SoCal Autograph Odysses

 For the first time in quite some time, I actually opened some hobby boxes. As you can probably tell if you read this blog at all, I've switched to the breaking platform to acquire a bunch of good autographs. However, I recently had the chance to purchase a Topps Chrome Premier League hobby box (my favorite product) as well as a Topps Chrome Women's Champions League box, both for cheaper than they usually sell. I ended up hitting a Hugo Ekitike autograph /75 from the EPL box, which is great because I am a Liverpool fan. On the women's side, I pulled a Khadija "Bunny" Shaw green auto /99. Shaw is one of the best players in the Women's version of the Premier League so it was a solid pull as well.  

 Over the last six months, I've made a concerted effort to add autographs of the biggest names in soccer history to my collection before the market catches up and bumps the prices up in line with sports that are more popular in the US. In my opinion, there has been a big market inefficiency when it comes to the soccer market in that the prices for global icons were not commensurate to their stature on a global scale. In other words, a signed card of Josh Allen (Bills quarterback) would be the same price as a signed card of Cristiano Ronaldo. With no disrespect meant on Allen, it frankly makes no sense. However, it has definitely led to a buying opportunity for me as I accumulate as many of these names as I can. Along that line of thinking, a couple weeks ago I purchased this Kaka autograph numbered /25. Kaka is a Brazilian legend and one of the premier players of his era. I should also note that I've also taken to trying to acquire autographs with lower print runs, as well. 

Taking AC Milan in Topps Chrome UCC breaks ended up being a solid play because I ended up with four legend autos from these breaks. Keep in mind, Milan was a bit cheaper than some other teams due to the fact that they did not have any current players in the set as they were not in the Champions league this season. Therefore, the only cards you can actually get are autographs of club legends. This works out perfectly for me as this is 95% of what I collect anyway, and it keeps the cost down. This last batch of autographs I got consisted of two stars, one being an all-time great. Andrea Pirlo blue wave auto numbered /150 as well as a Filipo Inzaghi purple wave auto numbered /75. The Inzaghi is also first on print, meaning it's number one in the batch. 

 Sometimes, it's not necessarily the all-time great of the greats that become the happiest pulls. Sometimes, it's really cool to pull an autograph of a player that played for your favorite team and was pretty close to being a club legend. In my case, I took Liverpool in a case break of Topps UCC Breakers Delight, and they ended up pulling this really cool Sadio Mane purple /75 autograph. I was thrilled with this hit, as much as I would have been for legends of the game.

 Another big soccer legend was recently added to the collection, as I had an opportunity to purchase a Neymar Mosaic autograph. As my collection has grown, my list of soccer legend names that I want to add to the collection has dwindled (and not coincidentally gotten more expensive) so I have to pick when and how I choose certain players. Some of the big names I have yet to acquire from a card standpoint are Messi, Maradona, and Beckenbauer. I do have a Messi signed artwork piece which is awesome, however. 

 Yesterday was probably the biggest mail day I've had in my time in this hobby. Via some breaks on Fanatics Live as well as a couple direct purchases, I had no fewer than six autographs delivered to me. Starting with hits from breaks, I got the following two AC Milan legends. Andriy Shevchenko orange auto /25 as well as one of the greatest defenders of all time, Paolo Maldini black lazer blue auto /150. I took AC Milan in quite a few breaks because they have such a big legends checklist.  Another hit from a break was this awesome gold /50 dual autograph of Newcastle legends Alan Shearer (the all time Premier League goalscorer) and Les Ferdinand. It's a really beautiful card in person as well. Finally, the last hit from a break in this post was from a Juventus spot I purchased, in which I hit David Trezeguet numbered /199. My two direct purchases were also huge autographs. The first is a Samuel Eto'o Panini Select green auto /5.  The other was Barcelona and Spain legend An...