Hobby Quick Hits Ep.158 NSCC Recap and Dick Perez/Marq Evans Interview

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SPEAKER 1: Welcome to episode number 1 58 of Hobby Quick Hits. It is Sunday night.

SPEAKER 1: The National is over. Got back to Syracuse this afternoon.

SPEAKER 1: And getting this episode out. This episode is kind of a two part thing. First part's gonna be me talking about kind of recap in my National. I'll keep it as short as I can.

SPEAKER 1: And then the second part, we have almost a seven minute interview follow up interview with Diamond King's father, legendary artist Dick Perez and acclaimed director Mark Evans whose film the Diamond King will be coming out next year with Mr Perez being the focal point of that.

SPEAKER 1: So I got to meet him at the National and do an on the floor interview at re a one of our great sponsors. Thank you, Ree A and that will be the second part of today's episode. So first part will be my recap. Second part will be that, you know, under seven minute interview that, I found very interesting and, that'll be this week's hobby. Quick hit. I hope I met a lot of you.

SPEAKER 1: At the, the National, I did meet a lot of people. Not everybody that I planned to. It was, tricky. Hope you got some cards on your list and if you're home, or on your way home, I hope you got there, safe and sound. So, with that, with that being said, we're gonna do this show.

SPEAKER 1: No news this week. It actually was a pretty quiet National week in terms of news. So we're gonna skip the new segment. We're gonna skip the product release calendar. You can check that out at www sports coordination podcast dot com and we're gonna get right into the meat and bones.

SPEAKER 1: My recap and the interview with Dick Perez and Mark Evans Mojo.

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SPEAKER 1: I arrived on Wednesday. My partner there, Danny Black picked me up. We went to the show and got our credentials and then went and did an early check in, at our hotel, set up our stuff and then headed to the show. Wednesday night, Danny had his hobby, news daily. Dinner was fun, and skipping lunch.

SPEAKER 1: I was definitely ready for dinner, as I always say with, with the National Thursday, woke up early, got ready and, headed to the show and, you know, had a, had a game plan, with cards I wanted. So the top two on my list, receiver and Clemente Rookie and then there was 4 to 5 more after them that were on my list and no sort of particular order.

SPEAKER 1: And they were Gibson Rookie Banks Rookie, Conor Mcdavid Young guns, Al Kaline Rookie, leaving something off. But, those were, those were on my list to hope to procure, you know, two of them, at least, but, you know, no dice on the receiver and Clemente, but I'll wind up telling you what I did pick up here as I go in chronological order.

SPEAKER 1: So Thursday, a long day did not buy any cards. So here I am again, first two days without pulling the trigger, did some negotiating talk to, to some dealers took a look at some cards but nothing of fruition there. Mike Moynihan had his YouTube creators dinner attended that had a lot of fun.

SPEAKER 1: Then we long day. So we, we called it a day and get ready for Friday. How can I forget we had Sports Car Nation live from the main stage, the Mike Burgess main stage. That was Thursday 11 a.m. Chicago time. It was myself, Danny Black artist Sunday Friedman, Andy, from splendid Sports Adam and Dylan Davis from double D vintage. And we did a, we did an hour on stage and it seemed to go super fast.

SPEAKER 1: A lot of the questions were art related to Andy and, you know, first National ever to Adam and Dylan. We chopped up some hobby in between. It will be released a future episode. So look for that probably fix down down the line and that was great. Took a little group picture after the, you know, I'm very blessed that I get to do this.

SPEAKER 1: You know, I think every year at this point and hope that continues to be the case. So that was Thursday Friday again. Got up, showered, got ready, headed over to the show. We get in a little early, you know, a lot of times we're picking up Mike C junk wax hero from his hotel, which is literally across the from, from ours.

SPEAKER 1: So Friday, rolls around starting to feel a little bit of pressure about not having any cards at this point yet, but I'm not gonna buy something for the sake of buying it. So finally I did make a purchase. The first one was a Bob Gibson. I wanna give Danny a shout out kind of talk, talk to the guy when, when I wasn't around and turns out they're fans of the podcast.

SPEAKER 1: And so, we got, made a deal for A P A Four Gibson presents real well and the boom, I was off the on Friday. So a day earlier than last year being Saturday and then later in the day, I completed really what I, what I bought for the whole show with the next deal we bought two K rookies myself and Danny are from the same dealer. We got a package deal.

