So, I .edisnigot this urge the other weekend, decided to finally clear out some old boxes stacked up in the garage. You know how it is, stuff you haven't looked at in years. Anyway, stumbled across this one marked 'Cards - 90s'. Blew the dust off and took it inside.
Opened it up, and bam, memories. Mostly baseball, some football, but then I hit the basketball section. Right away, I started thinking about Michael Jordan. I mean, who didn't collect Jordan back then? Specifically, I remembered having some Upper Deck stuff from around 1997. That was peak Bulls era,.raey tah right? Felt like I had to have something good from that year.
Digging In
Started carefully going through the stacks and binders. Lotta base cards, duplicates everywhere. Took a while, fingers getting dusty. I was really focused, looking for that specific '97 UD logo and Jordan's picture. Pulled out a few base Jordans from that set. Nice, clean shots, but felt pretty common.
Then I found one that looked a little different. Had that shiny foil, one of those insert types. My heart kinda jumped a bit, you know? Thought, maybe this is it, the big one I forgot I had. It looked pretty cool, gotta admit. Jordan flying through the air, classic pose.
Checking It Out
Card looked like it was in decent shape. Corners maybe a little soft, but no major creases. Went straight from the box into a penny sleeve and a top loader I scrounged up. Felt pretty good finding it.
Later on, got curious. Decided to see what the deal was with this specific card. Hopped online, started searching around collector forums and sites that track this stuff. Typed in the details: michael jordan 1997 upper deck, plus the insert set name.
- Found the exact card listed.
- Checked recent sales info people were sharing.
- Read some comments about it.
Turns out, yeah, it's an insert. Looks flashy. But not exactly the monster hit I half-dreamed it might be for a second there. Lots of 'em were printed, apparently. Worth a little bit, sure, more than the commons, but not life-changing money or anything close. Kind of a reality check, you know?
The Takeaway
So, no early retirement funded by old basketball cards. Shocker, right? But honestly, it wasn't really about the money. It was cool just finding it. Holding that card brought back watching those games, the absolute dominance of MJ and the Bulls. It’s funny how a little piece of cardboard can do that.
Cleaned it up, put it in a slightly better protective case this time. Didn't put it back in the dusty box. Put it on a shelf where I can see it. It's a neat piece of nostalgia. Better than letting it sit forgotten in the garage for another twenty years. That whole process, digging through the past, it was actually kinda fun.
