Title: Collecting Sports Memorabilia Word Count: 608 Summary: When we talk about sports memorabilia and collectibles, what immediately comes into your mind? Do you visualize the sports cards, or do you think of the varied gear and equipment like signed jerseys, jackets, hats, and posters? Fans know that there are several ways of showing their loyalty and patronage by accumulating items of their favorite team or sports star. Fans collect for other sports as well, such as NASCAR, golf, baseball, football, and basketball. Some items... Keywords: sports memorabilia, collectibles sports memorabilia, authentic sports memorabilia, direct sports mem Article Body: When we talk about sports memorabilia and collectibles, what immediately comes into your mind? Do you visualize the sports cards, or do you think of the varied gear and equipment like signed jerseys, jackets, hats, and posters? Fans know that there are several ways of showing their loyalty and patronage by accumulating items of their favorite team or sports star. Fans collect for other sports as well, such as NASCAR, golf, baseball, football, and basketball. Some items that are found to be enjoyable to collect are bobble heads, posters, die-cast models, and new items like the Fat Heads products. These are life-like, life-sized reproductions of sports heroes that can be stuck to your wall. With all of the memorabilia that a fan can collect, sometimes it’s commonplace to see people becoming perplexed where to begin or how to start collecting sports memorabilia. Collecting any sports memorabilia or sports collectibles is a very personalized pastime that has significance based more on the collector’s likes and passions as much as the accomplishments of the individual athlete or team. For those of us who want to buy a family member or a friend a gift that is related to their favorite athlete, team, or sport, what do we look for? For starters, you might want to consider the New York Yankees. This baseball team is one of, if not the most famous baseball team in the world, plus their rosters from past to present has been dotted with all-time greats. On the other hand, maybe they are into NASCAR. Then you have Tony Stewart, Jimmy Johnson, and lots more. We cannot ignore the unforgettable Dale Earnhardt Sr. whose memorabilia have not only doubled but tripled after his death, and seem to be growing in value even more each year. As with many eminent painters like Rembrandt, Earnhardt fanatics consistently refuse to allow his dream and legacy to die. NASCAR collectors do not only have a wide selection of cars to choose from, but now they can get Plush Bears designed after the driver, autobiographies, yearbooks, key chains, lighters, plates, and much more. Even baseball memorabilia and sports collectibles have broadened into the Christmas niche, with a wide selection of decorations for the tree and even the roof of your home. Furthermore, there are a lot of other sports greats as well, like Ben Roethlisberger, Shaquille O'Neil, and Nomar Garciaparra. Moreover, let us not forget the legendary Michael Jordan. Sports memorabilia collectors may or may not have realized how much throwback jerseys have influenced sports memorabilia, but in 1980, when the major sports leagues started to market both new and used game jerseys, the collectors wanted even more. Die-cast collectibles have also evolved. One of the hottest items at one time were fire trucks, but they went around back to the muscle cars and the newer hotrod collectibles. Of course we always have the sports collectors who will grab anything from a sketch of Tiger Woods to a vintage Los Angeles Lakers team photograph. Even the seven-time conqueror of the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong, has an extensive fan base for memorabilia and sports collectibles. When it comes to the monetary value of the items you collect, remember that the more celebrated the star, the more expensive the sports memorabilia will be. The value of the item will shoot up even more if the authenticity can be verified in some way. Be careful and don’t lose any items related to your sports collectible or sports memorabilia. These would include the original box, any correspondence or signatures, receipts, etc. These will all help to make the item more valuable and collectible.