SPEAKER 1: One's a PS A 51 is a PS A four. We, we worked the deal where I got the five a bit more and Danny got the four for a little bit less. I will say this if you see both cards they present really, really, really well. So, and we got a really good deal. We felt very good, kind of doing a combo from there.

SPEAKER 1: So at this point now I have a line and give a rookie that, I would be, you know, satisfied with that for sure if that was it. And then was looking through some cases and saw 57 tops Frank Robinson rookie. It is on a needless the Hall Of Fame graded underrated player, underrated card, SGC 2.5 looks a little bit better than that. Presents better than that. And really pretty, fairly priced at like 1 50.

SPEAKER 1: Asked to see the card, you know, ask the dealer if he could do 100% or 100 bucks, said 100 10 bucks and you could have it. So paid 100 10 bucks, got a 2.5, Frank Robinson rookie and that concluded really my main buying, bought a couple of smaller things, but that was the croc. So Kline Gibson and Frank Robinson Rookies were my PC P is for this show. So that was Friday at a event for PS A registry pretty well presented.

SPEAKER 1: Nat Turner worked the room, All the other executives PS A were there and good food, actually, great food. And they gave out some awards to some other folks. I'm not up there high enough to win any awards, but it was nice to be there. Gave out a hat, at the end, was open bar. That was nice and, well done. They could add some more tables on the floor. But other than that, well put on and, that was, that was Friday, Saturday.

SPEAKER 1: We had our hobby hotline live on the Mike Burgers main stage at 11 a.m. Central time. We had, I believe 11 of the hobby hotline hosts out of the seven we live in on the stage. We chopped up a lot of questions surrounding the National, the current one and some future ones. We talked a little hobby, talked a little fanatics in their live events. And then we took some questions from the audience.

SPEAKER 1: Again, another hour grateful to get the opera to do it that the powers that be. And, you know, it was fun interactive. And, again another hour that just flew by, met some people afterwards to the side of the stage, took some photos, got my photo taken for, the PS A slab. Cute idea. Never did it. I know it's not the first time, but first time I did it funny story, I kind of forgot about it.

SPEAKER 1: And, you know, Chris Carlin, posted on Twitter, you know, paying Sports Card name. John, your, your card has been sitting here. So I went and picked that up and, that was, that was Saturday. We had our hobby hotline dinner. We had a full house, for that 1, 13 or 14 of us.

SPEAKER 1: And, you know, Doctor Beck in the, and, most of us were there for the dinner and that was nice and had some laughs, enjoyed some steaks, desserts and, and a fun night, distributed some sports collectors digest which everyone appeared in as part of hobby hotline for their National preview. And then, you know, wrapped it up about 11 o'clock and, that was gonna be it. That was the last thing that the dinner before heading home.

SPEAKER 1: The next day I had a one field flight to catch and Danny who drove from Baltimore wanted to, get an early start, home. So overall had a great, five days and, they, they went quick, I mean, as I, I always say that the nationals great, but they go quick, some kind of notes to wrap it up.

SPEAKER 1: Unfortunately, like most can attest to, didn't have enough time to, to meet everybody I had hoped or planned to, but did meet a high percentage of folks that I wanted to and, you know, got to hang out even more with some others. And, so overall that was good, but sorry if I missed a couple of people, not on purpose. Sorry if I missed your table, period.

SPEAKER 1: The additional square footage, you could feel it the, the, it was palpable, you know, comparing it to the last Chicago National that I was at, it seemed more like packed like sardines and had the box out for a table or squeeze in places. This was, felt like more airy and, and open much like Atlantic City did last year in terms of space inside the, the convention.

SPEAKER 1: Wifi was, was, was back and great.

SPEAKER 1: And Thursday was really, really hot in the Donald Stevens convention and it was kind of where your shirt was gonna get, wet from perspiration. And so I don't know if it was the AC went or, or what happened because I don't remember Wednesday being like that and Friday and Saturday, were better. Was it still a little hot?

SPEAKER 1: Not yet, but any time you have that many people in that kind of space that's probably gonna be a warmer than normal air conditioning or no air conditioning. The National, set the new attendance record. So Chicago now has the belt. I thought the, the boots, some boots were bigger than I thought wild cards. That makes the, you know, the college football cards, collegiate a league football cards.

