When Trevor O’Loughlin placed his order for the Topps NOW Olympics cards, he thought about what he would do if he ended up with one of the 1/1 chase cards.
“Right there I said, I'm holding this forever.”
That’s a lot easier to say when you’re sitting at your computer. It’s a whole different ballgame when you’re confronted with the real thing.
Cards were the last thing on O’Loughlin’s mind when he got a text with a photo notifying him of a package at his apartment door Monday.
Really, it was hardly his apartment anymore considering he would be turning over the keys the following day. O’Loughlin, 30, and his wife — the two got married this past June — had already moved into their new place in Virginia, just outside Washington.
So, he had no idea what the package could be. He first thought it might belong to his wife, or maybe just a mistaken address. He wondered if the package looked like it could contain cards, but he wasn’t waiting on any: He’d already received his Topps NOW Olympics cards in early September. Five Steph cards and five triple cards. All 10 base cards. No dice. Or so he thought.
Monday evening, he went to retrieve the package, which was tucked just inside the door jam. The small, unassuming box offered little indication of what lay inside.
“I open it, and it's just a cardboard box, and all it has is that Topps NOW little package,” O’Loughlin recalled to cllct. ““No note, no nothing.”
But he’d seen others open chase cards from the Topps NOW Olympic release on the internet and knew this could be it. Though he couldn’t imagine what would be waiting for him inside.
He called up his buddy, with whom he’d recently bought a few Topps NOW cards for the Ohtani 40-40 release and did a mini-live reveal.
Then, the moment of truth.
Silence.
“I don't think any of us said a word for like, five minutes, and then we finally snapped out of it and realized what just happened,” O’Loughlin said.
Inside the package was a redemption card for the Steph Curry Gold 1/1 Auto.
While the bulk of the buzz has surrounded the triple autograph card featuring Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant, O’Loughlin couldn’t have been more thrilled to see the face of his favorite player looking back at him.
“Ask any of my friends or family, a quarter of my personality is being a Curry fan,” O’Loughlin said. He has been obsessed ever since Curry’s Davidson days and only began following the NBA when the two-time MVP was drafted.
For his 30th birthday this year, O'Loughlin's wife bought him tickets to see Curry and the Warriors play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
“I'm a point guard, I'm only 5-8. This is the one person I can look up to,” O’Loughlin said. “I can't relate to LeBron.”
While the best Curry card from the release landing in the hands of one of his biggest fans is undoubtedly a stroke of luck, it’s tough to ignore the near-miss that could have brought it all crashing down.
“If it got delivered today, I'm not sure if I would see that package again,” O’Loughlin said.
Since he handed over the keys to his last apartment, he might never have gone back for the package. And for it to happen on the last possible day is nothing short of extraordinary.
Though he admits his original declaration that he would hold it forever might not be realistic, O’Loughlin isn’t running to any auction house or private buyer any time soon. He wants to hold on to it for at least a little while, musing it could be fun to have it displayed at local card shops.
But, as he waits for Fanatics to deliver the card (he fulfilled the redemption and is waiting for the real deal), he is increasingly aware of the “life-changing” money the card would bring him.
He sees it as a future down payment on a house.
Yet, it’s still up in the air.
“When you have that opportunity, you're always going to think about the what if.”
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct.