THWC 416: I really made you mad!

What's up, everybody? How about with Cage episode 4164 16? I'm pretty sure, if memory serves, that number sticks out in my brain. I'm gonna mess this up, I think. But for some reason, I'm like, oh, 416. Is there anything crazy with 416? You know, I did 409. We cleaned stuff up, you know, 401k, you know, 411 for information. We did, like, all kinds of stuff. I'm pretty sure 416 was the date that Michael Jordan played his last game. I should look that up before I said it. But I'm pretty sure Michael Jordan's Last game was 416. Let's. Let's look it up. Michael Jordan's last game. This is why we all have pocket computers. And this episode, 416, brought to you by Arena Club, brought to you by card ladder use code. Cage, save yourself a couple bucks. And by the Philly Show. And there it is. The Google machine has said Michael Jordan played his final game of his NBA career on April 16, 2003, as a member of the Washington Wizards against the Philadelphia 76ers. It stuck out in my brain, 416. I think I used it before on this podcast, and that's probably why it's something that I remember, something about numbers. But we're not gonna talk about Michael Jordan today. Although, you know, a goat finishing his career is sort of a nice segue into Ronaldo being eliminated yesterday in the World cup and having some World cup conversation. So I guess, you know, it works. You might as well go with it, 416, because I really made you mad yesterday. I really made you mad. Because if you haven't listened at 415, go back and listen to it. Unless you are somebody who doesn't want to be upset. My wife listened to it, told me I was too negative. And, you know, that. That even though she believes that soccer is fixed, I was still too negative. Oh, man. Well, here's the proof, right? The proof is in the pudding. Everybody was geared up and excited for a game yesterday between Portugal and Spain. And it was so exciting, so much scoring. Just the offense was everywhere. And the. The Spanish team prevailed one to zero, sending off Ronaldo, ending his World cup career. He's not finished playing. I don't believe just that's going to be his last World cup game for Portugal. You know, he's in his 40s. I think he'll be 45, maybe the next World Cup. You know, those of us who have reached that age, I don't know how he's doing, what he's doing now. I mean, forget about it. You know, I played a pickup game of basketball on 4th of July with some people at my house, and I'm still in pain from it. So I don't know. I don't know how these guys do it at the age they're doing a little extra, extra credit here and extra respect for, you know, LeBron and doing what he's doing and looking to continue to play for, you know, for. For more years. Soccer. Let's start off with this. It has captured the attention of the world. I guess the World cup does that, right? I came out yesterday and did a big thing about Holland cards because we were coming in and talking about how, you know, Holland had a big game and, and knocked out Brazil. It's a young Brazilian team. I don't think anybody expected them to be in the Final Four. They were not, you know, a Final Four favorite. This was an early knockout. I know Norway was an underdog, but nor the Norwegian team is very good. Anyway, Norway will be an underdog against England. And, you know, really what I'm doing now, you know, in talking about Holland specifically and his cards is exactly what I should be doing. It's what I've been doing here for years. July 16th. Another day that will live in infamy. July 16th, I'll start podcast. That's the day that Fanatics Fest opens. I'll start my seventh year of podcasting. You know, about the hobby I started July 16th of 2000 and I've done, you know, 1500 episodes since. I've done a similar episode slash content to that Holland dozens of times. It's not always about Holland. It's about someone else. It's about the market. It's not even about soccer. And I tried to explain this to people in, in. In my. My DMs, which, wow, did I get a lot. I learned a lot of stuff yesterday, so we'll get to that in a second too, which is always a fun little upshot of, of the content machine and the hobby. I definitely got an education yesterday from, from folks who, who know the space, know the market, and know the sport better than me, which is great. I mean, I'm always down for that. Those are some of my favorite dms. I'm always looking to learn and, and, you know, know, hopefully make better content as a result of it. But guys, the message is always the same. You know, the time to buy Holland is not the time where everybody else is buying them. You Know, that's the, that, that you could use that for everybody else, you know what I mean? You could use it for everybody else. You know, everybody expected LeBron to break the scoring record. He probably shouldn't go out and buy LeBron on the night that he breaks the scoring record, you know what I mean? As another, you know, good example, right? So I've probably done that same thing a million times. I got the chart that I put out. Everybody loved, right? Everybody loved. There's a card letter chart, you know, that shows Holland and you know, the base card and you know, his, his PSA 10 and the chart, it's like way high and then it dips and stays flat for like two years and then yesterday, little blip up. What do you think is going to happen? You know, he's probably not going to win. The odds are not with Norway as good as he's playing now. Are the cards going to go back to that flat line? Maybe not, but they're not going to continue this, you know, meteoric rise up. Most likely people really wanted to fight me