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JASON VASS IS WEARING a Ken Griffey Jr. sweatshirt and a Ken Griffey Jr. hat when he opens the front door. He motions to come in and then points toward the bottom of the front stairs, and the official tour of one of the world’s largest, life-changing collections of sports memorabilia begins.
Actually, the tour could have started in the driveway, home to Vass’ Ford Fusion with a vanity plate saying “GRIFFEY.”
Or out back in his shed, where he’s storing a rolled-up banner of Griffey that used to hang in the Kingdome. He bought it thinking it was 7 feet long and 6 feet wide… but it turned out to be 17 feet long and 6 feet wide and weighs 100 pounds.
So that’s out back of his house in Lynchburg, Virginia, until he figures out what he can do with something the size of a minivan. He’s pretty sure the banner was the last straw with his old mailman, who had already been pretty grumpy about the endless stream of packages delivered to Vass’ house. “My mailmen are pissed at me on a regular basis,” he says.
Vass is 48 years old but bounds inside his house and down the carpeted steps like a teenager. What lies at the bottom of these stairs is more than a collection to him. He has a fast laugh, like a podcast turned to 1.5 speed, and he’s giggling as he turns to the left and slowly opens the door. He is walking into his happiest place, unveiling a room that brings him great joy that he thinks might bring you great joy, too.
Vass takes his time with the door like he’s showing off the final shot of a home makeover — this is the big reveal.
Just inside the door, on the floor, lies a giant carpet with a photo of Griffey in a Reds uniform. It’s a photo that Vass himself took at a Reds game once, and his wife, Michelle, covertly took the picture to a place that makes personalized carpets.
He works his way around the room, which is 21-feet-by-15 feet, roughly the size of a medium-sized bedroom. He starts on the left, home to a case holding his favorite Griffey items. There are…
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Source : espn
