Is anyone else alone in collecting cards?

[SetBuilder]

I might as well be on a deserted island when it comes to collecting. My friends are all big time sports fans but they all ridicule card collecting and are cynical about spending money on pieces of cardboard. I tried to explain to them the nuances of vintage cards but they give me this blank look. It sucks. I live in Miami, and I have no idea if there is even a T206 collector within a 25 mile radius.

I work for a Wall St. firm and you can imagine that baseball cards are at the very bottom of the list of things to spend your money on. If it's considered an "alternative asset class" they're being nice.

I think we're going about it wrong in how we mention our hobby to other people. If you merely say "I collect baseball cards", it conjures up negative images of hoarding (or lunacy) to a person that doesn't like to collect objects -- due to whatever philosophical reasoning they may have. I think you need to add a qualifier like "vintage", "rare", "really old" or "high end" so they understand that there's a big difference between this and junk and that there is a historical value. I don't think buying a T206 card is that much different than buying an Andy Warhol, a Picasso, or a sculpture. If I were to say "I collect original Andy Warhols", I would be complimented to no end. People would beg to see them. Cards get the opposite effect.