Everybody Calm Down

Warning: Low Content article ahead!

It's easy to get excited about good stuff. But there's still work to do.

I'm talking about the Knicks of course. They won the NBA Cup the other night, by beating a surprisingly solid Spurs team. It was a lot of fun, and it was the first "real" opportunity the Knicks had to celebrate anything since they won the Eastern Conference in 1999 - and I don't even think that hoisting a conference trophy was a thing at the time. Watching them celebrate on the court with confetti and a trophy was pretty cool. Of course, ultimately, it means next to nothing, as it's just a fun in-season tournament with no tangible benefits. The Cup final game didn't even count in the standings. So it's merely bragging rights at the least, and maybe some character-building for the real test down the road. We're still 6 months away from the NBA Finals, and there's plenty of chances to fall before then.

So that got me thinking, what do we prematurely celebrate in our world of collecting?*

For me, it's HasLabs. The HasLabs themselves have given us a few incredible centerpieces, which in turn inspire additional items from their supporting campaigns. Unfortunately, over time, I feel let down by the longer term efforts. 2018-2019 was a wonderful time to be a collector. It provided the Sail Barge, the single greatest item in the entire history of the 3.75" line, while simultaneously seeing the effective end of the scourge of 5POA. The support campaign was pretty awesome, and included the skiff, as well as several single carded and multi-packed figures. It was a time to celebrate the greatness of the One True Scale, and for a few fleeting moments, it seemed like there was nothing but blue skies ahead.

But then we flipped the calendar to a new year, and it was an unmitigated disaster. No, I'm not talking about COVID. I'm talking about a collecting year so bad that it inspired the Petition of the Great Collector Rebellion of 2020. The only thing we got since then that was in direct support of the Sail Barge was the Jabba's Court Denizens from 2023. To be fair, that was a true highlight of the line, and completing the prisoner skiff with Velken Tezeri was an out-of-body experience. Nevertheless, that figure pack was the only thing Hasbro offered since the Khetanna shipped.

This seems to happen for every campaign so far. The Haslab is quite special, it gets some immediate support. It's like winning the NBA Cup! And then you realize that a long time will pass before you may be lucky to get additional figure support - like there still being 2/3 of an NBA season to go before the playoffs begin. And you might get a Velken Tezeri / Taym Dren-garen multi-pack in the future, like winning the NBA Championship - or you may get nothing (Razor Crest? Ghost?) and get swept out of the first round. Then there's always the loser talk that comes with the realization that there'll be another HasLab campaign that will be better. In sports parlance, we say "There's always next year!" Only to rinse and repeat, and the cycle of disappointment continues. For 52 years.

So what part of collecting has gotten you excited, only to be followed up with disappointment?





*I wasn't really thinking this. But it's the best I could come up with. Work with me here.

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