Monday, April 8, 2013

Needing feedback from my dime box fanatics


No, fellow readers, this is not a thinly-veiled comment grab on my part.

I just thought I'd make note of that after last week's "readership blues" post.

Quite the contrary, actually. I'm addressing this post to all my "fans" out there for a very specific reason.

I'm leaving it up to YOU to decide whether or not I should launch an idea I've been floating around for a little while.

Why?

Because this particular pet project would have to exclusively involve the participation of my readers in order to get the most out of it.

I just want to get a general feel for how well this idea goes over. If people seem to be on board with it, then I'll give it the go-ahead. If the interest isn't there, then I'll simply move on to the next idea.

Okay, I've had you wait long enough. Here's what I had in mind.

Similar to what I've seen on a couple other blogs, I've been thinking of starting a "March Madness" style bracket for all the "Gems of Junk Wax" subjects I've featured in my writings thus far.

Through good ol' bracket-style elimination, we'll eventually land on a single, solitary "Gem of Junk Wax". (At least from the ones I've featured on the blog.)

If this idea does indeed continue, I'll only focus on the individual cards I've inducted into the GOJW halls. While awesome in their own right, entire sets I've shown in the theme (such as Conlon Collection and Donruss Triple Play) just wouldn't fit in well with the overall concept.

Thus far, I've featured 50 different individual cards in my GOJW theme. Those would be the fifty "teams" in the bracket.

That's where you come into the picture.

Although I haven't nailed down exactly how I'm going to determine the different bracket "regions" and such, I'm going to need you, the reader, to take the time and vote for each of the individual matchups during the course of the tournament.

For example, I might have you choose between Kevin Mitchell's 1987 Topps card and Fernando Valenzuela's 1991 Upper Deck issue. Whichever one receives more votes would move on to the next round. And so on.

Should this idea come to fruition, I'll space out the different "rounds" so you won't have to vote on too many different matchups at once.

I haven't done anything poll-related on this blog yet, so that may take some practice on my part. In a way, though, I think that'd make it even more fun for me.

Well, that's it.

If this sounds like something you'd like to participate in, please feel free to comment with your thoughts. Or, if you think this is a step in the wrong direction, I'm open to hearing that side as well. You won't hurt my feelings.

If this does end up happening, I should note that this won't be the end of the "Gems of Junk Wax" theme, by any means. It's more of an intermission than anything else. I'll still continue to post more "gems" after the fact.

Should I get a good amount of feedback on this tournament idea, I'll go ahead and launch it. I'd like to have at least a decent amount of participation within it if it does get the green light, though.

I'm leaving it up to you.

Thanks for viewing, fellow reader.

12 comments:

The Diamond King said...

I'd vote. These things are always fun and I am trying to be involved on other blogs more.

Josh D. said...

Since 50 is not a power of 2, you'd need to make a weird bracket to accomodate it. Like give the "top" 14 seeds a first-round bye, while the other 36 teams battle down to 18. Then you'd have 14+18 = 32, and a regular bracket could occur from there.

Or post 14 more GOJW so that you have 64 and that makes the bracket very easy.

Mark Aubrey said...

I'll agree with Josh D. Up it to 64.

As far as regions go... randomize it. Just gently shuffle the cards and place them in a region.

I would do the same with the seeding. Too many times in a bracket-type showdown the thought of a #1 going against a #16 there is already a prejudice or love for the top seed. Although, underdogs are fun to root for.

The Angels In Order said...

Great idea, I'm in.

Swing And A Pop-up said...

I'm in, but I'm also with Josh D. Go with 64.

The Junior Junkie said...

Yes!

AdamE said...

I'll vote.

gcrl said...

Do it with 64. This is the same plan I have for the double play card tournament slated for someday.

arpsmith said...

I would definitely vote.

night owl said...

I do 64 with my Cardboard Appreciation Hall of Fame vote-offs. It's much easier that way.

Nick said...

Thanks everybody! I never thought of the 64 thing...it would make the brackets a whole lot easier.

Looks like I'll be launching this thing after all. I have an additional 14 cards selected that I'll show in the future.

Jess said...

Sounds fun!