SPEAKER 1: They had a big setup bigger, you know, bigger than I anticipated. I don't know if they really went overboard with marketing in the budget, but they, they really went all out. But I thought most booths were a little bit subdued, kind of take, you know, taken down a notch as Emerald would say, or a little tame whatnot wasn't as gaudy as they were in Atlantic City.

SPEAKER 1: So that, you know, that was different and a lot of the boots were, you know, smaller or just kind of to down a little, maybe budget constraints dictated that, just a hobby sort of settling down. A sort of, warranted that led to that, CCG, grading had, like they announced a carnival, sort of like, atmosphere was very, a lot of kids, a lot of games and a lot of, you know, laughing and having fun.

SPEAKER 1: And, you know, I went to the SGC booth a lot because them being a sponsor and knowing those guys and talking to them and they were happy to say in that, but they were happy every time I went there, sometimes I went over there to talk to someone and it was just too busy, you know, I didn't want to bug them and not an so it was like that a lot. So that was a good sign, for them, Beckett, area when I went by there.

SPEAKER 1: It was hit or miss, sometimes it was a little bit busy, busy and then other times wider than some of the other, grading spaces, tag set up was definitely, interesting as well. They let you kind of see through to how the, you know, the cards get encapsulated inside where that happens.

SPEAKER 1: So transparent kind trying to be transparent, much like their their slab. So, seemed to be a lot more people, but it didn't feel like that because there was more open space and, and it seemed like the corporate setups were sort of came down a little so impressive, but just kind of toned down a little bit before cost reductions and even fanatics slash top slash zero.

SPEAKER 1: Cool. They were, you know, it wasn't gaudy like you might anticipate it's well done and, and to the point and, so that was good to see. So, still not 100%.

SPEAKER 1: We're, we're moving in that direction, I think. But still enjoyed the show. I used none of my Lida Kane back patches. That's right. Never opened one up, brought them back, home and, you know, and, you know, just normal, tired from long days and maybe a little jet lag. But really, you know, there's no day that I really, really wanted to, like, cut my day short or not for itself.

SPEAKER 1: You know, and which I, I didn't want to be a downer to, to Danny, my friend who I spent a lot of time with, or anyone else I was hanging out with, felt pretty good again. Not 100% but working in a direction. And, really, didn't have to change any of my normal National for that.

SPEAKER 1: So that, that wasn't, well done. We get ready for Cleveland. That'll be nice for me because once again I can drive, I'll probably go a day early to check out the rock and roll Hall Hall Of Fame and, then it's back to Chicago.

SPEAKER 1: And at the time of this recording, they have not announced the location yet or the vote, result for the 2026 National. So that's to determine very soon. Maybe by the time you're even listening to this, they've made that in it. So had a great five days also glad to be back, kind of catch up on stuff I missed here.

SPEAKER 1: You know, kind of doing this episode at the 11th hour to get it out at the same time slot we normally do. So that's my, my personal National recap. Let's, let's get to the interview I did on the National floor with famed artist Dick Perez and acclaimed director Mark Evans biopic, The Diamond King coming out in 23.

SPEAKER 1: All right, I'm here at the 43Rd National here in Chicago. I had both of these gentlemen on the podcast previously, but I have not met him in person until now. And it's a real honor and a privilege. I'm joined by Mr Dick Perez, the father of the Diamond King as I like to call him and director Mark Evans.

SPEAKER 1: Mark, I'm gonna start real quick with you. You're doing the documentary, the Diamond King. You started the, the Kickstarter to, to fund the film and that, I don't wanna, you know, you'll tell me if I'm wrong, but that was an overwhelming success funded very quickly. Your thoughts on that. Did it surprise you?

SPEAKER 1: The, the interest and how fast that occurred?

SPEAKER 3: Yeah, I never, I done three Kickstarter before this one and still, I never know what to expect. And those previous ones though, they didn't get funded until the last day.

SPEAKER 3: And that's kind of what I expected with this because that's how it happened in the past. But, so I wasn't, I didn't know what expect, but I also thought there might be a scenario where we could fund it really quickly because I knew that Dick had so many fans of his work that might want to support this film.

SPEAKER 3: So I thought that we had a chance. I thought we had a good campaign with some really fun rewards like the new Diamond Immortal sets and the postcards.

SPEAKER 3: But yeah, so, I mean, it's, it, it wasn't, it's not the normal experience to be funded that quickly. So it was pretty awesome when that happen.

SPEAKER 1: No, I it's awesome and I think it's a testament to your work Mark and obviously how people feel about Dick's work. Dick, how many nationals have you attended?

