The Card Diary by Hobby S. Thompson

The Mid-Atlantic Sports Card Show is coming to the Silver Spring Civic Center on Saturday, November 23!

As its show ambassador, I wanted to bring on the promoter of the show, Ryan McCormick and while I had a set of questions to go through, we ended up talking about his oddball collection and I think both of us were really happy to go down the rabbit holes we did. This was a live stream on YouTube and the chat was involved in the live. Thank you to everyone who joined and shared their thoughts, and thank you to the podcast community for listening! Only four episodes away from 100!

Happy Veterans Day to all the incredible military service men and women who protect the United States of America!

This is an opportunity to hear from military veterans in The Hobby and how their service helps shape their experience with sports cards.

Here are their socials and where you can find them:

Trent - on Instagram @trentl41 and @slabfalconsportscards and breaking with Jetbreakers on Facebook and Whatnot

Dakota - on Instagram @dakotastorm_rips_cards and sets up as a dealer in card shows in the DMV and has his first ever card show as a promoter in March 2025 in Maryland

LT - on Instagram  @livinwithlt  and has his own YouTube channel and live streams

We talked about their active/past service in the military, whether they like or not like when people say "Thank you for your service," who they PC, how Trent yelled orders at Paul Skenes, how they should always support the Commander In Chief whoever it is, thoughts about Pat Tillman and Colin Kaepernick, what the flag means to them, and so much more!

Thank you to all of them and also thank you to those of you who joined and contributed in the first ever live chat in the YouTube stream! It was so much fun! - Denny

In this podcast episode, Ryan from GemRate drops by to talk about the state of grading with Victor Wembanyama cards. He shares his knowledge of the data around Wemby's most graded cards, such as which cards of his have the highest (and lowest) gem rate, and then we talk about the now-infamous 2023-24 Panini Crown Royale Kaboom insert set and how there is literally just one Gem Mint PSA 10 (coincidentally, of Victor Wembanyama) out of the hundreds of the graded cards currently out there in the card market across the entire player checklist. If you are into card grading and into Wemby cards, this is one podcast episode you WON'T want to miss!

Back in July of 2023, I tried to record a podcast episode with Raphael (Prizm Gawd), and we just could not make it work out, but it was just not meant to be. One plus year later, I feel like I am a better podcaster and have a bigger platform in The Hobby. Raphael shares who he was before he became Prizm Gawd and also his post show thoughts after Culture Collision V. Apologies for any audio issues!

🎙️CHAPTERS 🎙️

This 90th episode of the The Card Diary compares/contrasts the two varying styles of two different card shows - East Coast National and Culture Collision. They were held on different dates and areas of the country, but I talk about how one was more traditional and there was more baseball (and vintage baseball), while the other felt more modern and possibly going in the trend in which card shows are headed. I also talk about Fanatics Fest, as that was held on the same weekend as the East Coast National.

The Card Carver is the first ever card artist to be a guest on The Card Diary podcast. He talks about the different types of card art, his experiences at the last three Nationals, grading companies like PSA recognizing his work, the effect and influence of Piggy Banx, and much, much more! This was essentially a glimpse into one of our phone conversations and so I really hope you enjoy this special episode!

This episode puts the spotlight on one half of the power couple duo that runs the Culture Collision Trade Show. Prizm Gawdess (on IG @prizmgawdess) joins the podcast studio to talk about her hobby journey and the origins, logistics, and numbers behind one of the largest card shows in the US.

The fifth iteration of Culture Collision will be held from Friday, September 13, 2024 to Sunday, September 15, 2024. You can get your general admission, 3 day pass, and VIP pass at www.culturecollisiontradeshow.com (kids under the age of 12 are free)!

Note: I shared during this episode that I am happy to announce that I am part of the social media team as an official media ambassador for Culture Collision V!

Episode 87 of The Card Diary puts the spotlight Bailey (on IG @fire.sportscards), show promoter for a new local card show in the Northern Virginia area, specifically the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington, VA. We rank the 2022, 2023 and 2024 National, our local card show scene in Northern Virginia, and why he decided to get into card show promotion. Enjoy! - Denny