CHASING THE RAINBOW
IS THERE GOLD AT THE END OF THAT RAINBOW? YEP, ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER COLORS AND CRAZY BACKGROUND DESIGNS
IS THERE GOLD A T THE END OF THA T RAINBOW? YEP, ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF O THER COLORS
AND CRAZ Y BACKGROUND DE SIGNS
I“One can enjoy a rainbow without necessarily forgetting the forces that made it.”
–Mark Twain
n the sports card community, the completed rainbow of a specific card is a badge of honor. It’s that victory flag that confirms passion and fandom for a player or team. e bigger the rainbow, the harder the work, and therefore, the greater the satisfaction when completed. And much like a rainbow in the sky, completed rainbows rely on the help of many forces that must come together perfectly.
From the advent of sports cards through what some refer to as the “junk era” of the 1980s, rainbows were not a part of the card-collecting vernacular. Collectors chased full sets, team sets or specific players, but to have everything was a fairly attainable goal if you had the money.
It was right around the turn of the century (yeah, that feels weird to say) that color and pattern variations became a thing. Sure, there were gold-foil parallels and some limited border color variations in the early-to mid-1990s, but they were small and fairly easy to acquire.
All of that changed in 1998 with Topps Tek, a set that featured 180 variations of the same card. A er that, the cardcollecting community never looked back. Although there are presently no rainbows as intense and complex as ’98 Tek, card sets like Topps High Tek and Panini Prizm continue to scratch that rainbow itch with 20, 30 and sometimes even 40 color, pattern and foil/sheen variations to chase.
Aside from them, almost every other set produced these days includes some run of color or foil variations.
With card production as high as it is today, and the mix of exclusive retail, hobby and even online cards, to chase a rainbow requires skill, patience, determination and just plain luck. Not to mention money.
Rainbow collectors will likely score most of the highnumbered and un-numbered parallels within a week or two of the product’s release. e cards with lower serial numbers, however, will trickle onto eBay, the Beckett Marketplace and other card sites/message boards.
Anything numbered to 10 or less has a real chance to only show up once, twice, or even worse, never at all. ese cards could sit unopened for years on retail shelves as they await markdown. At local card shops, they might collect dust as newer, hotter products push them further down on the shelf. ey could be opened by someone who either decides to keep them, or a child/elderly collector who doesn’t use the Internet.
It’s because of this that to collect a large rainbow down to the elusive 1/1 is a rare and accomplished feat.
To collectors who know what it takes to amass them, the image of a completed rainbow is a sight to behold. Like a finished puzzle, it showcases the beauty of the card maker’s set design and/or foil technology. It also serves as a visual checklist for those who aspire to accomplish the same feat, who will than likely share out the image to their collector buddies and contemporaries. Half the fun of a completed rainbow is to humble brag with an image of the full run.
However, to a spouse (or most non-collectors/sports fans), the rainbow is not so grand. It’s literally just alternate versions of a card you could’ve paid 50 cents for and have been done with it. ey laugh at all of the time, money, effort and mental anguish spent to track down the base card’s sexier and more sought-a er siblings.
In their mind, if they have a pink blouse that they like, they’re not going to hit every TJ Maxx in the area to try and get it in black, red, turquoise, navy blue and green. at’s not to mention a search for all of those colors again with the designer’s logo embroidered on them in script. It’s safe to say, they just don’t get us, and likely never will.
“So, the only difference between these cards is the color of the border?” asks my beautiful and charming wife as she rolls her eyes. “ at is so ridiculous. Why do you even care about that? What a waste of money. Go take out the garbage.”
But yes, many of us rainbow collectors do care. at’s why rare color variants bring in big bucks. So what is it about color variations that appeal so strongly to a large portion of the card-collecting community? e answer to this question can only come from rainbow collectors themselves.
“I started my [Jeter] rainbow 2-3 years ago,” says Derek Jeter superfan Peter Douglas. “I found the image of Jeter jumping and throwing was iconic to both his legacy and how I personally remember him.
“I started with a plan to collect just the Topps Chrome rainbow,” says Peter. “However, I quickly realized that not only was there a Topps rainbow, but that the image was appearing in other Topps series and years. From that point on, I targeted any card that had the image.”
