The Show Must Go On

I wanted to take a minute before I start this post and thank everyone for the outpouring of support following the loss of my cat, Jericho, last night.  I got messages on here, Facebook, Instagram, text, kik and snapchat, all with well-wishes.  That meant a lot to me, and I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.  He really meant a lot to me, and after the arrangements I made today, he will be taken care of.  So, thank you all, again.

I'd like to say that he would want me to continue on posting as normal today, but I knew him well enough that he would not want me sitting here posting.  He would rather I be in the recliner with him on my lap, grabbing my hand and forcing me to pet him for hours.  I always told my wife that if he had opposable  thumbs, he would have been dangerous.

So, that being said, I would like to continue on as normal as I can with my next post from the National card show.  It is going to be so tough to show all of the cards I picked up, so I will probably condense them down into the best of the best.  I did want to start out with a showing of the Jonathan Schoop cards that I got.  The top card is the 2014 playoffs patch/auto of Schoop and was actually the first card that I picked up.  I had just landed, and took the shuttle to the hotel to check in, then I took the shuttle to the convention center and met Max and Andrew.  They immediately took me to a table that has the Schoop, and I bought it for $25.  Those playoff relics were a "tough get" and would run pretty high, so landing the Schoop was real nice.

Now, the biggest problem I have with all of the cards that I picked up is that I don't remember where all I got them.  The next couple of Schoops were gifts, I believe, from Andrew, Frankie and/or Max.  I wish I could remember who gave me what, but all of the cards were put into a box as we made our way around the show over the next 4 days.

The price tag on the back of this 2014 Bowman Inception Schoop auto says $2.00, and I could have very well picked it up myself.  I have a feeling that it was given to me by Max at that table, and I hope that he will remind me when he reads this post.

The auto is on-card, and looks amazing.  Inception looked really awesome that year, and I wish there were more Orioles in the product.

This Schoop auto came out of another cheap relic/auto bin, and again, I believe it was a gift from one of my friends.  From 2014 Panini National Treasures, this card is numbered 25/99 and looks like the old Sweet Spot product from UD.  I think this card is really cool.

I can say with about 65% confidence that I picked up this 2014 Topps Finest refractor auto of Schoop myself, from a $2 relic/auto bin.  I feel that this is the case because it was right next to an Andrew Lambo auto.  Heck, Max may have gotten me those cards as well.

Speaking of, I was blown away by the generosity of my friends while I was at the National.  Between the four of us (Me, Max, Andrew and Frankie), there were cards being passed back and forth, and all kinds of trades being made.  Care packages were handed off and lots of fun was had.  I think spending the National among friends was the best way to do it.  These are some of the best of the best collectors around, and I feel honored that they wanted to spend time with me.

Finally, I picked up two 2013 Pro Debut Heritage Schoops from a dine box.  I don't recall having any of these, as I only opened a couple packs.  I pretty much expanded the Schoop PC trememdously at the National.  I did pick up one other Schoop auto, but I will show that in a later post, as it has its own story behind it.

Thanks again for reading, and again, thank you all for the support.

Oh, by the way, today is my good friend, Frankie's birthday.  Head on over to his blog (here) and wish my buddy a happy birthday!