Collecting Game-used: An oddity never seen in cards (I think)

There are plenty of everyday kinds of game-used items out there that never show up on the auction block en masse, are rarely cut up and put into sports cards and rarely get autograph or authentication treatment or other attention.

But they are out there -- and they can pop up on the auction block often. Sometimes they can surprise you with how much they sell for -- stuff like champagne corks and bottles have been authenticated and stickered by some teams after championships. Then there are displays using confetti, pieces of floors, dirt, turf, nets ... they've nearly all shown up in cards, too.

But not this one? Nothing like my game-used Gatorade bottle ... at least that I know of. (Tell me if I missed those cards!)

You can keep reading to see the details ...

2013 -- Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

THE BASICS ...
Team-issued Gatorade bottle (Fanatics Authenticated): Used by the Brooklyn Nets (and perhaps opponents)
Watch it in action: Not this time ... but the style was used in the NBA for at least five years, maybe more.

The matchup: Nets vs. the world
The result: Hydration, obviously.

What's Buzz-worthy: I present this "gamer" mostly as something different and, of course, a bit of a tongue-in-cheek thing -- but I am serious in wondering why something like this hasn't been chopped up and put into cards in some form or fashion. I mean, game-used towels made their way into cards 20 years ago in the Topps NBA years and Fleer was doing nets even before that along with stuff like hockey boards. But nobody has (to my knowledge) ever put bottles like this into cards. (Why would they? Well ... ask that about any memorabilia card.) They're not terribly thick plastic (maybe the base and lid areas) but they aren't pricey and that makes me think they could be tried with some kind of catchy concept name of theme. (Or perhaps a direct deal with Gatorade showcasing past/present stars with ties to the company?) Fanatics has these from the Nets for just $10 and I actually got this one free after some rewards bucks for buying other stuff that got me points or whatever. (I didn't want to let them expire or buy something pricier this time.) ... Since these bottles (or sets of them) are used for longer periods of time -- see 2013 and 2018 examples from Getty's publicly accessible previews site in the gallery -- they are authenticated as team-issued. There are no markings here -- that may mean they are road-team bottles -- but no biggie for me for the price. What will I do with an item like this? Well, after writing about it I'll treat it pretty much like any gamer in my stash ... box 'em up.

>> See all past Collecting Game-used stories from Buzz here

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