I get the impression that Football fans are generally happy to see more people enjoying their sport. I honestly don't get why people need to be territorial about their fandoms.
This, to the extent that I have to admit I feel tremendous pressure from people who probably aren't even hardcore fans under normal circumstances to have a favorite team and to know who won and maybe even to have watched the damn thing. The assumption is that EVERYONE is going to watch it. They don't assume that about a new Superman movie!
When my beloved Colts were in Super Bowl XLI, I was happy to have so many people supporting them, but it would get a little irritating when the guy or girl who was wearing Eagles or Giants gear earlier that year started talking about "their" Colts or how long they'd "waited for this". Mo-Phukka, where were you they were 1-15?
I do enjoy people getting amped up for superhero blockbusters, though. If they stopped making money, we'd stop getting them!
I think the reason people tend to be territorial about their fandoms is because they tend to get ridiculed for their enthusiasm over comics/videos games/table top games. Then, suddenly, the thing that got them ostracized is cool, and they feel cheated because they stuck with it from the beginning. I know that I get extremely irritated with people who buy nothing but sports video games and claim that their "mad gamers, yo!"
Football fans don't have that mentality because they have never felt social rejection because of their hobby.
As a fan of both I like the fact people who aren't regular or hardcore fans can be excited about my interests in a way that funnels money and interest to them so they can continue to exist. Sure, band wagoners always suck, but in the end it's a very small price to pay to keep things I like alive
Really? There are people who WANT to be regarded as obnoxious nerds who have wasted entire decades of their lives purusing idiotic fantasies about muscular dudes in spandex or armor hitting each other, in "universes" in which continuity is more important than anything but can't be maintained for twelve months? Well, la-de-ka-me-ha-me-ha!
Okay, I'll bite: How many Terra-Man stories would I have to memorize to be allowed into your little circle of champions? Would I have to be able to identify all artists based on single-panel samples, or just the big names? Do I have to have a favorite woman-in-refrigerator?
A lot of these "territorial nerds" feel this way because grew up being mocked and socially ostracized. They found their "Fandoms" as safe zones. Comics. Movies. Video games. Whatever. The could flourish enjoy themselves. And even though it possibly brought about more ridicule at least they had their safe zones.
And these guys feel like thier place of comfort from the harshness of the outside world is being ripped away and shoved into the spotlight. Not only are they no longer as able to as easily find like minded loners in a sea of "casual fans" butto make matters worse the thing they in all probability were mocked for loving unabashedly is now essentially a tourist trap.
New Yorkers Hate tourists. Parisian hate tourists. Tourist might bring in the money but nobody likes a tourists. Because they turn something that -is- a humongous part of who you are into nothing more than a novelty.
I'm Not a fan of people bitching and moaning loudly but I kind of get where these guys are coming from and I do my best to show them some compassion.
Exceptwhen they're assholes about it. Then they an go fuck themselves.
One difference is that Americans in Paris stand around *in* Paris being loud and obnoxious and a pain in the ass. Normal dudes watching Man of Steel go to the theater and have a good time, maybe wear a t-shirt, but they don't start hanging out in comic stores and taking pictures in front of the famous figurines.
Well, maybe they do, I just happen to be a normal dude who doesn't so I just sort of assume other normal dudes don't.
"A lot of these "territorial nerds" feel this way because grew up being mocked and socially ostracized."
...or because they discovered comics, joined comics fandoms, were told by a previous generation of comics fans "outsiders hate us, don't bother trying to be friends with them!!!", and rejected everyone else without even bothering to find out if those peers hate comic book fans or not.
