Fanatics Fest Impresses, But Sports Cards Must Boost Their Appeal
For anyone comparing Fanatics Fest to the National, don’t.
I’m a skeptic by nature.
I ask questions. I keep an open mind. I don’t believe something just because someone says so. Question. Watch. Analyze. That’s what I do.
So, imagine my mindset as I headed into the first Fanatics Fest.
I had no expectations. Even though there was plenty of hype heading into the event, I didn’t rely on that. I needed to experience it for myself and make my own decisions.
Rumors swirled for weeks about attendance or the potential lack thereof. Celebrities and athletes were expected to show up in droves, and the autograph list on Fanatics’ site got longer by the day.
There was so much surrounding Fanatics Fest that it was hard to know what was real.
Setup day was my first opportunity to see Fanatics Fest up close. After getting the CGC Cards booth ready, I walked around and looked at the other exhibits.
One thing was clear. That was NOT the National. That’s not a good or bad thing. It’s just the fact the two events offer something different.
Fanatics Fest had every sports league in attendance with different activities at their booths. At the MLB “booth,” you could hit wiffle balls in a tiny stadium, run the 40-yard dash at the NFL area, shoot pucks into a laundry machine at the NHL space, hit the pub with MLS, or do a walk-out entrance of your favorite wrestler at the WWE. space
I was impressed. This was a party for sports fans.
Where else can you go and see Tom Brady taking swings in a batting cage or Rob Gronkowski hanging out with fans or Peyton Manning ripping packs of cards all in one place?
It was a sports fan fest like the MLB All-Star Game merged with a regional card show.
Fanatics did an excellent job of bringing sports fans to a sports festival.
The show had a more diverse crowd than I have seen at any card show. Lots of locals attended and brought their families.
One thing, however, is that I felt diversity wasn’t on display on the sports card side of the event. The Topps Hobby Stage was a nice addition with influencers in the hobby space giving talks about grading, pack rips, content creation and more.
However, the people on the stage did not represent those attending Fanatics Fest.
And to grow this hobby — Representation matters.
Turn those sports fans into sports card fans by showing them examples of who they can be. Let them see themselves in others that look like them.
I’ll repeat it and say it 100 times if I have to: REPRESENTATION MATTERS!
On the first official day of the show, I walked down W. 37th St. toward the Javits Center in New York City and considered how the streets look compared to New York Comic Con.
It was an unfair comparison, I knew. During NYCC, people walk all over Midtown in their cosplay. The front of the venue is bustling with cosplayers, street teams and advertisements screaming in your face.
The front of Javits for Fanatics had a few cabs and bike peddlers hoping to whip someone through the traffic-jammed streets. There were not a lot of people in front of the building although many of the lines were downstairs.
I took a picture for prosperity (above). I want to compare how Fanatics Fest looks in its first to one in years to come.
The first installment of Fanatics Fest was a good start. It brought fans in the doors, exposed them to collectibles and showed an immersive world of what sports and entertainment offer.
Writing for SI
Recently, I had time off from work and was able write more. In that time, I began writing articles for Collectibles on SI.
SI = Sports Illustrated.
I’ll be writing quick hit pieces with a focus on cards. I love the business of cards and hope to take a deeper dive.
Here are some article I wrote:
I got a chance to speak Fanatics’ CEO Mike Mahan and CCO Avery Jessup ahead of Topps Hobby Night. Link.
Topps Announces Major Licensing Deal Adding Disney, Pixar and Marvel to its Portfolio. Link.
2024 Bowman Chrome Baseball Includes Fun GPK Cards. Link.
5 Shohei Ohtani Rookie-Year Cards to Collect that Won’t Break the Bank. Link.
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We’re officially official!
So true! I feel the hobby is spinning out of control and the prices just continue to go higher and higher. I have no clue how any kid can afford ANY card at this time. They are ruining the hobby by making it a HIGH ROLLERS only hobby. Which takes all the fun of it for this 54 year old collector who's been collecting cards since 1978.