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I always am hesitant to admit to owning a “sports collection.”
I suppose this reputation is earned in part by where the typical sports collection is showcased; basements, rec rooms, dens and bar rooms. With the exception of a pro football player’s Great room, you tend not to see a diorama of Lambeau Field next to a family portrait. I have been very lucky over my lifetime that our family’s occupation directly related to our hobby--we have always worked in and around professional sports. As a result, I’ve been afforded some pretty amazing sports moments in my lifetime. The consequential souvenirs, trinkets and general junk I’ve accumulated mark these moments and some wonderful memories.
 The collections that adorn my walls would probably not fetch a king’s ransom on the open market, but are personal treasures to me. Through the years, I have been blind to the value of sports memorabilia, or at least, the perceived market value. For instance, I couldn’t tell you what a Mickey Mantle rookie card is worth (I do know enough that if you have one, hang on to it) but I do know that my ticket stub to the 1997 Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals when the Red Wings ended a 40 year old championship drought is priceless to me. I can’t tell you if my Superbowl program from 2002 is worth 10 dollars or 10 cents, but I can decisively report that I felt rich having my best friend and husband beside me drinking margaritas from the club level on that evening.
 These reminders deserve distinguished places around my home. In our house, there are tasteful keepsakes of past glory days in virtually every room. Besides the guest room which houses the majority of our collection, we also have framed newspaper articles and photos in the boys’ room. We have replicas of the Prince of Wales trophy and the Stanley Cup on our mantle. We even have row of stadium seats from the old Barn in St. Louis on our front porch. I particularly like to group many smaller items together in a giant frame. It solves the problem of where to put a lot of the “extras” but also adds exciting details to something that may appear ordinary.
 No doubt we will add to our collection once again in a couple of week’s when we attend Superbowl XXXIX in Jacksonville. I am already making room in the kitchen now….
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I fear the stereotype--those Bears fans on Saturday Night Live fighting obesity and cholesterol with stacks of baseball cards on card tables at trade shows. Certainly not a very glamorous collection for a hip young woman such as myself.
