I grew up watching college football, pro wrestling and, in my high school years, boxing. I remember hearing my dad tell stories about watching Ali fight and memorable Penn State squads over the years. (He swears that while he attended college he was in the same gym class as Franco Harris and apparently beat him in a "foot race".) As a result, what gets me really interested in a sport/team/event is hearing the backstory and folklore that surrounds it. As was mentioned previously in a post, the history of boxing is too rich and colorful to resist
In terms of collecting, I've always done it and as a kid I gathered rocks, stamps, coins, baseball cards, football cards, pennants, bobbleheads, etc. These all faded away as I plowed my way through undergrad and grad. Now I finally have some disposable cash and my collecting bug has reemerged (this time with a little more focus). I have some sets that I focus on, but I'm always excited to get my hands on new, interesting pre-war paper related to boxing or college football. Anyhow, that's my short story.
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