Bear Market Microscope vs. Bull Market Binoculars + Are GOATs Really Blue Chip? + The Best Hobby Flex

So I think the metaphor that I latched onto in the bear market scenario is the microscope, that suddenly every card comes under a microscope and gets, uh, scrutinized much more carefully.

But the me- And, and that forges, um, collectors and, uh, refines them in a useful way.

And I think there's a different refinement that happens in the bull markets, uh, but the metaphor instead of the microscope is the binoculars.

So in a bull markets, we have to take out the binoculars and look further and look wider and see what else might be out there for us that we also like.

And that teaches or that, that, uh, th- that puts the pressure on the collector to expand their vision, to expand their scope, to acquire knowledge of new sets, of new categories.

And, uh, this ties back into, to the discussion earlier with Adam.

This, uh, puts pressure on the collector to develop a richer understanding of sports history and of the athletes that populate it.

And I think maybe there's a little bit of that at play when you guys were talking about Shaq and Iverson and Peyton Manning, some of these other players whose, uh, markets are now the ones that are, uh, running up over the last six months or so.

Uh, you know, I, I think, uh, I, I think we're still dealing with all-time greats there who are, uh, fairly obvious.

But, um, I, but I think, like, the, the more pressure gets applied to discover and unearth more players who have a compelling story to tell, who are part of the history of sports, uh, in a meaningful way, that, uh, that w- that when we're subjected to the pressure of having to do that, that we actually then develop the muscle, the mental muscle of, like, being able to discuss intelligent, uh, be able to discuss intelligently more layers of sports history that just make us better interlocutors, that make us better con- conversants, that will make discussions and thoughts about sports and history and cards, it will make it richer that, uh, that we had to learn that there are more players in the history of the sport than Michael Jordan.

Like, for example, there is a player in the history of the NBA who has more MVPs than Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan has five.

Uh, there's a player who has more.

I, I'm, I'm sure some people, the name has just jumped right into their head, and other people are like, "Well, who is it?" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Kareem has six regular season MVPs.

He is untied.

He is the sole owner of the most MVPs in NBA history.

Isn't that a cool stat? And you know what? If I was a Kareem collector sitting at a table with Michael Jordan '90s insert collectors, I'd say, "Hey man, all due respect to MJ, great player.

I collect a guy who has more MVPs than your guy does." And what can they say to that? What can they say to that? They can, they can, you know, say, "Well, you know, Jordan brand, Nike," you know, all this stuff.

And yeah, those are great points, and they carry the day in some regards, but they, they literally can't say that their player was recognized as the MVP of the regular season more times than my guy was.

They c- There, there's nothing they can say back to that.

S- And, and so I think you can actually multiply that.

And I think that some of the most interesting approaches to collecting right now are when people go into a different category, and then they do the research and bring that knowledge back to the rest of us, and I think that's impressive and in- and, and enlightening.

And I think the same thing can happen in sports.

Like, when somebody-- When I, when I encounter a page on Instagram that doesn't have the obvious players or that doesn't have the obvious sets, but can explain to me why they were compelled to get that set or that card or that player or that category or that character, and they can really explain to me in a way that's intelligible to me, and I don't need to...

So I think the metaphor that I latched onto in the bear market scenario is the microscope, that suddenly every card comes under a microscope and gets, uh, scrutinized much more carefully.

But the me- And, and that forges, um, collectors and, uh, refines them in a useful way.

And I think there's a different refinement that happens in the bull markets, uh, but the metaphor instead of the microscope is the binoculars.

So in a bull markets, we have to take out the binoculars and look further and look wider and see what else might be out there for us that we also like.

And that teaches or that, that, uh, th- that puts the pressure on the collector to expand their vision, to expand their scope, to acquire knowledge of new sets, of new categories.

And, uh, this ties back into, to the discussion earlier with Adam.

This, uh, puts pressure on the collector to develop a richer understanding of sports history and of the athletes that populate it.

And I think maybe there's a little bit of that at play when you guys were talking about Shaq and Iverson and Peyton Manning, some of these other players whose, uh, markets are now the ones that are, uh, running up over the last six months or so.

Uh, you know, I, I think, uh, I, I think we're still dealing with all-time greats there who are, uh, fairly obvious.

But, um, I, but I think, like, the, the more pressure gets applied to discover and unearth more players who have a compelling story to tell, who are part of the history of sports, uh, in a meaningful way, that, uh, that w- that when we're subjected to the pressure of having to do that, that we actually then develop the muscle, the mental muscle of, like, being able to discuss intelligent, uh, be able to discuss intelligently more layers of sports history that just make us better interlocutors, that make us better con- conversants, that will make discussions and thoughts about sports and history and cards, it will make it richer that, uh, that we had to learn that there are more players in the history of the sport than Michael Jordan.

Like, for example, there is a player in the history of the NBA who has more MVPs than Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan has five.

Uh, there's a player who has more.

I, I'm, I'm sure some people, the name has just jumped right into their head, and other people are like, "Well, who is it?" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Kareem has six regular season MVPs.

He is untied.

He is the sole owner of the most MVPs in NBA history.

Isn't that a cool stat? And you know what? If I was a Kareem collector sitting at a table with Michael Jordan '90s insert collectors, I'd say, "Hey man, all due respect to MJ, great player.

I collect a guy who has more MVPs than your guy does." And what can they say to that? What can they say to that? They can, they can, you know, say, "Well, you know, Jordan brand, Nike," you know, all this stuff.

And yeah, those are great points, and they carry the day in some regards, but they, they literally can't say that their player was recognized as the MVP of the regular season more times than my guy was.

They c- There, there's nothing they can say back to that.

S- And, and so I think you can actually multiply that.

And I think that some of the most interesting approaches to collecting right now are when people go into a different category, and then they do the research and bring that knowledge back to the rest of us, and I think that's impressive and in- and, and enlightening.

And I think the same thing can happen in sports.

Like, when somebody-- When I, when I encounter a page on Instagram that doesn't have the obvious players or that doesn't have the obvious sets, but can explain to me why they were compelled to get that set or that card or that player or that category or that character, and they can really explain to me in a way that's intelligible to me, and I don't need to...