Back from the National

What an awesome time, yet again!  I am slowly sorting through hundreds of single cards, and four hobby boxes. The National in Chicago was everything I had hoped it would be...and more.  Here are some photos as a teaser for future posts. I am headed out of town again on Wednesday so I plan on getting something else up over the weekend.  Some of you that follow me on Twitter (@FunnerHere) might have seen some of these photos already, but I am guessing most of you haven't.

The entrance. It was pretty grand, as you can see. The place was massive.

Seems that Amazon sponsored the VIP passes this year at the show.  They touted the sports collectibles section of their site which I suppose they are intending to grow.  I've never shopped for cards on Amazon.

This was the VIP reception, and it was packed. They had Chicago deep dish pizza, burgers, drinks, and really good cookies.  The line that you see? That is part of the line to get Doc Gooden's free autograph.  I didn't even think of standing in it.

The first thing I did during the sneak peek Wednesday night was get in line for the Bowman Platinum redemption giveaway.  I learned last year to get this out of the way early, as they only give away 100 sets of the product per day.

This was the box I got, plus three packs extra to get a Bryce Harper promo card.

Here was Gooden after signing all the autos. He came down to the show floor and signed free autos for non-VIPs, too.

These were the banners hanging outside the convention center. Pretty cool.

Before I go, how about some cards? This is a 2013 Prizm Carlos Ruiz auto I grabbed.  I think it cost three bucks.

One of my favorite pickups of the show, this Darin Ruf Gypsy Queen card that I traded for!  I almost bought this card and now I am glad I didn't, of course.

Behold, the holy grail.  Or at least one of them.

So. Much. Fun. I also got some big hits which I look forward to showing soon!

I already cannot wait for next year and I'm only a day removed from Chicago!