I went to a local card show today, and the ratio of sports to TCG (mostly Pokemon) was about as usual lately. At least 60% Pokemon. And out of the 60 or so tables, 1 vendor had majority vintage sports. Frankly, I hardly attend local shows anymore. There’s just almost no vintage–and in some cases, barely any sports!
Of course, neither vintage nor sports is dead. The National. Strongsville. Philly. Etc. Vintage collectors have plenty of shows. And “card shows” aren’t the primary marketplace for vintage–especially for high-end. But it begs the question: what’s the future of “the local card show”?
What Happened to Sports?
This could be “old man yells at cloud.” But I miss the days when “card show” was synonymous with “sports cards.” And it makes me wonder whether this is a passing fad, or the new normal for card collecting.
But what happened to sports and sports cards? Some possible factors include price barrier to entry (packs and boxes are expensive) and fewer youth engaged in baseball fandom. While sports cards were once the backbone of the hobby, the cultural and economic momentum has shifted toward TCGs.
For the record, sports cards (vintage and modern) are doing just fine. It’s just that TCG is doing even better.
Does Pokemon Have Staying Power?
As much as I would like to write off TCG as a passing fad, there are some signs that it is now a very permanent part of the card show landscape. Strong fundamentals, investment interest, and a nostalgia factor for younger collectors that rivals sports fandom work in favor of TCG.
On the downside, I do wonder about oversupply and potential volatility in a market driven at least in part by influencers and hype cycles. Just like the junk wax era of sports cards, there is no accountability to consumers for print runs. Pokemon sets are printed for an indetermined amount of time depending on interest. And without the manufactured scarcity factor (no 1/1 or numbered cards), the total population of any one card is a mystery. As one who collected in the late 1980’s–sounds familiar, and scary.
Grading Trends
Grading trends mirror what we see at card shows–TCG represent a vast majority of newly graded cards. Out of 2.2 millions total cards graded in September, over 1.2m were TCG. To put it another way, PSA graded more Pokemon cards last month than everything else combined!
Year over year trends favor TCG as well. For September 2025, PSA sports volume was down 4% year over year, but TCG was up 93% according to Gemrate.
Can Sports Rebound?
Can sports rebound at the local show? Of course! But it will take a lot of things going right. For one, nostalgia is cyclical. As today’s young kids age, they have some modern-day megastars to collect in the future in Shohei Ohtani, Patrick Mahomes, or Victor Wembanyama.
If Fanatics is ultimately successful in reinventing the sports collecting experience, some of the appealing aspects of TCG (games, etc.) might work their way into sports card collecting.
Will a sports collecting resurgence work its way back to vintage? Or is vintage a totally different product and demographic from TCG and modern shorts?
Let’s talk about the future of sports and sports card collecting. Or you can just confirm the “old man yells at cloud” thing!
The point about the higher costs and difficulty of getting current sports (especially baseball) cards possibly pushing kids into other areas of collecting is a good one. I think the same thing is happening to MLB itself. The cost and difficulty for kids to attend games—or even just watch them on TV—are driving them toward other, non-sports interests.
I grew up with MLB always in the background or on the radio. It was part of the fabric of my life, and that naturally transferred into my card-collecting addiction. My kids loved and excelled in Pony League, but the cost of going to MLB games or maintaining a TV/streaming subscription has taken that fabric away.
Corporate America tends to focus only on the next dividend, not long-term investment. Unfortunately, I think MLB is suffering for it. I hope I’m wrong, but the constant hyping of players today doesn’t change the reality that kids just aren’t watching like they used to.
I just don’t understand TCG and Pokemon cards. There’s nothing REAL behind them. Sports cards are a material representation of something that real people actually did in the real world. They are a way of memorializing history. My collection commemorates the history of the game through representative material culture. And I just don’t see that being relevant or applicable to TCG. But, like you say, I’m probably just an out-of-touch old man yelling at the clouds.
I have been constantly frustrated by the number of Pokémon dealers at shows. As you said, 50/50 Pokémon/Sports is the norm, and then usually only a small number of the sports dealers have vintage. That is pushing me to attend fewer shows and only the larger ones where it’s worth the 2-3 hour drive. I much prefer to buy in-person where I can hold the card and really see it (as much as the lighting at the show will let me). What I don’t understand is why both Pokémon and sports dealers are at the same show. Seems to me that buyers collect either one or the other, but not both. If demand is so high, the Old Man in me is saying “get your own dang show!”.