Welcome to Josie Blogs About Sports!

If I had a dollar for every time I casually mentioned starting a sports blog and someone generally approved of that idea, I would have one dollar. And do you know how I would spend that one oddly-earned dollar? On football cards.

A few short months ago I was just an average Mathlete who couldn’t have definitively told you exactly how many points a touchdown was worth. I considered ballet my “sport” and I waited every year for that one glorious day that I would turn on ESPN: The Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee.

And then I met the Raiders.

Now I check espn.com for game scores, have NFL Mobile on my Droid, and find myself engaged in conversation with strangers about running backs and drafts and how surprising it is that I am a Raiders fan. I wear Raiders gear and even got a new job for which I wear all black clothing. Coincidence? Yes. Still cool? Definitely.

But the biggest change that football has brought to my life is football cards. I thought that was only a baseball thing! It isn’t!

Here are some hot tips for creating the 2nd-best football card collection ever! (Mine is the best, and that’s not changing, but you can go for second!)

Friends! A good way to start is to buy a pack for each of your friends and then have a trading party. It is crucial to win them over at this event, because at the end of it, you must imply that the next round is on them. You walk away with cards, trading buddies, and the wonderful satisfaction of having guilted your friends into getting you a present.

Money! They are expensive. Get a second job (preferably where you wear your team colors) to support this new expensive habit.

Organization! I sort mine into sensible, related categories. Some of my favorites include:

Raiders-  (OBVIOUSLY)
Historical-looking cards- Vintage is so in right now.
High kicks- Impressive.
Big Catches- Also impressive.
Are we dancing or are we playing football?- Impressive, but in a different way
Cool names- such as TJ Houshmandzadeh, Oshiomogho Atogwe, Nnamdi Asomugha, Cortland Finnegan, and Elvis Dumervil, to name a few
Last names that are nouns- Nick Mangold, Sean Weatherspoon, Sergio Kindle, Andre Johnson.
Last names that are almost real words- Steve Breaston.
Football players I have heard of- Eli Manning, Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Sam Bradford. Originally a double card with Troy Aikman and Tony Romo went in this category until I realized I was thinking of Clay Aiken and roma tomatoes.
Know Thine Enemy: Chargers, Chiefs, Broncos-keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Cards with Fancy Borders- Holographs! Shiny parts! Gold and silver embossed writing!
Cards that don't look like professional football cards-This might as well just be a page for Panthers.
Lions cards I have been meaning to send to Jess-Seriously Jess, I am getting around to it.
NFL players that my mom wants me to marry- Colt McCoy. From the LONGHORNS. WHOA. PLEASE DON'T TELL THE HUSKERS.
Football players in deep thought- Priceless.
Cards from another team's player but for which a Raider is also in the picture-Rare and beautiful. My favorite is a Broncos card with Jabar Gaffney being tackled by a Raider! Take that!

Whew! That was a lot of blogging about sports!

CONTEST TIME:

Send me your best idea for a football card category idea to josieblogsaboutsports@gmail.com, and I will not only feature that category in my collection and blog, but I will also send you a prize! It’s TBD, but I promise it will be cooler than a paper clip and less cool than winning the Super Bowl.

Which reminds me: THE SUPER BOWL IS ON TODAY!!!

GO PACKERS!

See you next week, sports fans.