True Value
No, I'm not talking about the hardware store.
I spent the weekend at a fan convention for my favorite team, and it started me thinking. One of the things advertised is "Get autographs of your favorite player!" Really, what are autographs? From some, they are illegible scribbles (especially after they've already signed 200). It's a name. When I was in about 6th grade and was collecting baseball cards, I remember finding a Ryne Sandberg rookie card at the local hobby shop for $20 less than the Beckett guide price. I flew home on my bike, all excited that I could get this baseball card. I remember my mom saying to me, "You know, it's really only worth as much as someone is willing to pay you for it." Is anyone going to pay me anything for the Bobby Howry autograph I have on my convention pass? Is anyone going to actually pay me $40 for my Ryno rookie card? Doubtful (Well, maybe now that he's in the HOF I could make some money on the rookie card, but when I was in 6th grade, no). Yet everyone and his/her brother-in-law are stampeding over each other to get a chance to shove a piece of paper in a celebrity's face.
Last year at this same convention, I had the privilege of meeting my favorite player and talking to him for a couple minutes. Everyone that I told about it asked me if I got his autograph, and I said no, I didn't, and people couldn't believe it. But truthfully, I would rather have the chance to talk to him and have a picture taken with him than have his name scribbled on a baseball or scrap of cardboard. The same thing happened this year. I ran into my favorite (position) player and got to talk to him for about 5 minutes about God, life, and baseball. He was super nice, and even remembered me the next time I saw him.
So what's the deal with autographs and memorabilia? Why are we, as a society, so obsessed with fame, fortune, and the things that these people have touched and signed? Is it really worth anything? People stood in line for HOURS to walk past a table where these guys were sitting signing. Personally, I would rather spend time getting to know them as real people. Any thoughts?
posted by KBush @ 1:52 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
I'm gonna do some reading this semester about the accumulation of THINGS that our culture is obsessed with. I mean, what are collections, really, except a big investment in having stuff? I don't know why we do it, but I hope to get smoe ideas.
It's about the memories. I look back through old collections of baseball cards, and it sparks old memories of things that go so far beyond just collecting cardboard rectangles. It's a magical experience.
Honestly, how much will my Dave Martinez autograph ever be worth? Nothing. But when I get the program out and look through it, I can remember very vividly sitting three rows behind the opposing bullpen at Tiger stadium on a beatiful day, watching Roberto Hernandez warm up for the Sox, watching the ump take a home run away from Harold Baines on an incorrectly made fan interference call, and watching Scott Ruffcorn pitch like crap against Detroit. If not for the meaningless autograph I got during BP that day, I probably wouldn't remember hardly anything about that trip other than that I went and saw the Sox lose to Detroit.
And on the other side of the coin--sorry, but I wouldn't really want to give you the penny I found between my couch cushions. I suppose it really is how much someone is willing to pay. However, if you happen to have a signed picture of Antony Sher lying around, or, shucks, I'll even take Hugh Grant--that I would pay for! Some day I'll show you my Psalty the Singing Songbook autograph...
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