on that and really wanted to fight me on what his best card is and, and, and, and the like. The one comment that I got that I enjoyed was the flip side to the equation, which is with World cup and with Holland having the success that he's having, that there are more cards that come out that people are, are selling their cards and more willing to sell their cards, which means that there's an increase in supply and that then in turn there are some good cards that come out. Now I'm gonna split the hair there just like I did in my response to this in dms, that's true and not true. The cards that I'm talking about, the cards that most casual fans, the people who are going to go out there and say, oh wow, this guy Holland's good, let me go buy a card of his. The vast majority of people are going to buy a tops chrome rookie card of him or a refractor or a Bundesliga or maybe even a Finest, because people like that first card with the Salzburg uniform, etc. Etc. Most people are not waiting for a really great card to come out. A first year dynasty which is, you know, number with a great patch, you name it, they're not looking for that. And yeah, if one of those comes out, I get it. You know, you might be paying a little bit of a hype price for it, but you have to because the only reason that card has come out of someone's collection is to be sold is because of the hype, because of the World cup, et cetera, et cetera. That's not the message here. The message here is don't buy something that was readily available last week and will most likely be readily available next week. Don't buy it now because, oh, my God, look at him. I watched this game. I gotta go out there. That is emotional buying, you know, that is buying into the hype. That is something you will probably regret. So that's the point on that one. But I did get, you know, nice, you know, a lot of people messaging me about how cards are going to come out, good stuff will come out. Sure. You know, that's completely valid. My message is not to the folks who are out there being discerning and waiting on a specific card that just happens to come out because Holland's prices are popping. That I didn't put a chart up of Dynasty. I put a chart up of his, you know, Bundesliga Chrome PSA 10 and go take a look at it if you haven't. But that's enough on that, right? That is yesterday's episode and the day before his episode. Today's episode is Soccer is amazing. I'm going to be positive about it. Just look at the price for tickets now going forward. They have completely cratered. Prices are down. Thousands of dollars for the remaining games. And that is because the United States team is out, eliminated. Sorry, US Soccer fans. This team was really no different than any team before it. Not as good as the O2 team. You know, the knockout win. We did get a knockout stage win. And that was because we added in the tournament here, an entire new round, that round of 32, that knockout round, which did not exist before. So we did get a win that we've never gotten before because it was in a round that never existed before that game. I watched every minute of. And I will also admit to this because people think I'm just hating on soccer. I enjoy soccer. My son has gotten me into soccer recently and I've watched a lot of games. I watched almost every game of this World cup that I could watch. I mean, there are some that started at like 11 and midnight Eastern time. I may or may not have bailed on some of those early round ones. Look little late here, but I'll watch every game. I'll watch the Argentina game today. I'll watch the games. I enjoy the games. I get the strategy. I get the passing the ball. I get the ball control. I get the setting up the plays. The US Team beat inferior competition in the lead up to this game against Belgium, and Belgium is a better team. And I said it yesterday, I mean, I said they were going to lose. That was not some major call. I think they were underdogs. I mean, you know, the betting is going to be difficult because everyone in America wanted to bet the US Team, you know, just based on hope. But they were outclassed there. There was a minute there when they started the second half where they came on strong and they were down 2:1, and, you know, it looked like they were pressing and they made some changes and they brought some speed in the game. And Gio Reyna, who I mentioned a couple times in prior episodes, was the halftime sub. And, you know, they just couldn't get it done. They got some real excitement going in this country. And if you watch the game and you watched it end, the announcer for Fox said, exactly what I was thinking. And it's the important message here, I guess, for the hobby. As the game ended, he said, I'll paraphrase it, but basically, hey, if you've enjoyed this, if you've enjoyed watching your US Team, don't disappear. Stick around. Soccer is a beautiful game. Soccer is a beautiful sport. There are more amazing games to be played in this tournament and beyond. And he was sending the message out that basically everyone who is a soccer hobbyist is trying to send out also. There's been tremendous growth in the last couple of years. I think a lot of it has to do with this lead up to this World cup, just like the last World cup four years ago. But the staying power, especially here in America, is the thing that I question. It's a beautiful game, no doubt about it, with beautiful history. It is a global game with fans around the world. But do me a favor, hit pause and just Google remaining ticket prices for the World cup games. And now that the US Team is out, look at how the prices have done. What I expect Holland's car prices