A Summer of Sport and Sales
Well, it's that time of year again. You know, that time when the football season has finished and you wonder where both that and most of your team's performances disappeared to, and the holiday season kicks in.
Speaking as someone who has spent most of his life working in football, I can wholly vouch that, whatever the campaign outcome, summer is a time that’s sacrosanct, although summer in football is certainly now a lot shorter than it used to be. Back in the day, it seemed as though you didn’t see a player for months, though I am sure that wasn’t really the case. Now it’s a couple of weeks before they begin to filter back in, such is the pressure to arrive back fit, ready to begin preseason and start all over again.
This summer, however, offers the chance of relief to the sports fan and an opportunity to get comfy with the remote or even sly off to the pub. Euro 2024 has kicked off, we have the summer Olympics just a javelin throws away, and of course, the opportunity to see the camera zooming in on Cliff in the centre court at Wimbledon, with the rest of the crowd praying it doesn’t rain!
Football gets ever stranger. It seems like only yesterday that England either failed to qualify for a major tournament or didn’t get the chance to properly unpack their cases. But over the last 20 or so years we have truly been spoiled, and whatever your thoughts on Gareth Southgate, his care, intuition and ability to motivate and organise players has seen us transformed in the eyes of your friendly neighbourhood book maker. We are now hotly favoured to be there come the reckoning across the channel this very summer - I still have to pinch myself.
I gave up watching international football for a long time - I just lost interest after years of actually going to the games, and it got tiring being the eternal bridesmaid. I mean, if the golden generation of Beckham, Gascoigne and co couldn’t win anything then who could? It would be wrong to say that we set the world alight with expression at times, but there can be no denying the way he goes about things and the response he gets from his players, and there is some real quality out there at the moment to pick from, isn’t there?
And let's not forget the Olympic games! We have had our fair share of success down the years with Team GB, and it has thrown some real heroes up for the next generation to identify with and follow. Olympians do seem to make excellent ambassadors for their respective events and sports. It always makes me smile that, as the games progress you see the swimming pools getting busier, even more folks with earphones and lycra on out running, but not as yet too many out in the park lobbing javelins or shooting crossbows whilst dodging an increase in cyclists being out and about. It’s the same with Wimbledon. Once again, you cant get on a parks tennis court to save your life!
For those who want to really get the flavour of course, we have a June Auction that can truly tempt the summer taste buds and bank accounts of collectors both old and new. Football's popularity is reflected in the large number of lots up for grabs. Many names who will be seen gracing the Euros will doubtless have a shirt they have worn for their domestic clubs up for grabs, and sometimes even a player issued, or match worn international example for you to chance a bid or three on.
At Graham Budd, we work tirelessly to make sure the garment you are bidding for is right and correct and also how its described in the catalogue, so in a vastly competitive market we go that extra mile to make sure you are spending safely and not simply forking out for some simple replica. Authenticity and the story is everything for us.
There is so much more on offer from the beautiful game - FA Cup Winners medals and Final shirts from clubs such as Liverpool and Stoke City, rare match programmes, International Caps from legendary names such as Johnny Carey of Man Utd. Plus a real rarity in the shape of Sir Stanley Matthew’s League Championship medal. A treasure trove and no mistake.
There are some superb Olympic items - gold medals from the time when they were actually struck from gold and not simply gold metal, programmes, competitor handbooks, teamwear and torches, posters that walk the line between art and sport. This auction brings the competition greats and the things they won potentially out of the TV and into your hand and home. History at its very best.
Tennis too. I never, ever paid any real attention to tennis rackets - to me, you just whacked a ball with them because that’s what they were made to use for. But in recent sales we saw early examples fetch nearly as much as a punnet of strawberries and cream at Wimbledon itself. June is no different, with two mid 1850’s University examples tipped to nudge the £20,000 mark each and some real collectables including a tennis ball that’s actually a lighter. It may sound like a gadget from the Bond films of the 1960’s, but these were given by Her Madj to competitors and, it has to be said, the one we have is “smokin”- sorry, I really couldn’t resist that one.
Our catalogue is hot and fresh online now, so begin your preparation for a summer of sport before a whistle is blown and register to bid. You can do this online, book a telephone bid with one of the GB team, or, if you can tear yourself away from the TV for a few hours, join us in the auction room in person over the two days.
We look forward to you joining the team at Graham Budd this summer!
