I been to all kinds of parties – beer, pizza, birthday, anniversary, wine tasting, graduation, surprise, garden, cocktail, tea, beach, bonfire, Christmas, bachelor, costume, dinner, farewell, pool, Super Bowl, potluck, karaoke, and dance, to name a few.  Last night, was my first RIP party. No, not a funeral wake!
This is an event where you “rip” open packs of baseball cards. In this case, 12 sealed boxes were involved including Big League Blasters (BL), Chrome Update Blasters, Heritage Blasters, Series 1 Monster, Archive Signature Series, UK Edition Hobby, Heritage High Number Hobby, Update Series, and Bowman Hobby. Each partygoer was randomly assigned a team after paying an entry fee and gets to keep those respective cards. 

Last night’s big winner, or hit, was the Dodgers and a signed/numbered rookie Bowman by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who just picked up a victory at Yankee Stadium. I drew the Cincinnati Reds and got numerous versions of rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz, who may set a league record for stolen bases. 

I arrived fashionably early at Blue Breaks Card Shop and was surprised to find that I was the only one there. I was anticipating an opportunity to meet the other players, but instead it turned out to be an online event. I had even foolishly taken some cards to trade. It was an indication of my age and old-fashioned expectations of social interaction. Instead, I ended up quietly observing the show from their back office. It reminded me of being in the studio watching a live TV show or newscast, as I often did before retiring from that business. The hosts of the show did all the ripping and staged the effort to make it more exciting. 

For me, after all these years, there’s nothing more thrilling than opening a pack of baseball cards. Once upon a time, it was also the smell of stale bubble gum, and even longer ago tobacco. It was interesting to see all the different types of cards available on the market, when as a kid, Topps was the only brand available for many years and then proceeded to buy up most of their competitors. Now, Topps has a line of various Major League licensed card products like Allen & Gunter, Bowman, Stadium Club, Heritage, etc. 

I was expecting a party where there was more social interaction than simply an online chat. I envisioned us sitting at tables talking about our favorite teams and exchanging stories and duplicates. I was lucky that the let me behind the scenes to watch but felt foolish about my expectations as a member of an older generation that once did everything face-to-face.