"football sucks"

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Posted By: Joe Tocco

I like baseball, but I love football. Maybe it's because I grew up in one of those Midwest industrial cities and football was king (and still is, in Ohio). But then again, my brother has made baseball his career (radio play-by-play for the Southern League champs Montgomery - and Southern League broadcaster of the year ) and feels about football how I do about baseball.

One of the things I love about football is what others here hate: There are only 16 games. Each game is like sweeping three 3-game series' in baseball, or being swept. Every game is an event. Every game is huge. That's also why I love how it's played, vs. "continuous action" sports - each down is its own event. Each down feels special. Each down has its own character... 1st and 10 is an entirely different event than 3rd and 2. I like the way baseball is played too for that reason, but the majority of pitches are thrown with no one on base, and they all "feel" the same to me. I'm sure that's because I'm an unsophisticated fan, and my brother would chastise me for not understanding how a slider low and away on a 3-1 count in the 5th inning differs from a 2-2 changeup down broadway in the 3rd, but I'm not particularly inclined to learn. Football is every bit as complex, and although I hate throwing stones, anyone who says otherwise just doesn't understand the game. Neither game is intrinsically superior to the other.

Baseball naturally lends itself better to statistics buffs, and because of how each sport evolved in this country lends itself better to historians. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has noted that those sports fans who are more interested in statistics are more likely to collect cards. And clearly those who are interested in history are more likely to collect.

Vintage baseball cards are awesome. There are so many options, so much incredible photography, awe-inspiring artwork, and CHOICES, just so many ways to collect. I'm jealous of baseball collectors. I would kill for an Ernie Nevers Ramly, and I would die happy if I could lay eyes on a T3 Thorpe (don't chastise me for shifting my eras by a decade or two to make a point ). We have the Chicles with an art-deco design that doesn't really speak to football collectors, and the Mayos with a collection of college players no one has heard of. Wheaties boxes? Matchbook covers? A smattering of other cards in multi-sport sets? Ho hum. Vintage baseball cards are infinitely more appealing than vintage football.

What football collecting has going for it are the demographics of the collecting base. The vast majority of collectors are fans, and the majority of collectors became fans and collectors in their youth. Football has gained in popularity vs. baseball in the last 30 years. I won't argue if it has surpassed baseball, but in a relative sense it has made gains. That alone will inevitably lead to an increased relative demand in the next 30 years. None of these arguments are new to any of you, but it's worth stating.

Bottom line: Keep buying baseball cards, vintage football is terrible

Joe