Alright. We're back. Smashing bin, family edition. I've decided to bring my brother into the fold at McGrath cards. There was there's a pretty good bin smashing story that he has that you know, it's worthy of a share here.

Excited to get into it. Kyle, I mentioned ahead of this to you when I wasn't hitting record that this you're probably the most professional looking guest I've ever had in Stacking Slabs history.

So thanks for dressing up for the show. I appreciate it. When you're batting cleanup on the bend smashing, podcasts, you know, I tried to look my my best for the audience.

So king, you know, trying to carve out time during the work day and always excited to hop on the podcast with you to top cards.

So let's start with I think this will be a good segue into your bin smash, but I think with bin smashers, it's always, like in smashing bin, it's always about, like, the availability of the card and being one of the first to see it and realize.

You have, which I think this will be good to start off with, you probably have maybe the and I this is coming from someone with a very early schedule.

You have one of the most earliest schedules of anyone I've ever interacted with, which can afford the opportunity to smash Ben.

But maybe talk about those early moments every morning where the rest of the world is asleep and you might have an opportunity or two. Yeah. And I think and this is kinda like the moral of my my story today is just luck.

And I think luck is born out of preparation and opportunity. So for me daily, I've got a daily routine during the week where it's probably gonna sound crazy to a lot of people, but I enjoy working out in the morning.

It's a great way to start my day. As I talk to your audience, before, you know, I've got a five and a year old.

So when I can have time by myself, I'm all about it. And I'm an early morning person, not a late at night person. So daily, I get up at 03:30 and immediately roll out of bed, throw the workout gear on.

And then I've got about fifteen minutes where I go through my prep up, grab the caffeine to get me going, let the dog out, get the dishwasher, situated before I, head to go work out for the day.

And so that's my daily routine, and and it allows me first thing in the morning while most people are asleep is to hit the eBay button, see my saved searches, and just see what's available each and every morning.

And I I feel like I'm getting a jump start on the day and especially on some of these opportunities that may have popped overnight.

Okay. That's a good setting of the stage. Yes. He did say 03:30. I thought I mean, my alarm goes off at 04:45.

I thought that was early, but that that doesn't even compete. You're playing in the area of, like, News Anchor territory, Kyle, but I think your that sacrifice you have to make to, obtain cards.

So I I'm gonna, like, gas up your card a little bit before you get into it, but I have met, connected with, and explored Peyton Manning cards with so many collectors over the years, group chats, one on one, everything.

And I am not sure there is a more coveted, maybe non rookie shiny parallel than the one we're about to talk about today. I think you can maybe put super fractures in another, place because they're so rare and unique.

But today's card, I think, is one which I'm sure you know, maybe not just from me trying to say, are you ever gonna sell that? But there's probably been a lot of people doing that over the years.

So I'm excited to talk about this card because I it it you mentioned luck, and I I think there's a lot of luck that goes into maybe getting cards that a majority of the hobby would love to have in their collection.

So let's start. What is the card? And then just go ahead and get into the story of you smashing Ben on it. Yeah. So I'll build up to the card a little bit and kinda just and walk you through the story.

So short courses in right when you got started stacking slabs, which was a 2020, '20 '20 '1 time frame, you got me back into cards and thinking about cards.

And I still remember that first Michael Pittman junior draft card SGC 10 that I'm like, I know what I'm doing.

But I took a snapshot and sent it to you, and you're like, are you buying cards? And so that was kinda like the beginning of me getting back into the journey.

I think as we all go through as sports fans, you naturally gravitate to your hometown team. Being a big Colts fan, you gravitate to your favorite player being Peyton Manning.

And I went through a lot of the same cycles as we all did, trying to uncover what sets do we like, what makes one card cooler than another one in from my perspective, but then also on those collectors that collect paint meaning as well.

And is when I really came across the 2,006 finest, Topps finest, Those cards, the look and feel of those really, you know, I gravitated to.

And naturally, in talking with yourself and other collectors out there, knew that those were kind of a top priority of Peyton Manning cards.