to do in the coming weeks. One of those down arrows, you know, like, you know, you can get in games. Now here's the, the interesting part. If you are a fan of the sport and of the game, the games going forward are going to be magnificent because you only have left the best talent. When you have a semifinal game, that's most likely going to be Spain against France and you got England on the other side and maybe Argentina, if they make it, you're going to be treated to some really great soccer. Some beautiful plays, some beautiful game. The World cup will probably not disappoint. It didn't disappoint so far, this has been an amazing and exciting World Cup. Now, that's the only positive that I have on it, because what that announcer was saying is exactly what I think is accurate. I think fans got excited for this, got excited for the World cup, got excited for the team. America. You know, we had the red card drama and I posted a little funny story like, okay, we're back to baseball now. That's just what's going to happen. Because for all the great things that soccer has going on, most American fans like the simplicity of our leagues. Baseball is Major League Baseball, the mlb, we have a set number of teams. All of the best players in the world strive to play in that league. If they are out of that league, they will one day probably come into our league. Ohtani did, Matsui did, Ichiro did. Everyone strives to be in mlb. And at the end of the MLB season, there is a World Series that pits the best two teams from the two leagues, and you have a champion crowned. And last year, the champion had the best player in the league on that team. And you were watching the World Series with Ohtani playing. NFL, the National Football League. Are there other leagues out there? Sure, there's one in Canada, there's other leagues. But if you want to play professional football, the goal is to play in the NFL, the National Football League. All the best players are there, all of the stars are there. And when you play in the NFL, at the end you have the super bowl, and at the end the best players play against each other. Patrick Mahomes wins another super bowl and he's the best player and he's winning the Super Bowl. And in the NBA, the best players in the world, sure, there are other leagues. You could play in Israel, you can play in Greece, you know, you can play elsewhere, you could play in Europe. But ultimately the goal is to get to the NBA, and the best players in the league play there. And when the NBA finishes, you have the best players playing for a championship. LeBron winning the trophy. Luca not winning yet. Jalen Brunson winning the trophy. You have a champion crowned in soccer, you have a billion leagues. Some of the best players are in this league, and some of the best players are in this league. And yeah, there's a Premier League, which sounds cool, but then there's leagues in, in, in different countries. And you know, Holland was in this league and now he's in this league and he was in Germany and now he's in England, and these players are here and there. There's a champions League, right? You guys want to tell. There's a Champions League, and at the end, the Champions League. Who won the Champions League last year? I. I don't know. Were the best players in the world even eligible to compete in that? No, because you got Ronaldo, who everybody loves, and, you know, I know he's getting up there in age. He's playing somewhere else. And Messi is playing in Miami in Major League Soccer with some other good players who are coming over to the mls. It's too disjointed. It's hard to follow. There are multiple leagues, there are multiple tournaments. The World cup makes it easier, and that's why the American fans can get behind it. Because we're stupid. I get it. I'm just going to speak for myself. I'm dumb. I do not have the time, the inclination, the patience to want to figure out the intricacies of all the different soccer leagues. And even if I did, which I kind of know a little bit, the players that I want to watch are not even in those leagues. That's a huge difference. It's a huge difference for soccer. It's a huge difference. You know, if Messi wins a championship in the mls, it's like, who cares? It's the mls. He didn't play against the guys who were over here, you know, and this team won this league. You know, they won the Champions League, okay? But this guy wasn't playing and this guy was this. And there's always something, right? And I don't have a clear cut champ. I don't have a clear cut mvp. I mean, I guess they give a trophy out, right, to Ballon d'. Or. I guess he got that. Seems to be some drama about that, too. Anyway, you get the point. That is a huge difference. And to me, I believe, and I could be wrong here, that that is a big turn off to the general sports fan. We like to have a team we root for and soccer has that. A lot of teams. There are a lot of teams. Way more than just the 30 or so. Now, trust me, there are some soccer teams out there that have a more rabid fan base than any NFL team, MLB team, probably than all of them combined. You know, the fandom is something I will never question over there. I don't know whether or not the fans, the crazy fans, the firms, I don't know whether or not that translates into card collecting. I know car collecting is huge here and for some reason soccer just doesn't translate. And the, the explanation I give is, is the best one That I have. And the next thing is this, with the World cup being so awesome, right? And everybody can follow the World cup and we're going to have a tournament. It's, you know, it's bracket style. It's almost like the ncaa. It's