https://youtu.be/Ww1Sxj_zQIg

I decided to keep the soccer and baseball topic going with a new pack opening video. Check it out!

When I was growing up in the 1990s, there was a war between two sports: Soccer and Baseball—The Beautiful Game vs. America’s Past Time.

If you were from The States, soccer was labeled a sport for wimps. If you were from Europe, Baseball was not a real sport because the players stood around more than they moved.

Today, soccer is fast becoming one of the most popular sports in America, and baseball struggles to keep viewership up. Did soccer win the war? What is causing baseball to fall and soccer to rise? 

Here are my thoughts.

To be fair, soccer has not exactly skyrocketed to the top of the American sports chain, and baseball has not exactly fallen off, but there is truth to the rise of Soccer and the fall of Baseball. More kids are running around in Messi and Ronaldo shirts, US Soccer stars are finding success at the highest levels, and with the World Cup coming to the America’s, we could see the sport's already growing popularity surge.

Meanwhile, Baseball has been trying to find a way to get more viewership for years. Every season, there is news of a potential change in the sport. They recently changed the pitch clock and limited throwing to first (improvements, in my opinion). Making changes is nothing new, but the MLB makes it clear they do it because they are worried about losing more viewers.

In the sports card collecting world, the signs are clear. When I go to a card show, vendors tell me they wish they had brought more soccer cards because so many people asked for them. This year, The National had a trade night for soccer created by people within the community to deliver the demand that some are still ignoring. So why is soccer on the rise?

If I gave you all the reasons, this would be a dissertation, not a short essay. So, to keep it short and simple, it comes down to money. English soccer is at the forefront of the sport, and the owners of the English teams decided they wanted to start profiting off the game instead of owning teams for fun. Who better to look towards profiting off of the sport than the NFL? They took insight from the American league and figured out how to make their game reach a wider audience, ultimately resulting in more viewership and more TV rights. 

With more money came more pageantry, top players became superstars, and the bridge leading across the pond got bigger and bigger. Larger networks in the US now wanted to air the sport, and with that, people finally got to see that the game was a contact sport and that flopping did not exist in every game. David Beckham, FIFA, social media, and something new to get into also created this snowball that keeps rolling down the hill and doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Baseball, on the other hand, was left unchanged up until recently. Many feel the changes for the sport are coming too late. New generations want something different. 

Let’s not bury Baseball entirely. As I said before, baseball is starting to make improvements. Speeding up the game will significantly help build more interest. People don’t have the time or the patience they once did (sad but true). Superstars are still on the rise. Ohtani is big for the sport, and Aaron Judge sets records every day (it seems like it). There is plenty to love about baseball, and I will not give it up, nor do I think we should.

Baseball still has a lot to offer, and that's why I don’t believe that soccer has won the war, but there also shouldn’t have been a war in the first place. Both sports are great in their own right and deserve to be celebrated, but if I were baseball, I would read the writing on the wall before its too late.

With Topps releasing Chrome Basketball and Composite Football, the topic of unlicensed sports cards has heated up. Both sets contain some of the most sought-after rookie cards in recent times, and many have jumped at the opportunity to obtain them even with the missing logos. Meanwhile, I remained on the sidelines, reluctant to get in on the action, but something about one of these sets changed my mind. 

First, I want to tell everyone that I am not a fan of non-licensed sports cards. They always feel incomplete and like something is missing (because something is missing). I like seeing players exactly how they were in the moment, not with something blatantly taken out. It’s always too obvious and takes away from the artistry of the card, in my opinion.

I understand why some people like non-licensed products. Sometimes, the missing logos simply don’t bother them—no explanation is needed. Others watch sports to witness athletic prowess and follow the best players, not necessarily teams. 

I like athletic prowess and certain players, but I also like logos, colors, and uniformity because it adds an extra artistic element to sports.

My opinion does not mean that I’m right. My opinion does not mean I am a better person because I like licensed over non-licensed. I wanted to write this because I am tired of the discourse that comes up during this topic. Someone who does not like non-licensed sports cards is often labeled a snob, and people who do like them are labeled consumers who will buy anything.

Neither is true. Buying sports cards is about personal preference. You don’t have to like them; there is also no problem with liking them. Although, I would be lying if I didn’t cringe a little when I see people opening up these products hoping to win the lottery by pulling a rookie auto. Still, to eaches own. If that makes you happy, go for it.

With all that being said, I’m starting to see things differently when it comes to collecting non-licensed sports cards, and that’s because of Topps Composite Football.

Topps nailed this set by creating many cards where the players are positioned in ways that you wouldn’t be able to see the logos anyway. This creates an aesthetic where the missing logos aren’t as noticeable. Topps didn’t invent anything new, but by using this technique frequently and combining it with a variety of very cool mini-sets, they produced a stellar, non-licensed product.

It also helped that almost the entire lineup is made of legendary players I grew up watching or idolizing. I’m a big fan of collecting players from the past, so this set was perfect for me in that aspect.

I still didn’t like the cards where you could tell there was a missing logo. Nothing can change my opinion about those. That’s also why I didn’t enjoy Topps Chrome Basketball. Too many cards were in that set where the missing logos were very obvious.

In the end, Topps Composite Football was a fun product and taught me that non-licensed sports cards can be fun.

Thank you for reading my opinion, and if you would like to see what I pulled when opening up some Topps Composite Football, please check out my video: https://youtu.be/wLjPEVMQi9g