I got my first, gold Manning out of that set back on that Super Bowl of February of twenty twenty two.

I remember it was at halftime, and I just pulled up eBay. And, again, opportunistic. There was one posted with the blue and the red refractor at a $350 price tag that I couldn't smash them fast enough on those cards.

And then when I got it in hand, I knew the only next step for me outside of the one on one was the gold x factor out of 10.

Knowing the price tag, knowing there was never any of these that have ever been posted, on eBay or marketplace, I knew it was probably obtainable.

And, again, going back to luck, I knew if whatever was posted, even at a bid or at a at a bin price, it probably was gonna be so astronomical that there's no one like myself that was gonna be competitive on it.

It would've go to one of the other coveted manning collectors out there.

So with that as the backdrop, on December seventh of twenty twenty two, I went through my normal morning routine. I got up, got downstairs, got my caffeine, pulled open eBay, and I had the little blue dot next to that same search.

And it was one of those where when I clicked on it, the card popped up. I I was stunned. I didn't know what to do. And in fact, I remember going through that. I almost dropped my coffee cup on the ground as I set it down.

And then in my brain, I'm like, is this a fake listing? Is this the card I'm really, like, searched for? So I tried to, like, read the description. I remember I think I jumped into, like, Card Ladder to search for pricing.

And at the end of the day, in the listings out there, it was $400. I mean, in the grand scheme of things for that card, once I came to the realization of if I don't hit the smash button now, somebody's likely gonna grab it.

So, of course, I smashed Ben, and I was all excited still with the surreal feeling of this actually happened to me.

So that's the card. Yeah. That's that's posted on on my Card Ladder account. And it was funny because I screenshotted the listing, and I sent it to you.

And I know you're up early waiting for that, you know, classic Brett. Oh my god. I can't believe you found this. And you must have been on a run and got the text on your watch because you just gave me, like, the thumbs up.

And I was like, fuck. For a card that we've been talking about and and that's that coveted, that was the only reaction I got from you.

And then later in the day, I think you had the epiphany because you you sent me a screenshot from the Manning chat group, that this thing had been taken, where you called me and we talked through it.

But, yeah, it was it was born born out of my routine. It was born out of just knowing the car that I liked and the the set that I liked and knowing that this was one that was always on my my coveted bucket list.

And when I bought it, I bought it raw, ended up sending it in to get graded. But, yeah, it's it's still surreal at this time and have a lot of people that still continually reach out to me on this one.

So when you saw the card and you saw the blue dot, you know, we've got those saved searches that maybe is that one card, and we've got it labeled, and it's very specific.

And we go through the motions of when we see the blue dot. It's almost like, well, it's probably something that got mislisted or is roped in. And most of the time, we click in, and it's not the actual card that we're looking for.

But in this rare instance in with this a card that's this rare, it was in fact that you had a moment where you read the description, your checking card ladder, and maybe were a little skeptical.

Looking back on it now, were you would you have gone through those same motions, do you think?

Because it's when you get this opportunity, it's there's time is money. And although it was very, very early in the morning, there are different time zones.

Looking at it now, would you have just smashed Ben? Would you have taken the same steps you took? Maybe talk about that. Yeah. I think the steps I took were merely born out of the, is this real?

Like, is this actually happening? Because it'd been one thing if it was listed at a a 10 x price tag. Right? And then I'm like, okay. Like, whoever the seller is understands the value of this card and the desirability of this card.

I think it was a combination of, one, never being publicly made available, and then also at the price tag that it was at, it just felt so surreal that this was actually a real listing at that point in time.

So I'm sure if I ran across the same instance now, I'd probably have the same reaction.

But I've had those moments in the past where there's some Reggie Wayne cards that I've gone after that have posted it, and I've hesitated for even minutes, and it's gone.

And, but, you know, it was just it was more of that, like, you know, that fight or flight response when I saw the thing.

And while I would love to admit that, yeah, no. I should've just smashed it and been done with it. I think just that pause of of uncertainty and, you know, excitement, you know, gave me that hesitation initially.

