That's right, you're looking at a $10,000 piece of gum.

The now infamous foul ball that haunts Chicago Cubs fans and of course the reclusive Steve Bartman is being auctioned off. I'm not sure what's more amazing; the fact that people will pay an inordinate amount of money for the ball or that Steve Bartman has pulled off the greatest disappearing act since Tracy McGrady's shooting percentage against the zone defense. The Bartman foul ball is just the most recent example of the craze that surrounds sports collectibles/memorabilia.

	The infamous Steve Bartman has created a collectible.

The advent of eBay and other online auctions have changed the way that sports fans collect and purchase their favourite pieces of sports memorabilia. Because of this new method of purchase, fans are seeing the amount and variety of items that are classified as memorabilia dramatically increase. One trend that has found its way into the packs of sports cards is the inclusion of patches of game-used jerseys and pieces of sticks/bats affixed to cards. One card maker has taken this trend to the extreme in controversial fashion (no apologies for the pun). Card maker Donruss bought one of three remaining Babe Ruth pinstripe Yankees uniforms from 1925 at an auction last year and is now cutting up the jersey into 2,100 pieces with plans to randomly insert the jersey patches into packs of Donruss baseball cards. Does anyone else see a problem with this? Is it really worthwhile cutting up such a rare piece of sports history just so 2,100 people can have a mattress tag piece of a jersey that on it's own probably looks like a dish rag? I mean what's next? Why not just solder down the Stanley Cup and turn it into key chains that you can redeem at the gas station with enough gas points?

	A serial killer's dream room.

Another trend to enter the sports collectible world is a strange and frightening one; the trend of collecting the personal effects of athletes. It first started last year when Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Luis Gonzalez spit out a wad of gum in foul territory. Now most of us wouldn't think twice about the incident but one fan was able to see that and rationalize the future steps needed to take that piece of gum and turn it into $10,000. That's right, $10,000! Seeing a piece of gum and then forecasting that someone would buy it for that much is like seeing Toms Hanks in Turner and Hooch and predicting he would one day be considered one of the best actors. Another collectible to file under the strange personal effects is the auctioning off of New York Yankees reliever Jeff Nelson's bone chips after a surgery. What possible reason would someone have for wanting to own someone else's bone chips? The same people who would be interested in that kind of purchase would also be the first one's considered to match the serial killer profile. Speaking of serial killers why is it that so many movie serial killers are such terrific tailors? Think about it: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface, Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs and the creature thing from Jeepers Creepers. All I'm saying is that the first instinct of authorities should be to go searching out and breaking up sewing circles and Home Ec classes across the country to solve crimes.

Because sports fans are eager to capture a memory of a favourite player, team or event, sellers are able to capitalize by setting prices high. With holiday shopping in full bloom, you'll see countless examples of overpriced items marketed as collectibles to prey on the emotional attachments of fans. The 2000 Canadian Men's Olympic team gold medal is the perfect example of sellers trying to capitalize on spirit of the moment. Books, Bobbleheads, shirts, DVD's, hats and plaques were everywhere and people scooped them up because they captured a piece of the Salt Lake City moment. The approach many people take to purchasing collectibles is that over time the item will appreciate in value and provide a money windfall for the seller. That's rarely the case unless you're dealing with the most rare and unique of items. Entering the world of sports collectibles for financial gain is like entering the Casino expecting to win, when in fact it should be viewed as a game of chance and circumstance. No one can predict how well a player's future performance turns out. Look at Ken Griffey Jr. He looked like a lock for the Hall of Fame during his Mariner days and then years later he's just another good but not great player.

The definition of a sport collectible is individual to the person. Whatever sports memory one sees fit to keep, preserve and hang onto is a collectible. I've started my own collection and it includes a variety of different things. My prize possessions thus far are: a Mario Lemieux personalized autographed jersey, a Mike Alstott autographed replica Buccaneers helmet and a Dan Marino signed football. While I understand why people collect things through eBay and other online auction sites I much prefer to collect my memorabilia in person, because then there's a story that goes with the memory. Plus there's no question of authenticity and you don't have to shell out all that cash. With that being said, Christmas is approaching and a purchased sports collectible would hardly be shunned away. So bring on the Roy Jones signed gloves, the signed Brett Favre jerseys and the Buccaneers paraphernalia.