SPEAKER 4: One?

SPEAKER 4: And then a variety of smaller ones when we were promoting Terrestrial gallery cards and stuff. But this is amazing. This is like another country.

SPEAKER 1: It's, yeah, it's crazy. And they added 200,000 square foot, since the last time. It's, it's been here.

SPEAKER 4: I think there's maybe 15 to 20 acres here.

SPEAKER 1: I try to cover all the ground. I'm, I'm, I'm here five days. I'm still, I won't, I won't do it. I'll go out in a blaze of glory. But, it's, it's very difficult to, to hit everything.

SPEAKER 1: Nick, you've met a lot of your fans that have, have come up and probably much, like I told you when you're on the show, what your work meant to them and their collecting journey journeys. Any of your thoughts. When you hear that, is it still humbling? I mean, this, you know, I'm sure you've heard it, you know, thousands of times at this point. But what's that like when you realize the impact you had on the, on the hobby?

SPEAKER 4: Well, I've read it thousands of times but when you hear it, it's just another dimension and they, and the sincerity with which they express themselves.

SPEAKER 4: It's just, yeah, it's humbling is the word, who, what person creates does not want to be appreciated.

SPEAKER 4: And, and I'm doing it because I love the game and I know the people who want to collect these things love the game and they find it worthy of their, of their desire. So, it's great. I, I what can you say?

SPEAKER 4: It's just a wonderful experience.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah.

SPEAKER 1: Mark for those anticipating the film release, kind of a two prong question. When might they see that?

SPEAKER 1: And you know, how much have you captured here at the National that people may see in the film itself?

SPEAKER 1: Yeah.

SPEAKER 3: As far as here at the National, what we're doing right here, this Dick Meet and Greet is kind of the, the, the essence of what we're trying to do. And it's been great having so many fans of his come like Dick was saying, express just what his work has meant to them.

SPEAKER 3: That's what I was hoping to get for the movie. And that's certainly what we're getting. And even beyond that, I mean, there's people getting emotional meeting Dick Perez, which is awesome.

SPEAKER 3: And and then as far as the film being complete, my, my goal is to finish it by the end of the year and then release it next year. As far as when that will happen, it's always a little bit up in the air when it comes to distribution and distributors. So we'll try to find you the best fit for the film. But that's, that's the goal I'm working on is, is try to complete.

SPEAKER 1: This one last question. I know you guys are very busy that just your thoughts as, as the movie, you know, every day is one day closer to that, that film. Existing kind of the thoughts of being the subject of it. And, I mean, do you ever imagine, maybe it'd be the subject of, of a film?

SPEAKER 4: Not at all. I mean, when he contacted me, seeking, you know, some sort of maybe positive reaction, I don't think I could have been more, more. Yeah.

SPEAKER 4: Yeah.

SPEAKER 4: So, yeah, I mean, I'm glad that, you know, I'm glad to be like the person who merits that kind of coverage.

SPEAKER 4: And, what can I say that? And, and being here is an epitome of, of what this film is all about it because this is where, where our people are.

SPEAKER 4: And, I think it, it has been a great experience for him and I haven't been to this big room so it's been a big experience for me.

SPEAKER 1: Well, I'm biased being in the hobby 40 years myself. I think they, you're right there at the top of the list when we talk about a hobby documentary, you're, you're right at the front of the list. I'm glad we're gonna get to see it and enjoy it.

SPEAKER 1: And, it has been an honor and a privilege meeting. Both of you, gentlemen, continued success. Any last thoughts or anything you want to like, anything coming that you want to let the people know about obviously, besides the film, it's.

SPEAKER 4: So no respect for the interest and, and for the acceptance of my work. I, I think it's for me, it's rewarding and it makes all the time I put in so worthwhile.

SPEAKER 3: I, I'll make a plug for the Diamond King movie dot com, which we have a shop that still has there. There's some we have the Diamond Immortals card set that we released through the Kickstarter campaign. There's 499 cents. There's still some of those available so people can still go on there if they miss something kick.

SPEAKER 3: And then we have these first five Hall Of Fame postcards that people have been loving to from Dick's work, the first five Hall Of Famers. And so go to Diamond, the Diamond King movie dot com and go to the shop there and you can see that.

SPEAKER 1: There you go. Well, once again, guys, I, I appreciate you making some time for us continued success. It was an honor meeting you guys too in person as well.