Now talk about the experience of once you have this card and, you know, the story starts to get out, and I was probably a megaphone in my Manning chat to be like, hey, everybody.

I know who got this. What's it been like to make that move, smash bin, get a card like this, and then I'm sure even today, you probably people are stumbling across your page and see what you have in your collection.

You still get messages on it. Mhmm. When when you get that sort of validation from other collectors, whether they're just saying, man, incredible card. I've been looking for one, or, hey.

Is this for sale? What is that like, knowing that a card like that is got that sort of attention, what does that do for you as the owner of that card? It just makes me proud that I'm the owner of the card.

You know, that it's it's as coveted and then it is valuable that I personally feel it is and it it is admired or at least thought of in high regards from the community at large. You know, there's only 10 of these that exist.

And I think if we look back in time, right, at all and I've listened to your podcast since day one. And naturally, the o six finest is a set that many collectors land on for for whatever rhyme or reason or whomever they collect.

So knowing that that is a set that obviously does not exist anymore, knowing that this is my favorite player of all time, and knowing that there's only 10 of these copies that exist, and I think we probably can name a handful of where some of the other ones exist today, but there's still over half of them that nobody knows probably where they're even existing that you know, it just makes me super appreciative that I had the opportunity to grab this thing, and I know it's in a good home.

And I know if down the road, if there's ever even a slightest chance of of getting rid of it, I know that there's a strong manning collector base that it would go into good hands.

But for now, it's not gonna see the light of day, and I'm gonna enjoy each and every moment with it.

And, you know, talking about just the experience and having it, you know, and smash and then is one thing that I think we've all talked about on that your previous guests have talked about.

But what happens next is almost more, agonizing, right, from a you've bought the thing. I I remember I bought it on the seventh.

I didn't get it in Hainan until the December 23. I had so much anxiety that waiting for just the seller to put it in the mail to get the tracking number. In the meantime, I had the seller reaching out to me saying, hey.

People are contacting me about this. Can I pass along your information? So, you know, you're we're navigating through that. And then naturally, you're just tracking the shipment of it until it reaches your destination.

And even today, I mean, I'm carrying it around right now. I brought it in. And I had to go to the auto dealership this morning for my car, and then I had another so I'm, like, keeping it in my jacket.

I like, I'm scared to even, like, lose, you know, sight of the thing, knowing that I would just be so defeated if if I ever lost sight of this this card or something would happen to it.

But, yeah, it's I'm a proud owner, and I know that, I was super lucky in that situation because there's many other people that would have jumped on it if they would have saw it before me.

Alright. Before we move on to the next part of this, I want I don't wanna gloss over the fact of the price that you you paid for this. You said $400.

Now the, you know, the I don't even wanna begin to get into what this card could or should be valued at at this point, But there's definitely a zero on the end of that, and numbers change around, but there's there's a lot, there's a lot of cash that people would throw at you for that card.

Now I'll also say this.

I think we've got some sort of handshake and agreement that maybe I get the first right of refusal if I, that card ever comes available. But maybe talk about just the element of you basically got the card for nothing.

Mhmm. And I don't wanna say $400 is nothing, but when you're putting it in context with this card, it's it's hardly anything. And then the the value is so far ahead of, what you paid for it. How do you think about that?

Because sometimes it reaches this point with when we make such a great buy, of a card at a certain point and we see kind of the demand skyrocketing and the value going up, sometimes that's incentive to try to that that might cause us to get rid of the card.

So maybe how have you, competed with those maybe thoughts of letting go of it in your mind?

Yeah. I you know, it's hard to, to your point, put a value on a card like this. And even, you know, I got a grade and it came back a five. I know you've looked at this thing too. I I can't see a flaw wrong with this thing.

Right? And with but that all being said, no matter the dollars have been thrown at me on this or trying to value, like, what it would cost, to me, it's just the sentimental value of it that means more than anything.

It's the, you know, the journey and the discovery to get to to something that I love, to even have the opportunity that it became available, to knowing that it's so coveted and rare in the world of many collectors that I don't even know what it would take to to let go of it.