Seems to me a lot of adults did love Superman comics when they were eight years old, up to around age twelve. Then they stopped reading them and started doing other things kids do at that age. Then twenty years later a big budget Superman movie comes out and he says he's always loved Superman. Well, maybe it's true. I quit reading comics at about twelve and packed them away. I never stopped loving them. I'd get a slight joy seeing comics on a rack at a bookstore. Every time I dug my comics up to move or whatever I'd flip through them and enjoy myself. So even though I left comics for over a decade I never stopped loving them.
i feel great hostility toward newcomers who don't know as much about my particular interests as i do. they vex me & try my patience, and yet i do not wish to see them learn more because my feeling of superior status within the subculture is dependent upon the newcomer's relative ignorance providing direct contrast to my mastery of esoteric knowledge & my impeccable tastes. well impeccable tastes according to the standards of a community that prefers stories about musclemen in capes screaming & punching each other, or about elves & fairies banding together to slay trolls & dragons, anyway.
Nicely put! Unfortunately, I think that a lot of people feel this way without realizing it. If they gave it some thought, maybe they wouldn't be such jerks to newbies. I always appreciated it at my shop whenever a regular would jump in and enthusiasticly (and nicely) educate a newcomer about some storyline. It made the newbie feel welcome and less awkward about being in someone else's "clubhouse". I allowed the regulars to razz each other, but I did not allow anyone to act superior to some poor soul who innocently wandered into the shop. That's just rude!
i think part of the problem is that a fan who feels hostile toward newbies doesn't realize that treating newbies kindly provides not only a benefit to the newbie, but also to oneself. in order for a hobby and its community to remain active & vital, it NEEDS to have a steady flow of newbies joining in... which isn't gonna happen if they're not made to feel welcome.
I generally find that new versions of things (post-1991) aren’t to my taste, but the good news is that they sometimes result in the old version being brought back. The 2009 /Superman/ was a bad movie, but it may have caused the 1988 Ruby-Spears /Superman/ to come out on DVD, so it was also a good thing.
Negating that something so small in the scheme of things irks him, the fact of the matter is it's true.
ReplyDeleteI get the impression that Football fans are generally happy to see more people enjoying their sport. I honestly don't get why people need to be territorial about their fandoms.
ReplyDeleteThis, to the extent that I have to admit I feel tremendous pressure from people who probably aren't even hardcore fans under normal circumstances to have a favorite team and to know who won and maybe even to have watched the damn thing. The assumption is that EVERYONE is going to watch it. They don't assume that about a new Superman movie!
DeleteWhen my beloved Colts were in Super Bowl XLI, I was happy to have so many people supporting them, but it would get a little irritating when the guy or girl who was wearing Eagles or Giants gear earlier that year started talking about "their" Colts or how long they'd "waited for this". Mo-Phukka, where were you they were 1-15?
DeleteI do enjoy people getting amped up for superhero blockbusters, though. If they stopped making money, we'd stop getting them!
Some Red Sox fans get all mad at newbie fans, especially the ones who wear pink hats with the Sox logo on them.
DeleteI think the reason people tend to be territorial about their fandoms is because they tend to get ridiculed for their enthusiasm over comics/videos games/table top games. Then, suddenly, the thing that got them ostracized is cool, and they feel cheated because they stuck with it from the beginning. I know that I get extremely irritated with people who buy nothing but sports video games and claim that their "mad gamers, yo!"
DeleteFootball fans don't have that mentality because they have never felt social rejection because of their hobby.
As a fan of both I like the fact people who aren't regular or hardcore fans can be excited about my interests in a way that funnels money and interest to them so they can continue to exist. Sure, band wagoners always suck, but in the end it's a very small price to pay to keep things I like alive
ReplyDeleteThe only time bandwagon fans bother me is when they drive ticket prices up.
ReplyDeleteI could wish they'd stop making money. I'm so sick of super hero movies.
ReplyDeleteReally? There are people who WANT to be regarded as obnoxious nerds who have wasted entire decades of their lives purusing idiotic fantasies about muscular dudes in spandex or armor hitting each other, in "universes" in which continuity is more important than anything but can't be maintained for twelve months? Well, la-de-ka-me-ha-me-ha!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'll bite: How many Terra-Man stories would I have to memorize to be allowed into your little circle of champions? Would I have to be able to identify all artists based on single-panel samples, or just the big names? Do I have to have a favorite woman-in-refrigerator?
