Well, Sort Of…
Ten years ago this month, I launched the Puck Junk Podcast. On May 12, 2015, the first episode of the show – which didn’t have a name yet – was posted online. Tim Parish and I talked about three different card sets and two other topics in under 30 minutes, if you can believe that. Now, it takes us 30 minutes just to get through the small talk at the start of the show.
This year is technically the 10th anniversary of the podcast. I say “technically” because we released 25 episodes from mid-2015 to mid-2017, then the show went away for two years.
So, is it REALLY a 10-year anniversary?
I don’t know.
Like, if you are married for 10 years, divorce for five years, and then get back together for another 10 years, can you honestly celebrate a 25th wedding anniversary?
Or like when Panini re-launched the Score hockey brand in 2010 and claimed it was the 20th anniversary of Score hockey cards. Score hockey cards came out from 1990-91 to 1997-98, went on a 12-year hiatus, then came back in 2010.
That seems more like an eight-year anniversary, if you ask me.
For those two years that I didn’t post any new Podcast episodes, it was because I was in a rough place in life. My mother became ill and passed away. I didn’t feel happy and didn’t want to do a podcast where I had to sound happy – because I wasn’t.
Instead, I doubled down on my writing. I wrote an excellent article for The Hockey News in 2017 about the making of the NHL ’94 video game. I then followed it up in 2018 with another excellent article for THN on the history of the Russian Penguins hockey team. I can say these articles were excellent because both won writing awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.
I also wrote a lot of other stories for THN, as well as for Sports Collectors Digest and Becket Hockey Magazine. Heck, I even wrote card back text for a special set of Upper Deck hockey cards issued in 2019.
So, it wasn’t like I was sitting on my hands those two years I wasn’t podcasting. I was giving my mind and my heart time to heal but also keeping busy with writing, an activity I truly enjoy.
I guess I could say it is the 10th anniversary of the launch of the Puck Junk Podcast, though the show is only eight years old.
And that is okay.
A lot of people say they are going to start doing something – but don’t. Other people stop doing something they enjoy and say they will come back to it – but don’t.
Regardless of whether you started listening to the Puck Junk Podcast 10 years ago or 10 days ago, I want to thank you for your continued support. Your comments, emails, and interactions on social media with me, Tim, and Clemente keep us going.
That said, Puck Junk Podcast Episode #218 will be out later this week.
Note: This article is an updated version of an editorial that originally appeared in Volume 3 – Issue 22 of the Puck Junk Newsletter. For stories like these, plus news and updates about hockey cards and collectibles, subscribe to the newsletter here.
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