Panini America On Location: Scenes from a Wild Saturday at the 2011 National

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Saturday at any National Sports Collectors Convention traditionally ranks as the busiest day of the show. Form certainly held true for the 2011 edition — especially inside the Panini America booth.

Easily the 32nd National’s most popular daily manufacturer attraction, the Panini America booth attracted its biggest crowds of the show on Saturday, as collectors lined up early to participate in the company’s wildly successful wrapper-redemption program, leaving a line of silver-foil confetti and precious little elbow room.

Those passionate collectors who weren’t on line for the redemptions were there to either participate in the company’s hourly Box Wars contests, to simply soak up the electrified ambiance or both.

The following images tell today’s tale, a feel-good story filled with highlights, including . . .

• One of the best 2010 National Treasures Football case breaks we’ve seen to date
• Panini America Brand Managers David Porter and Carlos Torrez accepting the Freedom Cardboard 2010 Product of the Year awards for National Treasures Basketball and Football, respectively.
• Crazy lines
• A bust-first-ask-questions-later mentality