I don't collect much in the way of autographs, but I do collect a lot of stuff, and not all of it sports.
It took me a long time to become a more "serious" collector. And I'm probably not entirely there yet.
I collect pretty much whatever I enjoy in some way. And I've finally escaped the need for "completeness". Collecting in a couple areas where completeness isn't really possible has helped a lot.
I enjoy stuff for a lot of reasons, Nostalgia, a sense of preserving something I find interesting, especially if it seems nobody else cares at all. And sometimes for a sense of discovery. (My wife says I like the hunt better than the catching, and she may be right)
I've seen a few hobbies get so the better things are out of reach (for me anyway) and the lesser ones are boring.
I do find that everyone who collects eventually takes a brief break to reassess their interests and goals.
Lately I've begun taking some of the stuff I've found and doing a little writeup about why it's special and putting it in a binder. It makes the item a bit more relateable, and more than just some old bit of paper in a box somewhere.
Here's a couple pages I did for a postcard I found in a postcard dealers stock and took a chance on. The hockey stic pic is from another member here, and added a lot to the overall page.
