Collecting Game-used: Sometimes you've gotta go to the tape

If you're a regular reader here, then you know that Ballers has had a place in this Collecting Game-used series with other event-used pieces shown off here a few times -- in fact this is not the first time I have typed something like that.

Yes, I realize that "the game" there isn't reality, but the items used in production are, and, this time, it's for an item I bought cheap and on a whim -- 100-percent without research. And ironically the piece turned out to be the lynchpin to an entire scene and it was all there all along ... I just had to go to the tape.

Some quick background -- there was unique auction for a number of props from the HBO series via Heritage Auctions and Screenbid a few years ago and then the remaining props and other pieces went off to a company that burns that stuff from all kinds of production companies over time for this and other shows. Some items can be sold on the serious cheap because the company doesn't necessarily have the time to match things up to specific episodes or moments like you're about to see, though some items come with more detail than others.

If not, keep reading to see the details this time.

THE BASICS ...
Screen-prepared prop: Spencer Strasmore's NFC Championship Game football "signed" by Jon Gruden (actually might be a real auto, too)
Watch it in action: Ballers -- Season 2, Episode 1 "Face of the Franchise" (16:45) click here to watch the scene

What's Buzz-worthy: The certificate that came with this one wasn't all that detailed -- though it says more than many props do in a scenario like this, so that should have been more of a clue that this ball was more than just one of many used in production. (You can only imagine the volume of designer suits, athletic gear, balls, shoes and other stuff that can be found for this series. I have written about items a number of times here and none have been a repeat kind of piece.) In this case, thanks to a meaty holiday-timed discount applicable to anything in the prop company's inventory, I was able to land this ball -- a legit NFL model with some age to it as that's a Paul Tagliabue signature stamped (he retired in 2006) -- for less than $40. I figured that might be all I could say about this one to be honest, but for that price vs. an off-shelf model, which is about $200 straight from the Wilson factory in Ada, Ohio, or the league shop I figured it was worth the shot. ... I hadn't watched every minute of every episode of this show other than some episodes here and there and then episodes to document pieces I own. In this case, I racked my brain for names who might be behind that autograph -- it's there but not very visible -- with hopes of figuring out when a cameo might have happened to start researching. But the lightening of the auto -- the episode aired in 2016 and was likely filmed in late 2015/early 2016 so that explains some aging -- made that tough. Plus, with it being a prop there's nothing that says the sig has to be real -- though I suspect it actually might be. After some attempts to figure it out, I let this one sit for some time, figuring I bought myself a bit of a collecting fail ... but one weekend I got on the ol' HBO Max (or whatever it's called now) on a whim and started with Season 2 ... and not long into that first episode there was my ball -- complete with a light autograph -- in the hands of Richard Schiff (aka Mr. Anderson) about to chew into The Rock after he got into a fight and embarrassed him and the company. What happens? What's said? Hit the tape above ... that's just how I found out ... and that light autograph makes it a perfect photo-match.

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

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