Nick DePaolo looks through Pokemon cards for a potential trade at The Sports Fanz Card Show Saturday at the Grand Central Mall. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

VIENNA – Hundreds gathered at Grand Central Mall to browse the more than 70 vendors at The Sportz Fanz Card Show over the weekend.

Card vendors ranged from categories like sports to Pokemon. Guests could browse, trade and purchase cards which ranged in price and popularity.

Basketball fans also had the opportunity from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday for autographs from former WVU basketball player Kevin Pittsnogle. At 6-foot-11, Pittsnogle played for WVU from 2002-2006 before moving on to the Pittsburgh Xplosion from 2006-2007 and the Austin Toros from 2007-2008 and the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in 2008.

“It’s cool to get out-and-about and in different parts of the state,” said Pittsnogle while he was in between signing autographs. “It’s always interesting.”

Pittsnogle was raised in Martinsburg which is around four hours from Parkersburg. He said he’s spent a lot of time visiting different parts of the state.

Nick DePaolo with Mellow Fellow Merch opens a card case to select a card for trade during The Sports Fanz Card Show Saturday at the Grand Central Mall. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

According to WVU Sports, he ranked 36th in career scoring at WVU with 1,071 points for the 2005-2006 season.

“Work hard and never stop chasing your dream,” he said.

Basketball fans could meet Pittsnogle and have a card, basketball, or jersey signed. There was also an option to purchase memorabilia from a vendor.

Sports Fanz held the event with vendors from all over the area securing tables to display their cards and tradeable items.

Mellow Fellow Merch, run by brothers Andrew “Drew” DePaolo and Alexander Nikola “Nick” Depaolo, started a year ago in Cleveland.

Former WVU basketball player Kevin Pittsnogle signs a fan’s basketball at The Sports Fanz Card Show at the Grand Central Mall Saturday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Nick said he recently completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science and said it’s been difficult securing a job in the field. He said they both have always had a passion for Pokemon cards and decided to fully pursue their small business.

“We tried out a bunch of different names with different adjectives and rhymes … What else rhymes with mellow? Fellow! We need one more, throw in merch and there we go: Mellow Fellow Merch,” he said.

Nick said they’ve been collecting cards for years through trading, purchases on Facebook marketplace, eBay, and others. He said all it takes is just “putting yourself out there.”

Nick and his brother were busy assisting their customers with questions and trading inquiries. There were multiple tables filled with various cards from Dragonball Z to traditional Pokemon decks.

“It wasn’t until right at the end of COVID in 2021 when I started to get back into collecting,” he said.

Former WVU basketball player Kevin Pittsnogle’s memorabilia for sale at The Sports Fanz Card Show Saturday at the Grand Central Mall. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Nick said he had pulled random cards out of a pack and his mom had found a really rare card that was worth $80 at the time and is now sold at around $500.

“I wouldn’t sell it, not even for $10,000,” he laughed. “It’s too close to my heart.”

He said they heard about the card show on social media and decided to attend.

“We traveled about three hours to get here but we like to travel around,” said Nick. Mellow Fellow Merch has made appearances at shows in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas.

“This is our first time in Parkersburg and it’s a very lovely town and very much enjoying it, there’s a lot of nice people,” he said.

Sports memorabilia available for purchase at The Sports Fanz Card Show at Grand Central Mall held Saturday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Nick said they had been busy with the card show but in their available time, they tried out some local restaurants and coffee shops. He said he really enjoyed Lock 4 Coffee and Bora Bora Smoothie Cafe.

People were able to stroll around the mall and view the selections of cards and memorabilia on hand.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com

Piles of Pokemon cards on a table for sale at The Sports Fanz Card Show Saturday at the Grand Central Mall. (Photo by Amber Phipps)