If you love something, set it free...

Okay... so this is something you usually hear when you're talking about being in love with someone... but today I'm not talking about a girl... I'm talking about sports cards.

A few days ago, I was reading a blog post over at SEWINGMACHINEGUY on CARDS. In his post he mentioned that he found a 1998 Finest jumbo card of Jerry Rice. If you don't remember 1998 Finest, they had a protective peel on each card with the following words written on it:

TOPPS FINEST PROTECTOR

PEEL AND REMOVE COATING

Captain Canuck offered the advice... PEEL IT! PEEL IT NOW!!! and I supported the Captain 100%.

Card companies often add these additional protective measures to their products. Unfortunately, they often make the cards look terrible. So the dilemma is... should you set them free?

Six months ago, I brought this up with the autographs from Topps Retired products from the mid 2000's. Each of the autographs were encapsulated in a protective case with a Topps hologram seal. I had recently purchased some of these autographs off of Beckett and were disappointed to find that some of the cases were scratched. So... the question was... do I set them free?

If you've been following my blog for awhile, then you know that I opened two of the three cases that I purchased. I did it, because I feel that if a card is going to be in my personal collection, then it's important that I can appreciate their beauty. Obviously... there's a chance that they'll be less desirable to other collectors... but who cares? They're my cards and I have no intentions of getting rid of them.

So...when I received these in the mail yesterday, I faced the dilemma again. This time it wasn't Topps and their snap cases, but Sport Kings and their foil sealed top loaders.

I've been looking for the Bruce Lee for awhile and I'm pumped to finally add him to my PC. The Chamberlain will also be going into my PC, because he was a Los Angeles Laker. The other three will eventually be added to my trade lists. Which brings me to the point of this blog and today's question of the day...

Should I set them free from their holders?

Are you ready to find out what I did? Well... I kept the Craig, Sakic, and Berry in their protective top loaders provided by Spork Kings. I figure, it's up to whoever wants these to decide their fate. However the Lee and the Chamberlain are no longer prisoners in their semi scratched top loaders. Their new homes are perfectly new penny sleeves, fresh out of the box top loaders, and of course brand new team bags... because I take care of my peeps.

Anyways... I'm thankful that card companies take the time to add extra protection to their products... but like my momma once said... If you love something, set it free! And that's what I just did.

Happy Tuesday everyone!