And quite honestly, I haven't really even tried to put a number on it to just, you know, you know, hang my my hat on. I just me looking at the card, having it in hand, and knowing it's mine is is valuable enough for me.

Incredible card. I'm sure your, inbox will be flooded by people wanting to get their breezy paws on it. Let's move over. I picked like I do, and I've been trying to customize these in a way for the person I'm talking to.

But, let's get into some of the cards people smashed Ben on. We first card, and and I'll say this. We're recording this, well in advance of when this goes live, and I'm not sure where we'll be at right now in the playoffs.

But as we record this, it is before the playoffs, have taken shape, and, we are heading into another first round match with the Milwaukee Bucks.

And we in Indiana feel just in general, I think Kyle, I don't wanna speak for you, but I feel like, man, it's it's good to be back with a team that feels like can do almost anything with the Indiana Pacers.

And the card that I have here that got been smashed is the 2023 Tyrese Halliburton prism white sparkle PSA 10 pop three, and it went for $75.

Someone just said $75. I'm gonna bin smash this. Maybe what I I I wanna, maybe first, before we open it up to the card, maybe talk a little bit about just I know you're a Pacers fan like me.

You go to games. You have really good seats. What what have you seen maybe from this team and what you like so far going into kind of this playoff run?

You know, one of you know, I played sports throughout life and through college, and I always knew that the teams that were most successful and the teams I had, you know, the the the greatest chance of winning with were the teams that there was camaraderie, and people enjoy being with each other, and we're all marching towards that common mission together.

When you get around this team, I mean, just you could tell they're having fun together. And these are starters all the way down to the bench players that never see the light of day.

It is infectious being in Cambridge Fieldhouse, watching these guys play, and they've had to overcome some huge deficits. Right? And when you you just feel the energy as a fan base when you see them starting to come back.

I mean, a lot of this is attributed to Tyrese. Ever since that he joined the team, you started to see a culture being built. You've started to see determination and just a hard work ethic approach from guys like TJ McConnell.

The sky is limitless right now with this team. Now the Eastern Conference is no cakewalk. We gotta start with Milwaukee. There's still Boston hanging out there.

But in Indiana growing up, being a Pacers fan and and coming from the lineage of the Ridge and Miller days, there's no better time than when you get to the month of May if the Pacers are still in it, and then you got the 500.

And those magical Sundays fall where the Pacers and the racers are playing on the same day, I mean, that's like the stars aligning.

And so there's I think there's endless possibilities with this team this year, but each and every series like it was last year, it's just gonna be a tough grind to get through and certainly excited.

I think it's Sunday, right, that that's game one, between Milwaukee and Indy, but I'm glad we have a home court series. So Halliburton has been a big reason for this.

He's of such an interesting player because he is an elite level player who is facilitator first, one of the best facilitators that I think the league has seen in a while from the point guard position, but he's he could also score when he wants to.

He's just very unorthodox, but he's the engine of this Pacers offense. I think those who don't watch him every night don't maybe understand or or quite realize the impact that he has.

So he, in a way, has a a bunch of detractors, maybe because for various reasons because his superstar level doesn't look like their favorite player's superstar level.

And so I I think on the flip side too, I have observed a lot of the best players in the league.

Like, there are friendships in place between him and them, and he's just built these great relationships across the league, which I think is unique in in its own way.

But I'm not sure the Pacers are the Pacers like they are now or they have been this season without Tyrese Halliburton.

So with that, how important do you think he has been in to this next chapter of the Pacers and just getting them kind of off the the the cycle of mediocrity that they had been on for so long? I mean, he's the linchpin for it all.

I mean, he's the reason guys wanna come to Indy. I think that's always been the big knock of of these superstar athletes that can go play in big cities is why would I wanna come to Indiana to come play basketball.

Right? And you saw Pascal Siakam come to Indiana last year because of the opportunity to play with Kyrie Halliburton. You see just his motivation and his approach trickle down to the rest of the team as well.

So I think he's the reason that we're in the position we are. And I think one of the most impressive things about him, if you look at the box score after every game, he may have zero turnovers or maybe one turnover per game.

