Daughters Are A Driving Force in the Hobby
When you ask men why they collect cardboard, they’ll usually give you two reasons: 1) they’re sports fans, and 2) it brings back memories of their childhood. Nostalgia is a strong psychological factor in the hobby.
The 1999 Women’s World Cup was a high-water mark in women’s sports. But times were different then. There wasn’t a professional women’s soccer league until the next year in response to the championship run by the U.S. women’s team.
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) was in its third year - a fledgling enterprise mostly played in front of arenas at one-fourth of their capacity.
Today, men entering their 40s and 50s - who grew up in the ‘junk wax era’ - are experiencing life events even more profound than childhood. They’re becoming fathers to daughters.
As sports fans, they now have various opportunities to take their daughters to sporting events. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has 14 teams all over the country. The now-defunct Women’s United Soccer Association, established in 2000, had eight teams - and none in the Midwest.
The WNBA originated with eight teams in 1997. There are now 12 teams, with the league expanding to 15 in 2026. Of course, we can’t discount the Caitlin Clark effect - not just a dominant player, but a player that can make a shot from anywhere on the court.
Overall, the athletes are also more skilled and games are being played at a higher level. The impact of men taking their daughters to watch women athletes cannot be underestimated. Yes, moms and dads have taken their daughters to women’s sporting events for years. But not in the numbers we see now.
More men (and women) are making sports-related memories with their daughters. A traditionally reserved role for fathers and sons has now evolved to include daughters. The emotions of collecting are crossing genders, resulting in new father-daughter memories that women will extend into their future families.
According to a recent article by Sean Sansiveri in May’s edition of the Sports Business Journal,
‘The WNBA and NWSL, for instance, have seen fandom grow by 7% and 11%, respectively. In fact, the Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of women’s sports leagues is now higher than that of most men’s sports in the U.S., driven by significant increases in viewership, sponsorship and overall revenue.'
For further evidence, one only needs to look at the success of women’s sports card company Parkside, Leaf’s recent announcement of Metal Women of Sport, and the recent record sales of women’s sports cards.
Still, Sansiveri noted,
‘Despite increasing viewership and attendance, the WNBA faces significant gaps in the availability of player merchandise at retail. This issue extends beyond the WNBA to other women’s sports, where products are often overpriced, sold out, or delayed in shipping -- issues not as prevalent in men’s sports.’
The executives of sports card and memorabilia companies would be wise to pay attention. There is a burgeoning market of men and women and their daughters ready to add to their collections.
HORACIO RUIZ