Been a devout baseball fan all my life. In elementary school, I used to read several autobiographies a month and would pour over the stats in a baseball encyclopedia I got for my birthday one year (so I knew who the likes of Speaker, Crawford, and other "obscure" hall of famers were by age 7). I'd skip the ice cream man so I could spend any allowance / money earned from chores on baseball cards. And then there was playing the game itself... Since then, I've dedicated countless hours of my life going to games (Dodgers, Giants, and Mariners), managing fantasy teams, and playing in adult softball leagues. In addition to these activities, these "stupid little pieces of cardboard" strengthen my love for the game by connecting me to its history. Plus, they can be beautiful pieces of art. Lastly, as someone else mentioned, I now have the disposable income to do this =)
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