20 assists, zero turnovers. I mean, it's a an astounding number to even wrap your head around knowing that in the NBA, I mean, it's it's the best of the best.

And if you can go through a whole game as a point guard and not have any turnovers, and do that night overnight, it's an incredible thing to watch play out.

So, you know, his success is gonna lead to the Pacers success and, you know, him being able to distribute and get guys involved is is his superpower. So before we move off of this, we talk a lot about gold prisms on here.

But what what do you think I know it's SSP. It's not serial number. There's speculation whether there's 20 copies or whatever it is over here, but what do you think of these white sparkles from Prism?

I think they're awesome. You know, they they kinda blur the lines with, like, the white ice too. Right? They all kinda fall into that same category of, I love the border, the shininess of it all.

Yeah. My struggle with these is not having, you know, a serial number on there to actually know the true, distribution of these cards. But, you know, being you know, the the I know you talked about this before.

Right? But Tyrese Haliburton, rookie cars, and King jerseys are just tough to stomach. I've I've owned some, and then I look at them. I'm like, I just can't you know, I'm starting to let them go.

So anything that's in a Pacers jersey, and then you, you know, you've got the subtleties of I don't know who that is, the Boston guy in the background. Tatum. Tatum. Oh, that is Tatum.

Okay. But it's cool from that perspective to kinda have him and one of his patented layups, you know, probably driving down the lane, working his way through traffic. It's a cool action photo of him and with the spike of white sparkle.

My Mac is it just doesn't have the the serial number on it. Alright. We're gonna move over to the most popular player in our city by Reach them out. A country mile. It is, miss Caitlin Clark, and this is her throwback auto out of prism.

This thing sold April 12, via Binsmash for $14. 00 5. Kyle, the interesting thing about this card is, you know, it's it's her autograph. It's the throwback insert, non serial numbered.

But on April 8, this card sold for a thousand 22 via best offer. Then on April 11, it sold for $11. 75. And then now we're covering this one that's sold for $14. 00 5. And I, like, try to look at her stuff and be like, okay.

When does this stop? And it it will not I I'm not this is not advice to go buy Caitlin Clark cards, but it is I'm it has been a long time where you've got this duration, a long time.

And this goes back to her Bowman stuff where the train is just moving, and the price keeps going going up. So I mean, I've talked about this too. Like about Caitlin Clark. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, it's and I'm sure this happened a while ago. But even in my Instagram feed, there was the Pat Beverly, podcast, him talking about, you know, being in the same gym with Kayton and just talking about how she's a shooter.

She's a cold blooded shooter and just, you know, all the NBA players just recognizing when they're around her just the talent that she brings.

I I mean, we we just talked about the impact Tyrese Halliburton had on the Pacers. I mean, we don't even have to even try to justify the impact Caitlin Clark has had to the fever, to the city, to just the WA in general.

You know, watching the draft last night, it's even amazing listening just to the comparisons, everybody back to Caitlin who had just come out of the draft a year prior.

And I've shared before, you know, I'm a Lexi Hall collector who I love on the fever as well that brings a lot of the grit, the toughness that, like, TJ McConnell does on the Pacers side of the house.

And I do that, and I collect Lexi because Caitlyn is just her cards are just astronomically priced. And to your point, I've tried to follow cards of hers, and there's no slowing down.

And, even trying to look back now at the select set that came out, I mean, those things are still grooving as well from a price perspective. I surely thought maybe there'd be an opportunity there once Prism hit.

But, yeah, it's jump on the train and then ride this wave if if you have an interest. But this card in particular, I love the $20. 12, like, callback to you know, I love that initial Prism release on the football side of the house.

Never been a sticker auto fan. But, like, for the price tag of this, I think you've there's a couple Prism cards like the Upholster, which I think you own at a 99. And then there's, like, the white so white ice, I think, is at a 35.

I think, in this same price range. So that'd be a card I'd rather own than the throwback one here, but you can't deny Caitlin Clark stuff. It's pretty special. Before we move off this, maybe talk about this point.