March Madness. It's every four years we get behind it, somebody wins, you know, and then the team, the country is split up and they go to, you know, their, their club. It's club and country. It's different. You know, we're no longer rooting for Spain or France. You know, some of the guys on, on, on Spain do play for Barcelona, but some of them play elsewhere. Some of the guys from other teams play for Barcelona, even not from Spain. It, it gets a little fun, right? The club and the country difference. But, but, but what do we have after this? And this is what makes soccer cards tough for me. I've mentioned the Olympics. Got a couple great DMs, had some great conversations yesterday about the Olympics. The Olympics are 23 and under to the Olympics, so that they don't compete with the World Cup. The Olympics are looking to showcase the younger talent from the countries. I think there's an exception. You could add a couple of players, you know, to the team, but for the most part, it's the younger players. So that's a little different. You know, it doesn't have the same kind of flair that, you know, the World cup would have with, you know, with the, you know, with the best players that you have in their prime. Supposed to be for the younger players. That's a little different. So, you know, are we really waiting for World Cup 2030 now? And I believe that's why you have, you know, the fall off in the cards after World Cup. We saw it last time. I believe we'll see it this time. That's my take on the cards. I enjoy the game. I'm really looking forward to the rest of these games, you know, in the coming couple of weeks here, because we're really going to see some great soccer. I'm sure there are cards that are going to go up. I mean, Lamina Mal, Kiddo, they seem to be one of the two favorites. Mbappe might win. Harry Kane, Drew Bellingham. I mean, you know, these guys. I believe all three of those teams will probably be in the final four. That's kind of the way that it's looked since the beginning of this, since the thing even started. And there's nothing in their play that makes me think that that's going to be, you know, that's going to change. But, yeah, I'm sorry I made you all mad. Everything I said yesterday came true. I said Spain was going to beat Portugal, Ronaldo was going to be sent off, was probably gonna be low scoring because there were two great defensive teams and it was one nothing. I said that Belgium would handle the United States team very easily, and they did. They won 4:1. And you know, I look for Argentina to win today. By the time you play this, the game will probably be on or over as it's, you know, early morning here. July 7th, Tuesday. Yeah, we are soccer. Pretty soon I won't be able to talk about the soccer. It's given me great episodes. Me, great engagement, you guys. It's pissed off a lot of you guys, you know, not my intention. I'm just trying to speak truth here. And, and, you know, I know there are a lot of people out there who want soccer cards to, you know, to remain, and maybe they will. They're obviously more popular than they were last year. The year before that. There are top line stars, goats, if you will, and a great crop of young, you know, young kids. But, I mean, you ask half of America now, you know, what club Mbappe plays for, they won't, they won't know, you know, and a lot of people will still guess he's still on psg. I mean, it's just, it's one of those things, you might know that he plays for France and they won't know his club, which is, you know, I mean, that's, it's one of those, it's one of those things. It's one of those differences. Whereas, you know, pretty much everybody knows Ohtani plays for the Dodgers. You know, that's, that's, you know, that's, that's a big difference you have there. Anyway, that's 20 something minutes on soccer. I will stop with the soccer soon. I have some fun stories. I've got some shipping stories, you know, some, some, some vault stories. I got a damaged card from the vault and I'm still working through that process. It's not been fun. I'll let you know about that one. I got some fast shipping from the fanatics vault. We got Fanatics Fest coming a week away. I'm still hoping I get my tickets for that. That's also in process. So that's going to be fun. I posted a really cool Dana White card that I bought if you guys watch and listen to the show, you know what I'm talking about. But it's on my page now. Check that out and let me know what you think. And, you know, it's not lost on me that here I am, you know, talking about soccer cards and then posting a UFC card. Same argument, same argument. I mean, the only thing I have going for me with ufc, you know, which is clearly more fringe sport than soccer, is everybody strives to be in the ufc, and everybody wants to be a champion in the ufc. If that's the sport you do, you try to get in the ufc. There are other promotions, there are other leagues, but ultimately, if you are the best of what you do, that's where you're trying to go. It's what makes it a little easier for me than, you know, the little bit of disjointed soccer. So there you go. Let me know what you think. Yell at me if you like. Some of you guys do. I have some very regular content commenters on YouTube that come in and tell me how terrible I am pretty much every day. And if that's you, thank you. Thank you for your discipline. Thank you for your consistency. I love you for it. And that's another episode, guys, brought to you by Arena Club, by card ladder, use code, cage, Save yourself a couple bucks, and by the Philly Show. Have fun. I will see you guys tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the soccer.