Collecting Columbus: Inside Worldcup-A-Thon's Trading Card Frenzy
By Allan Tompkins & Diego Rodriguez-Deshon
One hour. That’s how long it took for 600 packs of AI-generated images of teachers and faculty members to sell out. Students assumed the roles of 1980s Wall Street brokers, yelling at teachers to secure them a pack of cards before they disappeared. Something feels different about this year’s Walk-A-Thon.
Walk-A-Thon is back for its 34th annual fundraising event at Columbus and has brought moments such as epic WWE showdowns between teachers and full-on concert productions for the student body. This year, however, it’s AI-generated teacher cards that are taking the Columbus community by storm.
Worldcup-A-Thon, this year's theme, was initially framed as a simple competition: collect all 75 cards first for $175, or finish after and earn Walk-A-Thon raffle tickets. But in the days since packs went on sale, the event has become something bigger than a prize chase—a trading economy with its own rules, its own black market, and its own winners.
“Ms. Taylor picked up 25 packs from me and between picking them up in B11 and walking back to her room (D25), she sold out,” said Mr. De Tuya.
The first batch of cards, which included 50 copies of each teacher, was gone in an hour and is being replaced later this week with a second batch of 100 copies of each teacher. What’s different about this second batch is that no longer will the cards have the defining “First Edition” trademark on their cardbacks.
“Of course I’m going to value the first edition cards more than the second because there are less of the first editions and they’re the originals at the end of the day,” said freshman Angel Bello.
After the second edition batch this week, a larger and final printing of 200 copies of each teacher will be sold the week of 9/28 so that almost every Columbus guy can have the chance to get their hands on a pack.
The hype behind the cards within the walls of Columbus is obvious, but it’s the demand for the cards outside of campus that has really surprised teachers like Mr. De Tuya.
“I have guys from my graduating class saying ‘Save me cards, I’ll pay $20 a card if I have to,’” said Mr. De Tuya.
Even alumni dating back to legends like Mr. Lynskey want their share of these cards.
Worldcup-A-Thon has turned something students usually take for granted—the teachers who've shaped their four years here—into something worth trading, saving, and fighting over. What Worldcup-A-Thon is doing is somewhat uniting thousands of students and alumni through a shared appreciation for their teachers.
“It’s fun to see seniors and freshmen talking just trying to trade cards and it kind of builds a sense of community and brotherhood in a way that we haven’t seen before,” said AP Psychology teacher Ms. Rodriguez.
Because of this shared appreciation, one of the most interesting parts of Worldcup-A-Thon is the personal value that each student has on his collection. One student may safeguard his Mr. Hermida card because of how big of an impact he had on him, while another may mindlessly trade him away for another teacher simply because he missed out on the legendary experience that is Mr. Hermida. In this sense, the value behind a card is determined by what that teacher meant to you.
As a result of this, not every student is necessarily trying to collect all 75 cards, but rather collect their favorite teachers, counselors or administrators. Many students have also taken the liberty to make a card even more special to them by getting that specific teacher to sign the card for them.
When asked how he felt about signing students’ cards of himself, Mr. Ulloa said, “For me, it’s nice to feel appreciated, so whether it’s for completing a set or because they genuinely want me to sign their card, it’s nice.”
However, none of it would exist without four new committee members tasked with picking this year's theme: Mr. De Tuya, Mr. Rivero, Mr. Ventura and Ms. Rodriguez. Mr. De Tuya was the first to pitch the idea of a World Cup theme inspired by his love for the World Cup this past summer, while Mr. Corazon specifically recommended selling stickers and sticker books to fit the theme.
It wasn’t until the help of Mr. Harriman that the idea of stickers evolved into that of cards, which Mr. Rivero enthusiastically supported as a card hobbyist.
“Comics and trading cards are a big hobby of mine, so…for me, the best part is seeing something I enjoy become something the whole school can have fun with, while at the same time building school spirit and raising money for Columbus,” said Mr. Rivero.
The “World Cup” aspect of the fundraiser was fulfilled by assigning different homeroom teachers to different countries while counselors and administrators received their own unique “nations” such as MASopotamia. Teachers like Mr. Hermida and Mr. Ortega, who don’t have homerooms, decided to fittingly represent isolated Antarctica.
“We have a student who’s from Belgium, on the basketball team and is in Ms. Brown’s homeroom so I was like, ‘Ms. Brown, you’re going to be Belgium,’” said Mr. De Tuya.
Originally, Mr. De Tuya had planned on printing 25 copies of each card and cutting them out himself; however, he was able to come into contact with the family of Brian Bech (‘26) who owns a printing company that was able to get the job done at 50 copies of each card.
In terms of the designs of the cards, Mr. Rivero was largely responsible for 68-70 of the cards’ meticulously crafted designs while Mr. Harriman designed the other 5-7 cards. Mr. Harriman’s designs, in particular, can be identified by the cards without first names (ex. Mr. Crossman).
“We probably brought down the water level of Lake Okeechobee with all of those AI generations,” said Mr. De Tuya, jokingly.
What’s Next?
On the week of Walk-A-Thon (10/5), two new sets of cards will be released to everyone. The first is an expansion pack that will add 10-15 of the teachers who weren’t on the original list of 75 teachers. The second set is a Legends Series that will feature teachers and faculty members who have retired or passed away such as Mr. Foyo and Mr. Isenberg.
These new sets will be sold at the convention happening that week, which will also feature an opportunity to get your cards graded and slabbed by Mr. Rivero. Binders for these cards will also be sold at the convention and any rewards for completing collections will be given out then.
As for the mystery of the 1 of 1 foil Rivero card worth $75, Mr. De Tuya revealed that it was intentionally not placed in the first edition set of cards and that it’s undetermined whether it will be placed in this week’s or next week’s batch of cards.
Some of the most memorable moments that students have forged at this school are during this time of year and it’s incredible how much tighter Worldcup-A-Thon has made an already close-knit Columbus community. As for next year’s theme, Mr. De Tuya simply hinted at the potential return of a Columbus Walk-A-Thon classic—an exciting event to already look forward to.
“It’s good to see Walk-A-Thon back and generating the excitement that we’ve always expected—that’s what it should be,” said Mr. Pugh. “For me, it’s just always been an opportunity for games in the classroom, food to be eaten, and just controlled chaos in the hallways. It’s just two weeks of ‘have fun.’”
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