised at the near lack of tier 2 names - Young, Johnson, Lajoie, Speaker, etc. I'd be curious to hear if other attendee's had similar observations in regards to the quantity of each tier. Post War was very abundant, so abundant that I'm glad I'm pretty much finished with that portion of my Hall of Fame project. I would have hated to spend time digging through the sheer volume of Post War cards for particular years/subjects.

- I learned how to spend money. Kind of an odd thing to say, right? But at previous shows - both National and smaller local show - I had hesitated to pull the trigger, sometimes on good/great deals, out of fear of losing out on something better. Not this time. I snagged my targets, and then some.

- I also learned to just enjoy the day. I went two days, and had a blast both times, for different reasons. They say the best part of collecting is the journey; this is a part of that journey. Enjoy it.

- I got the sense of enthusiasm. I don't know if I'm able to say that and have it hold much weight with how young and inexperienced I am, but I thought people were genuinely happy and excited to be there. I agree with Howard that there seemed to be a good amount of foot traffic.

I didn't necessarily enjoy A.C. the city, but didn't hate the show, so I'll be looking at the logistics of making it out there in 2 years. If not, then I'll be waiting for it to come back through Cleveland. Either way, I'm excited for my next National.