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Cooper Flagg Unveils His Debut Patch Auto

Cooper Flagg Unveils His Debut Patch Auto

Plus, the best Topps Football cards from the 2000s.

July 18, 2026

Collecting My Thoughts

Welcome to Weekend Update. I’m Brendan Darr, and there is no Colin Jost or Michael Che with me, but it's Saturday, and I was live in New York.

A special weekend edition of Collectibles Life as we are halfway through Fanatics Fest weekend in New York City. No major breaking news on-stage quite like the Kevin Durant trade last year, but that didn’t stop everyone from speculating that LeBron would announce his decision.

He did not.

That said, I see the appeal of Fanatics Fest for sports fans. It is a monument to sports and celebrity, essentially Comic-Con for sports fans. Maybe it isn’t a traditional card show, but cards are always in the picture at Fanatics Fest.

I’ve seen a lot online from other content creators that Fanatics is “a few years away from ending The National.”

Other than the fact that Fanatics confirmed on Sports Cards Nonsense that 1) they don’t view themselves as competition for The National and 2) are moving back to June in the future to give collectors room to breathe and attend both, and 3) that July this year was specifically for FIFA and the World Cup.

But, other than all of those facts that they have repeatedly said, maybe!

Probably not though, in case the sarcasm didn’t fully sink in. I think attending Fanatics Fest, after talking with a lot of the SCN talent, taught me to be excited for The National while also appreciating what Fanatics Fest is.

I can’t assume everyone views the hobby the same way I do, and that is more than fair. After seeing Fanatics Fest, I get that it may not be for everyone, but if we want to expand the hobby, it is one hell of an introduction to collecting.

This is especially true with the Card Combine. It was awesome to help younger collectors learn about aspects of the hobby I myself may have taken for granted. Like, yeah, I know what breaking is and how to properly top load a card (seriously, where was this kinda thing when I was 8), but not everyone does!

At the end of the day, it was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to see what The National has in store.

By: Brendan Darr

Cooper Flagg Signs His 1-of-1 Debut Patch Auto at Fanatics Fest

Flagg signed the card, then came out to do a Q&A with ESPN's Kevin Negandhi. Looking at the card, Negandhi noted that the auto was perfectly centered and perfectly placed on the card and wondered how much Flagg had practiced his autograph.

The Most Iconic Topps Football Cards of the 2000's (Part I)

The years 2000 to 2002 saw many key Topps Football card releases. Whether it is the first Topps Flagship card of Tom Brady or the Rookie Card of Drew Brees, these cards would be great additions to one's collection. Many of these cards are wallet-friendly, which is always a bonus. Stay tuned for the next installment of this mini-series, which will cover the middle part of the 2000's.