Night Owl Cards

I still get excited about modern stuff. I know I'm not supposed to do that. I'm supposed to be a bitter, old man. I'm supposed to hate all the new rules they're installing in baseball. I'm supposed to dislike all the new baseball card sets. I'm supposed to complain about it all, while sitting in my rocker from afar. There are people who do this. I know them. There is one person, who is my age, who refuses to watch the baseball season happening right now (is it still happening?). And he'll tell anyone proudly that he's not watching. There are people, who every time I criticize a modern baseball set, virtually stand up and applaud, saying, "now you're one of us, night owl!!" But actually all I am is a thoroughly modern guy. It's 2020 and I still like baseball and collecting cards, and my question for those who have "opted out" of watching baseball and collecting current cards is: Do you like baseball? Do you like coll...

Topps Series 2 was released at the end of June. I bought my first packs yesterday. This would have been bizarre behavior five or six years ago. Remember how I used to whine if I didn't get cards even a week after everyone else? Even with a pandemic and an inexplicable rush on cards in the card aisles, I would have found a way before now to get some Series 2 cards. The old night owl was visiting big box stores at least once a week back then. But I won't use covid or binge buyers as an excuse. Those aren't the primary reasons I haven't owned any Series 2 yet. The primary reason is: Have you seen it? This is the worst-looking flagship set since 2017. And as often happens with flagship sets that I don't like, the animosity grows as the year goes on. By the time Series 2 arrives, I don't care. But I do miss ripping packs every now and again. I stopped at Target after a trip to the post office -- just my third Target visit since March -- and grabbed a few...

It really is interesting to see the extreme reactions to starting up professional sports amid the covid outbreak. As usual, I'm somewhere in the middle, constantly shaking my head at one side or the other. The most recent news to freak out over (or at least last I checked) is a number of Marlins testing positive for the coronavirus. As if we didn't know this was going to happen. What are we going to do now? What will the schedule look like? Will we ever play again? Should we play again? Should we have started playing again? Who are the Marlins anyway? Perhaps you've heard, I'm not a fan of speculation, especially in a situation that no one has encountered before. There are far too many "experts" blathering into the air, who know only what their emotions tell them. I'll politely watch from the sidelines and adjust accordingly. The truth is, baseball's restart plan is indeed ambitious, considering there is travel involved. It's also true t...