10 years from now… write the headlines looking back to today
 

We have a little work exercise that we do at our annual planning retreats which include writing newspaper headlines we expect to see in 5-10 years

I thought it would be fun and enlightening to tap into the collective expertise here to help imagine what we might be saying 10 years from now.

So tap into your best “futurist self” and let’s see where the hobby is in 2032.

I’ll start with a couple of warm-ups:

“AI HAS FULLY IMPLEMENTED THE AUTHENTICATION AND GRADING OF SPORTS CARDS LOWERING COSTS CONSIDERABLY”

“COLLECTORS LOOK BACK WITH REGRET AT 2nd JUNK WAX ERA AFTER BIG MONEY FLOWS INTO THE HOBBY DURING THE COVID CRISIS OF 2020 to 2022”

(I know we have better, more informed futurists here… love to see your predicated headlines!)

Thx for playing along -

Jeff

Nice thread Jeff. Should be a fun one. Here are 3 headlines in 10 yrs, maybe. BTW, I am an amateur economist :)

1. Baseball card hobby continues it's streak of success.

2. Baseball card hobby is dying a slow death.

3. Baseball card hobby stabilizes.

,

Guy Who Paid $180,000 for Jasson Dominquez Refractor in 2020 Doesn't Want to Talk About It

Lmao spot on!

SPORTS PAGE:
"ASTROS WIN THEIR THIRD CONSECTUIVE WORLD SERIES TITLE. YANKEES FINISH DEAD LAST FOR THE FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW."

BUSINESS/INVESTING PAGE:
"COLLECTORS FROM 10 YEARS AGO LOSE THOUSANDS BUYING IN AT THE TOP END OF THE MARKET; NFT BUYERS LOSE EVEN MORE. STOCKS AND PRECIOUS METALS CONTINUE TO SHINE. CRYPTO? WHAT'S THAT?"

CLASSIFIEDS:
“FREE: THOUSANDS OF ‘80s & ‘90s BASEBALL CARDS. MUST PICKUP CURBSIDE.”

Leon Luckey completes rebuilding his collection, and then some....

1. PRE WAR/VINTAGE CARD MARKET CONTINUES STRONG PREDICTED GROWTH

2. SHINY NEW CRAP - CUT SIGNATURE CARDS & INFLATED 1 OF 1'S IN 9TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR OF DECLINE

3. LOCAL MIDDLETON, WI MAN UCOVERS THE INDUSTRIES MOST AMAZING FIND OF PRE-WAR CARDS IN PRISTINE CONDITION. NOW A GAJILLIONAIRE!

Bill

Headline
 

Early photo of baseball great sells for 1M, outpacing the same image used for highly coveted card.

That will never happen! :D

Hall of fame Barry bonds.
Who’s next?

The viral 2014 Lou Gehrig Disease Challenge - where card collectors collectively destroyed over 5 billion "junk era" sportscards in creative ways - has lasting impact on hobby, as 1980s sportscard values explode.

MLB game time average under 2 hours, as regular season expanded to 300 games.

Pete Rose inducted into the Baseball HOF posthumously.

1986 Michael Jordan Rookie Cards PSA 10 Sold at Recent Auction for $1200

"What will Mets do with budget once Lindor contract ends? Only three more years to pay off Bobby Bo"

Actually I was thinking

Steve Cohen Borrows money from Bobby B to pay off balance of Lindor's Contract

"after a 12 year federal investigation of gary moser, pwcc and other parties, no criminal wrongdoing is found."

Fanatics Loses Anti-Trust Case Appeal!

1. Hobby looks back on the digital junk wax "NFT" fad of 2020-22

2. Card makers admit that modern relic cards featuring "Game Used Memorabilia" were always meant to be a joke

3. PSA announces new "slab re-re-re-authentication" service beginning at $200/card, eBay mandates it for all sales

Can't tell an original card from a reprint.

Willie Mays, the oldest living Baseball Hall of Fame member, living large at 101 years old!

Perhaps a new Headline

"Originals now being produced from Reprints" Quoted from a source at PWCC

AI will have a much larger impact on our hobby along with to a lesser extent but still of importance web3 based transactions being more commonplace in the marketplace.

If that happens, baseball will be beyond life support as it is now. Stone cold toe-tag dead.

I always like an optimist.

Man finds 1989 Donruss Gregg Jeffries hoard. Given to Tim Carroll Art

1. Brady Finally Retires - Eighth Super Bowl Win Proves Elusive. OR
1a. Tom Brady Vows to Play Until He Wins Another Super Bowl.

2. Most Players Now Have Over 20K Different "Rookie" Cards

3. Topps Wins Lawsuit and Resumes BB Card Production. Issues 660 Card Set Only Available in Wax Packs With Gum And No Parallels

4. Machine Graded Cards Take Over Market - Collectors Shun PSA Graded Cards

5. Collectors Embrace Altered Cards "They Just Look Better!"

6. No One Wants Old Cards. NFTs Rule!

:D

I have a difficult time when the Yankees lose three games in a row

we shall see
 

"Can Mac Jones win his 4 th Super Bowl this year?"
"Remember When you could buy a Playing Days Ruth for under $200K?"
"Olivier Rioux sets NBA single season shot block record" ( hes currently 7'6" and 16 years old!!! )

An unknown T206 Honus Wagner card was discovered in the Men's Room at Grand Central Station, taking the hobby by storm. It has already been graded by PSA and received an exmt 6. Details of the find are sketchy.

Rich Hill signs with Marlins, has now pitched with every team in major league baseball.

NO SMALL FEAT FINDING BIGGEST SHOELESS JOE - Collectors Haven't Seen His T210 Hit The Market In Over a Decade.

