Bringing the Comic Con Experience to Sports Cards
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New York Comic Con is crowded, relevant and fun. There are so many people dressed as their favorite characters, carrying overstuffed bags of collectibles — all the while navigating the streets of New York City.
It’s amazing.
Yeah, you have flippers standing in line for Funkos or Demon Slayer Crocs, but they’re not what defines an event like New York Comic Con.
It’s the cosplayers, the collectors, the nerds, the gamers and everything in between happy to have found their weirdos.
It’s not perfect, but it doesn’t need to be.
And the entire time I walked to floor of the Jacob Javits Center one thought took over my mind: How do we get this feeling in sports?
Every summer, 100,000 people attend the National Sports Collectors Convention. Card collectors are happy to see their friends and look for cards to fill holes in their PCs.
But the vibe isn’t the same.
It’s decidedly different from a big Comic Con where people are there to buy, collect, interact, watch panels, dress up and have fun. The National has collectors and buyers, but also so many attendees looking to make money with the cards in their pelican cases.
Fanatics may be moving in that direction. In July, the company announced the launch of Fanatics Events, a venture looking to re-create the comic-con experience with sports fans.
Fanatics hired employees from Reed Pop, the company that puts on New York Comic Con and other big events, in order to try and pull it off.
Fanatics has been quiet regarding the plans, although it speculated that the first show will be next year, but there are things Fanatics has to consider and make a priority for these shows to capture the same vibe.
Inclusivity
The audiences between comic cons and sports card shows are different. The comic con crowds are more inclusive on just about every front: gender, race, sexual orientation and disabilities.
Inclusivity is baked into the cons from good signage about ADA entrances to having panels with a diverse speakers because of their knowledge and experience.
It’s not perfect, but it’s far closer than sports card shows where a booth celebrating Women in the Hobby is needed because female collectors want better representation.
Panels
The panels offered at comic cons get traffic. There is no complaint from the vendors that they are worried it’s going to pull people off the floor and take money away from the dealers.
That’s an actual reason I’ve heard in the past why the National doesn’t have more panels. They did incorporate a stage a few years back, but the panels still have a long way to go to drive attendance.
This is where Fanatics’ access comes into play. While the National (and TriStar) do a great job in getting athletes for signings, there is more that could be done with the athletes, which includes panels, activations with companies, or something else that’s fun — like get a shot off Dikembe Matumbo, try to beat Mookie Betts at bowling, or play against Cassius Marsh in Magic: The Gathering.
Corporate Activations
New York Comic Con had huge corporate booths and companies had a number of activities that promote community, education and collecting.
This past National got closer to that with a bigger corporate presence.
Vendor Variety
At New York Comic Con, I walked every aisle because I wanted to see what every booth had to offer. Because the crazy thing is, there is so much! Plushies, Funko Pop!, T-shirts, handmade crafts, beer steins, notebooks, figures, tattoos and, of course, comics!
The variety made walking the floor an absolute must because you didn’t know what you would find.
There’s so much that can be done to enhance card shows and events for sports fans.
This isn’t a new thought either. I wrote about this in 2010! Maybe it will finally happen.