2026 National Card Show: What Social Media Got Wrong | Talking Shop Ep. 202

Josh is back from the 2026 National Sports Collectors Convention, and his experience inside the building looked a little different from the version of The National that took over social media.Was this really an unprecedented, overcrowded National? Were the lines as bad as they looked online? What were collectors actually buying? And is paying extra for early entry the single best National hack?Josh breaks down five days at the show, his 2008 Upper Deck Tom Brady autograph pickup, meeting AEW’s Kyle Fletcher in the wild, the Panini VIP experience, National-exclusive packs and what the hobby’s biggest card show actually felt like from the floor.Then we get into a few massive hobby conversations:• Shohei Ohtani’s one-of-one Back-to-Back Gold Logoman reportedly selling for $11 million• Whether an $11 million modern card can really establish a market• Why Pokémon, Lorcana, One Piece, Magic and other TCGs continue to explode• Whether Pokémon needs separate products for players and high-end collectors• PSA’s staggering 12.4 million-item backlog• Why another grading company may have an opportunity while PSA remains overwhelmedPlus Josh runs through what’s new at Grand Slam Cards, including Topps Chrome Update Basketball, the Cooper Flagg debut-patch chase, upcoming baseball and racing releases, and more.And we finish with a baseball stat involving Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong that had never happened before.Because every card has a story.#SportsCards #TheNational #CardCollecting #TalkingShopPodcast #ShoheiOhtani