Not cool. I do not want to wait that long.......:mad:

More evidence baseball is on its last fumes:

Attendance: Even with cold weather, school in session and ticket presales that were depressed by the lockout, games averaged 25,899 fans, more than any full season through 1988. The Dodgers and Cardinals lead the way in per-game attendance, but the Padres are averaging a franchise record 38,310.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2022/05/02/bi...all-the-opener

"10 year old pre-pre-pre-rookie card NFT sets record price for sports memorabilia!"

"Topps/Fanatics announce they are going all-digital and will no longer sell physical cards. (Says cardboard collectibles relegated the dustbin of history with DVDs, CDs, payphones, and typewriters.)"

"Third Party Graders announce they are now grading NFTs using industry-supported grading standards for clarity (crispness of video), centering (% of time player is in center of video), and popularity (based on likes/subscribers). Virtual holder will include security to verify NFT ownership and prevent hacking/viruses. Population report and set registry to follow."

"Federal Reserve President states Sports Memorabilia NFTs are worth nothing, raises concern that financial markets are susceptible to substantial risk from NFTs."

"The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is Overpriced and Over-hyped!"

PSA still trying to clear the backlog :)

Boasting proven expertise, psa pivots from grading to time-capsules-as-a-service

Lol!

the current period devolves into the next junk wax era riddled with parallels and fake autos/memorabilia cards...googles of nfts...they'll be like pogs!!!!!

Any pseudo desirable playing day babe ruth card will cost you close to 20K.

We will have experienced either a civil war or a world war.

I'm assuming in ten years, post-civil and/or world war, $20K will be about the price of a can of coke?

Novel written by shoeless joe jackson heading for the auction block

grading company announces new 1/4 point grade scale ——resubmit and see if your 8.5 can get an 8.75

in response to the tremendous success of nft’s acme card company announces the first it’s (imaginary tokens). For a small fee the purchaser can imagine a card of any player he or she wants. Since everyone’s imagination is different, each will be unique.

Interest in collecting wanes as fans are shocked by gambling scandal at the DraftKings / Fan Duel World Series Classic.

Goldin Auction smashes record prices; Doncic RC sells for $99 million.

Unnamed AH has a moment of clarity and changes their name to Shillsville Auctions, adopting the Las Vegas model for houses of ill repute and marketing as such. "Enter here and you'll definitely have a good time, but it's going to cost you".

To paraphrase Ernie Banks..."Let's Play Two...every night". :D

I feel like this thread should be read aloud by these guys!
Attachment 518390

Sports Collectors Daily: May 27, 2032

Tigard, Oregon - "Geraldo Rivera hosts his final televised primetime special...the long-defunct PWCC Vault is finally cracked open by court order, revealing contents of only one unopened box of 1988 Donruss."

For the first time in 20 years, a pitcher threw more than 3 shutouts in one season!

Amidst a flood of fake cards in fake slabs, PSA announces two new services…..slabbing slabs and Annual Authentication. AA allows a subscriber to send in their cards every year to verify that they are still authentic and unaltered.

Millionaire's complain that only billionaire's can afford to buy tickets to baseball games now.

nice very nice :):):)

Complete Darby chocolates christy Mathewson is found

24 years later, Archive finally apologizes to avoid law suit.

5 more deals just closed.

Jay M completes first ever N172 set

SALE! GoldenAge50s completes sell off of childhood collection with final auction this weekend

No new scans: Leon unable to replace lost quarter due to US policy shift to crypto currency.

"Fire in ebay vault destroys $100M in sport cards - insurance refuses to pay out because the vault was not fire rated"

In the year 2000!!! Top 2 skits (Triumph the insult comic dog being in a tie for this dubious "honor")

https://youtu.be/5AeYQQ_wMR8

People finally figure out that TPAs are just an opinion and that alot of fakes are slabbed and found to be unauthentic!

PSA finally catches up on its backlog from 2021!

Collectors finally figure out what a graded card junk era really is!

Autographs, game used relic cards, graded cards, shiny modern cards Are all junk and vintage is the safe haven!

The hobby is still going strong!

Wander Franco topps rookie card is the most overrated rookie card of all time!

The smart guys in the hobby are the ones that sold during the hype!

eBay is overloaded with crap cards from all of the you tube flippers!

Jose altuve makes the HOF!

That's funny.

Harold Baines elected to HOF! (To show 1st time wasn't joke)

Geraldo Rivera opens Topps safe discovered in Long Island warehouse on live TV. 1954 and 1955 Mantles expected to bring millions at auction.

I thought every time would be a joke

Was that meant for the tabloids of the future

1.baseball put 'on hold' indefintely for several yrs under contract negotiations.
fans lose interest & patience.
2.Baseball creates a secondary market, much like the USFL (football).
3.Due to tree shortage, bats no longer made of wood, but of some composite/rubber.
4.Due to pandemic, fans watch from cars on big screen in parking lot. While hotdog/popcorn vendors bike/skate thru parking lots.
5. +1 on the fire fiasco in the card vault.

Silly, just silly - you made me laugh with this one!

Amazon Renews Broadcast Rights of "Dying" Sport "No Cares About Anymore" for $120 Billion

Nice :D

“Coach’s Corner sells their 500th Josh Gibson & Babe Ruth dual signed baseball. Casino gift shops and Charity/Cruise ship auction outfits rejoice. I’m holding out for the Baby Lindbergh version, exclaims excited new bidder.”

"Class Action Suit Brought Against Archive for Poor Investment Advice"

The 3 main spots people find reprints are still
1. Grandpa's collection
2. Estate find
3. Attic find

No one cares about reprint/fake cards anymore, quality so high that even experts can't tell the difference, now accepted and graded as genuine.