Sports memorabilia on Christmas sure to bring joy | CPT PPP Coverage

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When fishing presents from underneath the tree and excitedly unwrapping Christmas goodies today, maybe just maybe you’ll unwrap a piece of sports memorabilia.

Whether it’s a young kid just getting into the sports world or an adult that’s been invested for as long as they can remember, taking the wrapping paper off a piece of sports memorabilia is sure to bring a smile and Christmas joy to any sports enthusiast.

While the big boys like the T206 Honus Wagner, Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” jersey and Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball rake in millions, it’s nice to see the most obscure pieces of sports memorabilia mean something to somebody.

When I was a student at Arkansas State University, I watched the Red Wolves’ soccer team as a diehard fan and covered the team as a student sports reporter. The joy and friendship that team brought me will last a lifetime, but so will a few pieces of the team I still have in my possession.

Proudly displayed in my Hot Springs apartment is an A-State soccer jersey signed by the Red Wolves’ all-time leading goalscorer, and a scarf from the Sun Belt women’s soccer championship (player-issue only, trust me, I tried to buy one). In another corner is a promotional schedule poster signed by every member of the team.

Is it a poster signed by all the members of the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty of the 1990s or the jersey off David Freese’s back from when he crushed the Rangers’ dreams? Maybe not, but in my heart, it’s all the same.

Once you start exploring the memorabilia market, it’s easy to get caught up in flipping, buying and reselling. While it’s certainly nice to make a few bucks — I’ve done it myself — sometimes you just have to sit back and realize what you have in your hands.

When my dad passed down some of his trading cards from when he was a kid, I scavenged through the binders for cool looking cards but also in the frame of mind I might just come across a top dollar item.

Then I saw it. Sitting there in the pages was a real, original 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente trading card. Famous, or infamous, because it was his final card after he died in a plane crash on his way to aid victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua.

In prime condition, the card can bring over $1,000. The card in my possession was in no such condition. Slightly disheartened that it wasn’t a PSA 10, I soon slipped out of it and realized I was holding a piece of history of a great ball player and great person. Now the card hangs above my dining table with a host of other cards in a framed display.

I’ve been a sports memorabilia aficionado since I can remember. My dad can no doubt recall a famous story of me leaping over rows and rows of chairs at Busch Stadium in St. Louis just to get down to the field and have a Dodgers player, who I still don’t know who is to this day, sign my ticket to the game.

Hopefully someone today tears open the package on a sports memento that will give them the same feverish attitude toward securing more pieces of sports memorabilia in the future that I, as a typically shy kid, had as I turned into a hurdler on a St. Louis summer day.

A friend from back home in North Little Rock excitedly sends pictures of any new Tennessee Volunteers relics he gets for his mancave into a group message, and although none of the other recipients in the group support Tennessee, we all share our “oohs and ahs” as memorabilia enthusiasts.

While the Tennessee orange might burn the eyes of a friend who is a Razorback fan, there’s something about sports memorabilia that brings all us sports people closer together.

Maybe you unwrapped a one-of-one Julio Rodriguez card from his rookie year that could be worth thousands, or maybe you were given a signed poster from the basketball team at National Park College. Either way, the price tag isn’t what matters. Sports memorabilia brings us just that much closer to the games we truly breathe and live as fans every single day.