"Geargate"

By Scott Antoszewski

I know, I probably could have come up with a better headline, but as Americans we need a good “gate” controversy every now and then.

Sidney Crosby’s stick and one of his gloves from the gold medal game in Vancouver have been missing for almost a week and a half. Hockey Canada and Reebok want the stick and glove back badly enough to post a $10,000 reward for their return and a no questions asked policy.

I found myself wondering… would that be enough money for me to return them if I had them? I dabble in the sports memorabilia market enough to know that anything that has Crosby’s name on it has value. Add to that the fact that it is game used memorabilia and the value increases dramatically. The issue I have with taking the glove and stick from the gold medal game is how you prove to a perspective buyer that this is authentic?

Companies like Steiner Sports and Upper Deck take extensive measures to make sure that the items they sell as “game used” or “authentic” really are. Does someone really think that a collector will part with thousands of dollars for what someone might claim to be the “gold medal game used glove and stick” by Sidney Crosby without proof?

My answer to the question I posed earlier is yes (see paragraph two sentence one). I would turn in the equipment, take the $10,000 and run like hell. I would feel obligated to spend at least part of the money on something autographed by Alex Ovechkin. The Caps fan in me would feel some kind of justice had been done there.