T What Super Bowl fans need to know before they tackle the memorabilia market

The Super Bowl will come and go this weekend. But we'll have the memories -- the excitement, the crowds, the traffic nightmares -- for years.

And there's plenty of memorabilia to mark the moment. Truckloads of trinkets accompany any big event like this, and stores have sprung up across the Metroplex to sell hats, T-shirts, programs and just about every collectible knickknack that you can imagine.

So what's a football fan to do? What do you buy to commemorate this year's Super Bowl? As long as we're surrounded by all this memorabilia, what might be a good investment for the casual collector?

We talked to Ben Marks. He's senior editor at CollectorsWeekly.com, an online news source for antiques and memorabilia. We also talked to Mark Jordan, a consignment director at Heritage Auction Galleries who specializes in sports memorabilia, and to David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions, which will have a live auction of football and Super Bowl memorabilia Saturday at the Dallas Convention Center. (Online bidding is happening now: See the offerings at www.huntauctions.com.)

Marks says that Super Bowl souvenirs aren't the hottest collectibles in sports, or even among football fans. Collectors' interest, he says, tends to focus on "a player first, the team second, and an event like the Super Bowl third."

But Super Bowl XLV memorabilia may turn out to be a hotter commodity because the game involves the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This year's Super Bowl, Marks says, involves "these two teams that have been around awhile and have these storied histories" -- not to mention legendary devotion from their fans, who will, of course, want to remember this year's game.

Want to dip into the memorabilia market while the Super Bowl's in our back yard? Here's how you can navigate the maze of mementos this week -- knowing what to buy, what to bid on and what to leave alone.

Save programs and tickets, not T-shirts and pins

You'll see a lot of Super Bowl souvenirs in and around this week's events. Many of them will be labeled as "limited edition" collectibles, from artwork to apparel. Don't bite -- not if you're looking for something that will increase in value. Most of the time, "limited edition" doesn't mean much.

"I call it a marketing phrase," says Jordan, the consignment director at Heritage. Most editions are not all that limited, and there's not much of a secondary market for, say, lithographs of Aaron Rodgers.

The best mementos, Jordan says -- at least, from a collector's standpoint -- are things like game programs and ticket stubs. Tickets, especially, are time-honored collectibles because they are truly limited, he says, "not something people can go out and buy."

So you can probably find a ticket collector to buy your ticket stub from Sunday's game. But no one's going to pay money for your Super Bowl XLV lapel pin.

Everything's more valuable with an autograph

If you can get a player to sign something, it immediately increases in value. So if you'll be attending some Super Bowl events, buy an NFL football or a helmet and use it to collect autographs.

"For modern players, the [autographed memorabilia] market is footballs, helmets and jerseys," Hunt says. If you have your choice, you should always get a player to sign one of those. (But if you run into Ben Roethlisberger and you just have a program to sign, that's cool, too.)

A word to the wise, though: Don't count on getting an autograph from the Packers and Steelers players this week. You might run into a player, sure, but they're generally not going to be accessible in the days before the game. Security will be high at the team hotels, Jordan says, and somebody standing around with a football and a Sharpie is going to get tossed out on the sidewalk.

But don't be discouraged. All week, North Texas will be filled with other big names. You have a great chance of seeing some former NFL players and athletes who play for other teams.

Jordan suggests going to an event like NFL Experience at the Dallas Convention Center. Current and former NFL players are scheduled to be there almost every day, signing autographs for hours. Grab a football, pay your $25 admission fee and see what you can collect, Jordan says. It's a lot smarter than paying $1,500 to get into a party and hoping you bump into one of the Steelers.

(Want to know who will be signing autographs each day? Call the NFL Experience hotline for a daily update: 888-635-2273.)

Artifacts from the game can be purchased after the fact

If you've got some real money to spend on memorabilia, consider saving it for after the game: game-used balls, jerseys and other equipment are hot commodities. If it was used or worn during the Super Bowl, it's going to be a valued collectible -- especially if the game is particularly good or memorable.

Remember last year's Super Bowl, when the New Orleans Saints started the second half with a stunning -- and now famous -- onside kick? The ball used for that kick is up for auction now, Hunt says, and is expected to draw several thousand dollars.

But how do you get one of those prized possessions? Don't hang around the stadium hoping to snag a stray ball or an end-zone pylon. Instead, look for the official stuff to pop up for sale once the Super Bowl has come and gone.

Often the NFL will sell jerseys and equipment used in a game. It'll turn up at Heritage, Hunt or some other auction house, accompanied by official documentation to prove it is real.

You can also check eBay for the good stuff -- just be sure that its authenticity can be verified.

Put your money into the old stuff

You won't believe what's available online and at auctions. Instead of buying up every Super Bowl XLV souvenir you can find, consider buying something that is already 20 or 40 years old.

For a few hundred dollars, you can bid on a program from the second Super Bowl, in 1968 -- that's even before it was called the Super Bowl. For a bit more, you can spring for a whistle used by a referee in the Dolphins-Cowboys Super Bowl VI.

It wasn't until the '70s or '80s that football memorabilia became a big business, Hunt says -- "when people began to figure out, 'Hey, these things are worth some money, they're things we should maybe keep.'" That means souvenirs from recent Super Bowls are plentiful and easy to find -- and, naturally, not as valuable. But if you can find a ticket or a program from one of the early games, you'll really have something special.

Collect for yourself. If it's valuable later, consider it luck

In the end, it comes to this: Be realistic. You're not going to make a lot of money off this stuff -- and if you do, it will be years from now.

"If you think you're going to buy a Super Bowl T-shirt and it's going to become collectible and send your kids to college in 20 years," Marks says, "I hate to disappoint you, but it's not going to happen."

Having said that, he's quick to point out that collecting shouldn't be about that, anyway.

"You shouldn't assume it's going to be worth even what you paid for it," Marks says. "It's worth what it means to you."

Hunt stresses the enjoyment factor, too. "The really smart move is to buy something you enjoy," he says -- and if it becomes valuable later, all the better.

In the coming years, you'll probably care more about that signed football or Super Bowl XLV pin -- which will bring back memories of this week -- more than some other guy ever will. And maybe those memories are what matter.

Alyson Ward, 817-390-7988