There's a lot of people that are looking at Clark's cards and being like, this is way too much for me. I don't wanna enter this hemisphere, especially when there's all this hype and, you know, flipping going on.

How have you because I know you and I know you your appreciation for the fever in Clark, and you won a Clark card, you know, a nice Clark card in your collection. I know that. Anybody who collects here wants that.

How have you maybe navigated temptation and just maybe holding out and being patient to find, the great the exact type of card you want that, like, fits within the price point that you're comfortable with.

Yeah. So I've done more research on this Prism release in terms of what is the checklist than I think I've ever done on any other product.

Because like you, I love the gold at a 10 card or or anything less than that that's available. So I know that her gold cards are way out. I mean, there's not even a chance that those will even orbit my my purchasing reach.

So then I I naturally just gravitate to okay. And looking at the other checklist items of hers, what attracts my attention from a look and feel perspective.

Right? And that's I love the white ice ones that are out of 35. The pulsars at a 99 are really cool looking. I've never been a a color guy or a tiger guy.

You know, any of those, like, you know, more off the cuff type of of parallels. So I've just tried to narrow the lens on the checklist of cards that I've actually would want to have in my collection.

And then I'm just in that state right now monitoring, you know, what is what are they selling for? And if any of them come within kind of a budget that I feel comfortable with with deal, I'd probably jump at one of those.

I did I did, like, prerelease back in January some of those dicks, blaster boxes, prisons that they're selling nowadays. And, fortunately, I hit one of the the groovy Caitlin Clarks out of it.

So that scratched the itch out of it. Alright. At least I got one Caitlin Clark rookie that that fell to me because through that, but, yeah, I'm kind of in my my observation phase of her cards right now.

Unfortunately, you did not pull the black finite and started building a beach house somewhere.

This card did I saw this. And although this is the Lee version, we the Donerous version was plentiful when we were growing up, but this is the this is the 87 leaf Bo Jackson rated rookie.

So PSA 10 selling for $2,600, bin smash, 04/12/2025 on eBay. But when I was going through the listings, I just looked at this card, and it reminded me so much of just the cards we had in boxes and collections.

And I I know for sure you had, the Donner's version of this Bo Jackson card and the top loader. So maybe talk about Bo Jackson and the early, early era of us collecting sports cards.

Yeah. I mean, Bo Jackson was one of just a handful of guys that fell into the sports and then media world. Right? Remember the Bo knows ads. Right? I mean, that was every I think we had the posters in our rooms.

Right? And it was, you know, between that and you had the Larry Johnson Grandma Ma commercials and stuff, and then you trickled into the Penny Hardaway and the Minnie Hardaway character.

I mean, it's just players in that era that transitioned and transformed across sports and then into kind of the advertising space, I think, was just a new, new era that that attracted our attention to these players.

It's funny. I was looking at when you sent me this, I was looking at this card just like having the flashbacks.

And then when I looked, like, the one Bo Jackson card that I think is the one that always pops to my brain is I think it's the 90 score where he's got the shoulder pads on and the baseball bat.

But, yeah, I mean, talk about just an athlete of that era that was just a megastar and just he was a he was a Megatron before Megatron existed in the football where, you know, could seem to play anything and was just built differently.

He was a fun one to cheer for and collect.

That's for sure. Yeah. It's, I guess there was rules against maybe using the Raiders in Tech Mobile. That wasn't that wasn't that wasn't fair. But, yeah, I saw this one, and it really brought me back to a younger time in our life.

And I had to end here because, Kyle, I know you'll probably have something to say Oh, yeah. About this, but this is the 2014 SP authentic limited autographs, Roy McElroy, BTS eight auto 10.

This thing is out of 25. This sold, on Master Sunday, bin smash. Go figure for I know. I saw that. For 1,950. And you you you know me, like, you are a big golf guy. You play golf. You're into it. You watch it.

I am the definition of a casual where I'm watching Sunday of the masters. I'm watching the majors. But I'll say this before you get into it. I'm I'm not sure there's been a greater sport individual sports moment than what we witnessed.

