What's It Worth to You?

So Michael Vick is due to enter a plea in court today. For those unfamiliar with what's going on and why it is significant here's a quick recap. Michael Vick is the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons; not just any quarterback but probably one of the better ones to have played the game in a long time. With agility and precision comparable to the popular Donavan McNabb, Vick was touted as the next big thing. He was already on his way to the upper echelons of superstardom within the football world when he suddenly came crashing down. Several months ago he was implicated in an alleged dogfighting ring. What he was accused of doing was arranging dogfights between pitbulls and making arrangements for those coming to watch the fights to gamble and place bets. Once word hit the proverbial street, it was a short run to the end zone of this and Vick is now facing the potential end of his career.

What's sad is that Vick had the potential to be one of the greats. He still does but now that these charges are looming over him, there's more chance that he'll remain a footnote and potential 'coulda-been' as opposed to a true legend. Now he'll likely be an infamous one. True legends are the ones we wish to emulate and play like. Kids look up to them as heroes and wish to achieve everything they have. That's part of the reason kids began to collect baseball cards. These days, cards now include all other sports as well. It's been a while since I entered a comic / card shop but from my days as an avid collector, I can remember speaking in hushed tones and handling cards and comics worth a lot with kid gloves to avoid any unnecessary damage. There were certain things that were looked upon with a certain degree of reverence and in the sports card world, the cards for superstar players were often the most coveted.

I can remember owning a Ricky Henderson baseball card from his rookie year and the amount of awe it inspired in many collectors. At the time, Henderson was still a superstar and as such, his card was 'valuable' because it represented a time when he was a 'could-be' instead of the star that he was at that time. I could never figure out who it was that decided a certain card was worth so much but it was enough for me that certain collectors considered them to be valuable. Still, like any volatile market, the value of cards and comics can fall quite quickly. For example, when Henderson came into question regarding his use of drugs and all, or when his career came to an end, there was a sudden drop in the 'value' of his card. Did I stay in the market for too long? Perhaps. Or perhaps I didn't adapt to the market.

How can one adapt to the market? Well, take for example Michael Vick. His card was worth a lot before this whole dilemma came out. There were those who would handle his card with care simply because they knew that great things could be expected of Vick. It was a worthwhile investment. Now, all of a sudden it looks as though his career is over and even if it isn't, there's little chance of him gaining the same amount of fan following and respect that he had prior to his charges going public. So the value of the card is gone right? Wrong. Adapt! Some industrious folks have found a way to 'tailor' the system to their benefit and make some money on the side.

Several people around the country have carefully 'fed' their Michael Vick cards to their dogs and are selling them on sites such as eBay for hundreds of dollars. I'll pause to give you a moment to stop laughing and wipe up the coffee that may have spilled all over your keyboard (apologies for any damage). Yes, it's true, cards that have been chewed on and slobbered over by pooches are now selling for nearly two or three times as much as cards that are in perfect condition. Perhaps it's a way for people to 'get back' at Vick but honestly, I find this just plain stupid. I mean it's just a card. In perfect condition it may be worth something to someone because it represents a certain period of time in that athlete's life. But to see it chewed on and passed off as a valuable piece of history, well, that strikes me as... reaching for straws.

I don't see why anyone would want to spend hundreds of dollars on a card that has been chewed up by a dog. Okay, you can think of it as a way of paying back Vick for his dastardly deed but is it really? I mean it's like buying worn out socks just because you think the shoe store is using child labor to manufacture their brand of socks. Sure the two are related by some shape or form, but does your protest really amount to anything? Not really. I guess the winners in this case are the people who came up with the idea to give their Vick cards to dogs to chew on. I suppose the moral victors are the ones who spend hundreds of dollars to get them. Perhaps it's a worthwhile investment. I should pick up a few Vick cards from the store and then get some dog to chew on them. I'd increase my investment by several times. Perhaps I should get while the gettin's good!