A lot of these "territorial nerds" feel this way because grew up being mocked and socially ostracized. They found their "Fandoms" as safe zones. Comics. Movies. Video games. Whatever. The could flourish enjoy themselves. And even though it possibly brought about more ridicule at least they had their safe zones.
ReplyDeleteAnd these guys feel like thier place of comfort from the harshness of the outside world is being ripped away and shoved into the spotlight.
Not only are they no longer as able to as easily find like minded loners in a sea of "casual fans" butto make matters worse the thing they in all probability were mocked for loving unabashedly is now essentially a tourist trap.
New Yorkers Hate tourists. Parisian hate tourists.
Tourist might bring in the money but nobody likes a tourists.
Because they turn something that -is- a humongous part of who you are into nothing more than a novelty.
I'm Not a fan of people bitching and moaning loudly but I kind of get where these guys are coming from and I do my best to show them some compassion.
Exceptwhen they're assholes about it. Then they an go fuck themselves.
One difference is that Americans in Paris stand around *in* Paris being loud and obnoxious and a pain in the ass. Normal dudes watching Man of Steel go to the theater and have a good time, maybe wear a t-shirt, but they don't start hanging out in comic stores and taking pictures in front of the famous figurines.
DeleteWell, maybe they do, I just happen to be a normal dude who doesn't so I just sort of assume other normal dudes don't.
"A lot of these "territorial nerds" feel this way because grew up being mocked and socially ostracized."
Delete...or because they discovered comics, joined comics fandoms, were told by a previous generation of comics fans "outsiders hate us, don't bother trying to be friends with them!!!", and rejected everyone else without even bothering to find out if those peers hate comic book fans or not.
Seems to me a lot of adults did love Superman comics when they were eight years old, up to around age twelve. Then they stopped reading them and started doing other things kids do at that age. Then twenty years later a big budget Superman movie comes out and he says he's always loved Superman. Well, maybe it's true. I quit reading comics at about twelve and packed them away. I never stopped loving them. I'd get a slight joy seeing comics on a rack at a bookstore. Every time I dug my comics up to move or whatever I'd flip through them and enjoy myself. So even though I left comics for over a decade I never stopped loving them.
ReplyDeleteI don't know, this last superbowl I was rooting for the arena blackout.
ReplyDeletei feel great hostility toward newcomers who don't know as much about my particular interests as i do. they vex me & try my patience, and yet i do not wish to see them learn more because my feeling of superior status within the subculture is dependent upon the newcomer's relative ignorance providing direct contrast to my mastery of esoteric knowledge & my impeccable tastes. well impeccable tastes according to the standards of a community that prefers stories about musclemen in capes screaming & punching each other, or about elves & fairies banding together to slay trolls & dragons, anyway.
ReplyDeleteNicely put!
DeleteUnfortunately, I think that a lot of people feel this way without realizing it. If they gave it some thought, maybe they wouldn't be such jerks to newbies.
I always appreciated it at my shop whenever a regular would jump in and enthusiasticly (and nicely) educate a newcomer about some storyline. It made the newbie feel welcome and less awkward about being in someone else's "clubhouse".
I allowed the regulars to razz each other, but I did not allow anyone to act superior to some poor soul who innocently wandered into the shop. That's just rude!
i think part of the problem is that a fan who feels hostile toward newbies doesn't realize that treating newbies kindly provides not only a benefit to the newbie, but also to oneself. in order for a hobby and its community to remain active & vital, it NEEDS to have a steady flow of newbies joining in... which isn't gonna happen if they're not made to feel welcome.
DeleteI generally find that new versions of things (post-1991) aren’t to my taste, but the good news is that they sometimes result in the old version being brought back. The 2009 /Superman/ was a bad movie, but it may have caused the 1988 Ruby-Spears /Superman/ to come out on DVD, so it was also a good thing.
ReplyDeleteHeh. There's also the confusion where people claim to be a fan of the character, which is entirely true: they grew up loving the animated TV series.
ReplyDelete