The whole way it went down, you know, Tiger had his, Masters moments, but they you know, he was so dominating when he won his first one, and then you can go back to the moment with his kids being involved in his last one in 2019.

But I don't ever remember in our lifetime the the the the stakes and the playoff and having the chance and fumbling it and coming back.

I mean, this is to me, you know, it's it's recency bias, but it's this is one of those ones where I can't remember who won the masters, you know, three, four years ago, but this year is certainly a moment that I will never forget. Yeah.

And so brush aside just the masters in and of itself and just what you saw on Sunday with Rory and the miss on 18, the putt by Rose to send it to, you know, you know, several holes ahead that that they ended up going to the playoffs, and then the way Rory recovered was incredible.

For those that may not be, like, true golf fans or understand what he accomplished on Sunday, so he completed the grand slam of championships. Right? So it's the masters, the US Open, the Open, and the PGA championship.

Before Sunday, there were only five other players in golf history that have ever accomplished that. Gene Sowerson did that in 1935. Ben Hogan did it eighteen years later in 1953.

Gary Player did that in 1965. Jack Nicklaus did that in 1966. So those four players all accomplished it between 1935 and 1966. Right? You and I weren't even a twinkle in mom and dad's eye during that time period.

Right? So then the next the fifth player to do it was Tiger Woods in February. So thirty four years after Jack Nicklaus did it, Tiger Woods did it. And then finally on Sunday, Roy McIlroy did that.

Roy did that twenty five years later. I say all that because winning the masters is an accomplishment in and of itself. This is a thing he's been chasing forever and finally did it on Sunday, which brought more emotion to that win.

And I've gotta say, he was close in 02/2011, which was you know, in golf, it's called the melt meltdown heard around the world.

He was leading after three rounds going into Sunday and still up after the front nine. And then in that back nine, the last nine holes, he fell apart. He tripled bogeyed 10. He four putted on 12.

He kept up had a couple other bogeys throughout that back nine and lost it. Right? So he overcame on Sunday previous demons in histories that have overcome him at the mattress before, and he's just he's a great guy.

I mean, he's a pro. He's very vocal about the PGA in this whole, LIV Golf Tour, you know, phenomenon and and head butting between the two. You know, he's only five nine, but he hits the ball like a video game, you know, character.

It's incredible. So, yeah, it was awesome for the sport, not only for him to be another grand slam champion, but the way he did it on Sunday, well, probably not ideal for him.

I know my wife and kids were glued to the TV watching him, go through those last couple holes.

So it was it was cool for the sport to see play out as well. Now I know golf card collecting is a very niche category, although I do know there are some very big golf collectors, and it typically starts and stops with Tiger.

But I think about that list that in the list of Grand Slam champions, and the, you know, building out collections, and I can only imagine that there are collectors who have just collected cards and memorabilia of those players, and that's it.

And then Sunday or this sun the masters happened this year, and then all of a sudden, there is because the Rory has qualified based on certain collector's criteria, there's a new entry point, which I can't like, if you bought this card, let me know.

I would love to know, like, what was going on when you did that, all in that.

Well, we'll do a whole podcast episode on it. But I just think about, like, the opening of the doors, and then all of a sudden, it's like the ushering in of Rory McIlroy in this new this group of just greatest of all time Mhmm.

And just thinking about, like, the collecting and everything that goes into it.

So it is hard in the moment to consider Rory in how good he is in comparison with all time greats, but maybe, like, in terms of, like, we as human beings, like, get promoted because we work hard and we do these things and we enter these categories and athletes become hall of famers and that's a milestone.

Like, how how big of a milestone was that day, do you think, for for McElroy?

And then how does that impact, do you think, overall golf card collectors? Yeah. And I think, you know, for him in particular, all you had to do is watch him. Watch him go to his knees after he hit that in on 18 in the playoff.

The emotion that he showed, the walk from the green up the tunnel where he embraced his wife first and then grabbed his daughter from underneath the rope and just embraced her to enjoy the moment.

