Collecting Football Cards

Joe Namath: Prior to Superbowl III: "I've got news for you. We're gonna win the game. I guarantee it."

Jery Rice: "I feel like I'm the best, but you're not going to get me to say that. "

William "The Refrigerator" Perry: "I've been big ever since I was little."

Tom Landry: "Football is an incredible game. Sometimes it's so incredible, it's unbelievable."

The above quotes capture the near-supernatural dedication to team spirit that American football players are capable of. And fans will not let themselves be surpassed in mustering this exhilarating spirit. Naturally, fans cannot help snapping up items of their favorite team or sports star. But collecting, in the eyes of the ardent hobbyist, is both a piece of cake (because one must love it) and a heavy burden (because it takes effort!). Collecting any sports memorabilia or sports collectibles is a very personalized pastime that has significance based more on the collector's likes and passions as much as the accomplishments of the individual athlete or team.

When casually estimating the value of the items you collect, the rule of thumb is that the more famous the athlete, the more valuable the memorabilia—or football cards, in this instance—and sports collectible items will be. Having the item verified as authentic will add to the value even more. So hang on to any items—magazines, box wrappings—related to your sports collectible or sports memorabilia.

Bowden Wyatt, Tennessee: "My advice to defensive players: Take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in a bad humor."

Knute Rockne, Notre Dame: "Show me a good and gracious loser, and I'll show you a failure."

John Heisman: "Gentlemen, it is better to have died a small boy than to fumble this football"

Joe Theisman: "Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."

Collecting football cards may indeed be a significant asset that you or your heirs will be able to maximize. Sure, it’s a matter of opinion, but in any case the Internet is the place for collectors with an investing slant, what with active sites like ebay.com, beckett.com, naxcom.com, thepit.com and etopps.com. Even the average collector can put up his own lucrative trading site.

It’s important to keep in mind however, that the experienced full time dealers are light years ahead in terms of so-called return on investments compared to most people who are looking to baseball cards as a primary investment tool for the first time. Getting the assistance of a good financial advisor is important when you are planning to put all your eggs in trading cards, so to speak.

John Heisman: "When in doubt, punt!"

Lou Holtz, Arkansas: "The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it."

Erk Russell, Georgia Southern: "At Georgia Southern, we don't cheat. That costs money and we don't have any"

As with any antiques, collect them all not because you’re only after their value decades from now. You will get the most out of them if you go after them because it’s a fun hobby. With regard to organization, something arranged according to a system (there are many choices; take the cue of some veteran or some online checklist) is more entertaining and more important. There are more and more fancy tools to help you do this, but the key is to just do it.

Use the following to store your cards.

Soft Sleeves – These are handy square clear plastic sleeve that you slide your card into.

Top-loaders – A tad bigger than the soft sleeves, top loaders are semi-ridged plastic.

Albums and pages –You can get special plastic pages with slots in them for your cards 9 to a page. Albums are a bit more expensive, but you’ll have a great way of organizing, displaying and talking about your cards.

Screw-down cases – These are sturdy, hard-plastic, two-piece cases that are screwed together to encase your card.

Lou Holtz, Arkansas "Motivation is simple. You eliminate those who are not motivated."

Archie Griffin: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."

Frank Leahy, Notre Dame: "A school without football is in danger of deteriorating into a medieval study hall."