My First Trade Post

In the couple months since I started blogging, I've checked off a few of the blogosphere bucket list items.  Alliterative themed posts?  Check.  Throwback Tuesdays are among my favorite posts to write, though the exceedingly wordy "Wait, When Did He Play There? Wednesday posts perhaps could have used some more linguistic dexterity.

Card show recaps?  Gotcha.

A renewed appreciation for all things mundane in collecting?  My newly reorganized non-Pirate collections, now sorted by team and in binders by division would seem to think so.  Though I don't think I'll ever truly forgive Dime Box Nick for inspiring me to restart my 'Everything Bagel" approach to non-Pittsburgh collections.

But I had never made a trade.  Not that it bothered me.  I've never minded shelling out cash for cards.  This hobby is one of the few things I really spend money on, and even then I'm a penny pincher.

But when Adam from Thoughts and Sox posted on my recent Kordell Stewart additions saying he had some Kordell's available, I figured it couldn't hurt to at least see what he had.

My years on card forms hardened me to intense trading negotiations and a disproportionate percentage of borderline personality disorders.  As I wrote out the initial email to Adam, I prepared for the worst.  I began pulling any and every Red Sox card I could find, preparing for a terse back and forth of stiff negotiations.  Ready to bicker over the finer points of Trot Nixon versus 1998 base Topps.

Can you see why I rarely traded?  My experiences never went all that well.

So imagine my surprise when I opened up his reply email, saying simply "How about if I just send you the Kordell's and you can send me whatever you think is fair in Sox."

Wait.  That's it?  No two dozen revisions of the trae parameters?  No acting as if your cardboard is worth the life of your firstborn child?  No treating the trade as if we are both GM's of major league sports teams and our careers, our livelihoods, will be on the line if the trade isn't perfectly in tune with both our needs?  No acting as if anything below me giving up 5X the value of the cards I'm receiving will be completely and utterly unacceptable to your pallet?

Hmm.  I could get used to this blog thing.

When Adam's package finally arrived last week, I was thrilled.  I'd be lying if I didn't say I had been anxiously checking the mail in the days leading up to its arrival, completely unaware of its contents and perhaps a little nervous that I might not be able to reciprocate the sheer awesomeness of its content.

Luckily for me, the package was indeed full of awesomeness, but not toooo much awesomeness.  Adam sent me nine beautiful Kordell Stewart rookies, the remnants of what he said was once a small Kordell PC.  And after all, what collector in the mid 90's didn't have some kind of Kordell collection.

Of the nine cards, eight of the RC's were new to my collection.  Only the Stadium Club was a duplicate, but even then it is a major upgrade over the well love copy that is a holdover from my boyhood collection.

And out of all the cards, the Action Packed card above is by far my favorite.  I usually prefer rookies in the team's pro jersey, so I'm surprised I didn't prefer the Action Packed card two cards down, featuring him in the appropriate shades of black and gold.  But something about this card I instantly fell in love with.  It just seems like such vintage Kordell, making a light throw off his back foot, almost reminiscent of a shortstop.  It perfectly showcases the athleticism and outside the box play that made him such a blast to watch.

These cards undoubtedly don't have quite the same luster they had 15 years ago.  Each card was toploadered or in a snapdown case, and the light yellowing on the edges of the toploaders displayed the hallmarks of cards that once held an esteemed position.

Today, Kordell is probably better known to younger fans as a B-list analyst for ESPN's lesser shows, or the guy who apparently just divorced some kind of C-list reality star.

But these cards instantly brought back the excitement that Kordell brought to both the game and to collecting.  Maybe had I been a bit older, I might have found hi play as maddening as my dad did, screaming at the tv.  Instead, any one of those highlight reel plays he could make could negate a months worth of poor games, overthrown receivers, or 4th quarter interceptions.  I guess that's the advantage of watching sports as a pre-teen.  The great plays seem even greater, but the bad plays quickly fade from memory.

The package is definitely a great way to start off my trading in blog-land.  If my first experience is any indication (and from other bloggers I've read, I think it is), I'm really looking forward to future trades.  My Pirate holes have sadly become increasingly harder to fill, but my Steeler, Pens, and college collections are very much in their infancy, so hopefully I can help build those collections while also getting some stuff that is just wasting away in boxes here into loving homes.

A big thank you to Adam for an unimaginably easy trade, and for adding some true gems to my collection.  Hopefully the package heading your way is at least a small token of my appreciation