And then it took him forever to get from there to where he had to sign his scorecard because of everybody that wanted to greet him and give him hugs along the way. And you could just tell he soaked every second of that end.

And even at Augusta, there's a a room, almost a locker room for masters champions, and I saw on on, social the other day just him walking into the room for the first time now as a champion and being able to to to take it all in and look at all the lockers in the name.

So for an individual, you just know that this was, like, his Mount Rushmore of his career, what he's been trying to accomplish for so long.

So it was special for him to see that. From a collector base, this is probably just introducing a whole new group that got infatuated with that one moment interested in Rory cards and golf cards in particular.

I don't own a lot. I know own a a couple golf cards here or there.

But I think with any big sports moment that happens, naturally, you just start to gravitate and lean in of well, I wonder if they have any cards or and then naturally, you go down the learning path.

What are the sets in golf cards? What is that history? What what is you know, this you know, is a is the patch is that like a a polo he wore in a tournament? And the one in this card, I think, is from a, a competition that he was in.

So it's just now you're learning a whole new arena of collecting, which is pretty cool for collectors that are leaning into it now. I had never seen it before this, but how about that autograph, man?

I know. It's pretty cool. Yeah. We got some circles, some swivels along the way. So I would love to know, though, what is this 2014, what that auto today looks like if it's still compares parable.

Right? Because, you know, all these guys, they they change their auto somewhat over time depending on how complicated it is, and this one's got some TLC to it that that you can tell that he that he took.

Two two quick moments for me that you you call that one, but, you know, having a daughter of the similar age and watching that moment, it was hard to to fight the tears.

And then the comment he made you know, just watching him and, like, it was just the overwhelm that he was it was the overwhelm.

And then just the fact that, like, you could tell he like, it was, like, the one of the most genuine moments of this all, but he when he was talking about his parents and how he can't wait to celebrate with them, It was just like, man, like, isn't this what sports is all about?

Like, this is what we we all as fans just like when I was sitting there watching it and taking it all in, I was like, this is no matter what it is, like, we're looking for this.

So to have that happen, it's I know it's it's April, but it is gonna be I feel like it'll be really hard to unless hell one of our teams wins a championship.

And I'm not even a golf guy, but I was so taken away. I watched it three times.

I watched the whole the I watched the whole playoff, like, three times, and so I don't know. It's just a very special moment. Now I'm gonna hate his guests when the Ryder Cup comes around, but for now, we'll celebrate Rory.

I love that. Glad we could talk about that. Alright. So closing out this episode, typically, what I do, Kyle, is I pick a card that's already available on eBay and talk about bin smashing.

But I I wanted to do something different in this episode with you. I I know how much you need this card. And, basically, what I just wanna ask you if this card Oh, Jesus. The 2013 Reggie Wayne gold prism.

This is an SGC nine five. This thing, which you talk about $400, we're talking about the Manning. The the last sale, 06/05/2022, '4 hundred dollars. Kyle, what would you do? Would you smash Ben if this card came available now?

I I would not even hesitate to smash bin because I know this is Brett, no. I'm a regi wank collector, and this is the one missing from my prison run that I can't find anywhere. And those that do have it won't give it up.

But, yes, if I saw this, there would be zero hesitation, on grabbing this one and completing that that run for me. Not a different card. So if you have the twenty thirteen gold prism, definitely hit me up first.

No. I'm just kidding. Kyle, this is like his card. He needs it. So wanted to just spend some time bringing awareness. If you know where one is available or one that someone needs, definitely hit up Kyle at McGrath cards.

Kyle, as always, this was a ton of fun. Yeah. Glad we could get into this talk about your o six Manning x factor. Before you depart, any closing words or things something you wanna talk about?

No. I just I appreciate it. Love the new format. Love the smashing bin podcast, episode. Enjoyed listening to those collectors you've had on to date, and I can't wait to hear these stories.

I think this just brings a unique perspective of the mentality and what goes through from a psychological perspective, why people take action on these cards.

And I think as we're learning in each and every episode, that trigger is different from one experience to the next. So excited to to hear this continue to play out. Until next time.