After months of speculation and negotiation today it becomes official...in layman's terms- we have the seats. As Yankee Stadium (not the amusement park across the street where baseball is played now) is dismantled we will literally be getting it piece by piece. We will be offering pieces of the famed facade, signage as well as the sought-after holy grail of memorabilia- the seats. There is obviously a ton of excitement surrounding this venture. Interestingly enough when the news was broken I kind of felt left out. Anytime something hot has hit (Aaron Boone home run, 04 Red Sox, 07 Red Sox, 07 Giants, Peyton Manning etc..) I have pretty much been in the middle of it (there is a lot of be careful what you wish for though of course when being in the middle of something as hot market as those). Then I started thinking about it and the bigger picture and, actually, how it relates to all of you. On the autograph end there truly is no limit to the opporunities and imaginative ideas that can come out of this incredible deal...both on my end and yours as the collector.
All of a sudden, as detached as I originally felt from this, a million things popped into my head. How many #2's are there? Do we do different editions with 00 AS/WS MVP and/or The Captain? Do the seat numbers even go up to #42?..or do you take a #4 and a #2 and Mo signs the #4 and inscribed the #2? Do we get some #8's signed with Larsen and the PG inscription? Do the '98 team on seatbacks? A '77/78' project on seats? ... those are just a few things that came to mind. Really the moral of the story is the possibilities are endless with these pieces of history. I envision that in a few months when we are heavy on Yankees appearances again there will be some familiar faces as well as new customers travelling store to store to personally load up their seats with signatures. August 15th we have a Yankee No-Hitter show at Last Licks Manhattan....how incredible would a Yankee stadium seat be with all the no-hitter pitchers?... but then do you add the perfect game pitchers, and/or all the catchers that called those games?
The above is really what makes collecting fun...and for the collector that has every Jeter piece or every Mariano collectible now there is something that you definitely don't have...and you can treat that already incredible piece of memorabilia as a finished good...or just a starting point. From what I have observed over the years it seems to be more about the adventure and excitement of starting and continuing your own project than the end result. I have seen collectors drive hours to an appearance to add a utility infielder or a back-up quarterback to a multi-signed piece. It wasn't that they had to have them on there...they wanted the most complete piece possible.
The seats are incredibly exciting. They are arguably the most desirable unsigned collectible ever. Everything I just discussed doesn't just apply to the seats though. If you are passionate about collecting come out the appearances, start your own project...have fun with it. I just went to six Dead shows in a little over a week...that's what I am into and am extremely passionate about it. That is why I discuss my musical exploits on occasion in this forum. It's the same passion you all have for collecting...and it's great. As I have said here countless times my guy is Phil Lesh (bass player for the Dead - has the tightest band in the WORLD right now). I did 12 out of 14 shows at the Nokia last Fall (and was bummed out I missed 2!) That's the same kind of intensity and adulation I see every weekend at our appearances. Interestingly enough I had zero expectations going into this current Dead tour. While it got incredible last weekend in Philly (last ever Spectrum shows) the first few I caught were marginal. A friend of mine kind of summed it up before Philly: I go to the Phil shows because I want to but I go to the Dead shows because I have to (glad I did because Philly was as hot it gets!)...it is what I do, who I am and need to support those guys. There truly is a correlation between the two. If you want to support the industry come out to the appearances and/or make a small purchase when you get the email specials...help support it and keep it going. If you are reading this post chances are you are a passionate collector so, even in tough economic times, try to buy a baseball (if not a seatback), come out to the Nick Swisher signing Sunday, start a no-hitter project.. this business really isn't about us..it's about you...and, after my serious digression into the Philzone, that brings us full circle to the original theme of this post- the seats. The demand is overwhelming for them already...and we got them because it's what you, the collector, wants.
Enjoy the day! Go Lakers!


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