“I think the biggest thing about [rainbows] is chasing those specific cards,” says Rangers superfan Cale Trail. “You’re always on the hunt for certain ones to complete a full rainbow. e colors and different variations are always pretty cool too, especially with the larger rainbows.”
“My largest rainbow is the 2018 Panini Prizm of Sam Hubbard,” says rainbow collector Jonathan Hamilton. “It’s 40 cards, and I have all of it completed except for the Black Finite auto and Gold Vinyl non-auto. [I started collecting him] because he went to high school with my wife’s cousin, and I figured he would be a fun player to collect. It’s a fun chase, and the results are aesthetically pleasing. ey look great on display!”
While some fans collect only a specific player or team, others take what’s known as the “cycle approach.” Much like the cycle in baseball, where once a player gets that pesky triple out of the way, they can go a er the more common single, double and home run, some collectors will track down an affordable 1/1 and attempt to build out the rainbow from there. With the rarest parallel in hand, they figure they have a decent shot at completion.
“Most of my rainbows are Red Sox players due to being a fan of the team, but the other ones were started because I happened upon a Superfractor or another key 1/1 and decided it would be fun to try and build out,” says Brian Tarble, a Jason Varitek super collector. “Once complete, I try to find a home for them for someone who is truly a fan.
“A er getting back into collecting in 2017, I really only collected Varitek, trying to amass the largest collection I
could.” Tarble continues. “Having most of his cards, I needed something else to fill the ‘collecting void.’ Rainbows look appealing and depending on the player, you can usually put one together at a relatively low price point and have the fun of the hunt. It just gives me something specific to focus my attention on in a hobby that has so many different ways to collect.”
Many rainbow collectors say the chase is the best part. To hunt a specific card doesn’t always end with an eBay listing and purchase. Many times, the rare cards come with their own unique stories, ones that can be shared with other collectors o en more than happy to aid in unique quests.
“ e 2016-17 Gold Panini Prizm #/10 was the last one I needed to complete the rainbow,” says Jesse Watts, an Anthony Davis super collector. “I looked for nearly two years. I had multiple eBay notifications set, and I’m in several card groups on Facebook and would post weekly, then monthly looking for the card. [It got] to the point that everyone knew I was looking for it. I even posted several funny videos looking for it.
“Finally I received a private message showing a post in a group I didn’t belong to with the card for sale,” says Jesse. “A gentleman that was working on the same Prizm rainbow of
[Brandon] Ingram showed me the post. I had sent him an Ingram card he needed for free, and so to return the favor, he worked a deal with the owner and then sent me the card. He wanted nothing in return. at was a pretty awesome gesture, and what a way to complete a rainbow!”
For collectors like Jesse who seek one player exclusively, the task is never simple. Since their goal is so precise, they’re forced to play the waiting game. But it’s the wait that makes it much more fulfilling when the collection is complete.
“I love the different designs and colors of today’s cards,” says Art Susi, a Reggie Jackson super collector. He’s amassed dozens of complete and near-complete rainbows. “Mainly I am compulsive and feel a collection isn’t complete until all of them are together.”
ere can be subconscious factors that cause rainbow collectors to complete unfinished runs, no matter how big or small.
“ e need to complete collections appears to be hard-wired into the psyche of most people,” says Aaron Feigenbaum PhD, a renowned anthropologist. “It’s based upon the fact that people remember uncompleted tasks better than completed tasks, and that these memories of uncompleted tasks are associated with negative emotions such as failure and guilt. In this light, collecting the entire rainbow is not so much about an accomplishment and positive emotions, but more about not finishing the collection and avoiding negative ones.
“In other words, once they start, they need to finish or else they will feel bad.”
Whether it’s to avoid feelings of failure or the simple joy to chase the cards you love, rainbow collecting is a large part of today’s sports card culture. With the recent release of 2019 Panini Prizm Baseball, which features close to 30 color and pattern parallels the likes of lime-green donut circles, blue hyper prizm, cosmic haze, finite black and even snake skin, many will tear open packs and scour the Internet for their favorite players and teams in the hopes to piece together the elusive complete rainbow.