Bill Simmons Page 2 of ESPN on The National
 

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BTW, Bill Simmons has his pretty much yearly article on the National: Link

I had no idea who those guys were. I saw them one day sitting in the food court with a duffel bag and those WWF glasses. They seemed serious about the acquisitions, like real collectors.

This year was my first National. I got interested in attending based upon his '09 and '11 articles. If one were to just go by his photo essay, you might assume that it was a ton of random, non-sport stuff. I was actually surprised that there was a much traditional material as there was - and the random stuff was in pockets (Or it was just there on Wed/Thurs and sold out as I got there on Friday).

That said, this article was a bit tired. The jokes were really familiar - because they had been used pretty much verbatim in the past two articles.

The Hawaiian shirt joke is a bit stale. It is told over and over again. I made a point to look for them this year in Cleveland. To be honest, I didn't see a ton. I saw a lot of Reds, Indians, and Pirates gear - but I didn't see the shirts that he continually talks about.

It is nice for the hobby to get the exposure - but it goes to show that when someone goes in with a predisposition, a pre-written story, and an agenda, it will paint a picture that is, in many ways, opposite of the actual reality.

With that said, I do appreciate his pledge not to buy from rude dealers. If enough of us do that, then the bad apples/bad attitudes will be driven out of business and the hobby will be more pleasant.

Yes, he probably had an "agenda".....but many of the stereotypes are true. :cool: