Are we really any different from sports fanatics?

[Optimus_Prime_]

at a restaurant, you're buying food though?

Yeah, I guess that would be material as well.

 

[Bubonic]

Any kind of fanatic is a unreasonable type of person, says it in the name really.

I would say that sports fanatics have a bit more going for them than comic fanatics in the fact that they are getting obsessive about something grounded in reality as opposed to something purely fantastical.

That being said, the average sports fanatic is much more aggressive than what I've seen from the average comic fanatic. They tend to get bent out of shape much more than any nerd I've ever seen.

The lives of some of these people are completely wrapped up in their sports team, they will get in physical fights over this crap, they'll bet away their savings!

I've never actually heard of comic book fans coming to blows over one of these ridiculous "what if" comic scenarios. No comic fans are placing beats on wish character dies next month and in how many months he'll come back.

So it really is apples and oranges, and I feel that is solely based on the fact that one is a make believe world and the other is the real world.

The radical ends of fanaticism are pathetic on both sides.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

they can be......

but again, no different than someone claiming they had tears of joy whilst watching The Dark Knight

True it can be spiritual - an example could be when a community of English colonized Indians won their freedom through the victory in a cricket match.

Getting tears of joy (and that is just ridiculous - and yes I am aware people on these boards have said that) I would say is emotional and not spiritual.

No. No offense, you're just pettifogging a pretty obvious distinction.

How am I "pettifogging"? I didn't say one is materialistic and one is not - I said BOTH are materialistic and I explained how they are EXACTLY the same, just with different subject matter.

"Events, time, restaurants" - Not material goods. "Toys, games, cars, books" - Highly material.

If you're attributing a material value to something, it is materialistic. Example: Going to see a game or a movie becomes materialistic because you have now attributed a dollar amount - which you have paid - to allow your physical senses to partake of said event. Going to the event, being there, and loving the event for the event is materialistic - the enjoyment and feelings you get from it are non-materialistic and more-so emotional (and just to amuse BlackLantern, even spiritual); why? Because that is priceless.

When you watch a sporting event, paying to be there, going there, wearing the shirts and painting your face / Collecting comics, dressing up, posing your actions figures, all of that is materialistic - the emotions they give you, the life experiences, those are non-materialistic.

Even in terms of buying food, getting the food and eating the food is materialistic, but the enjoyment you get from the taste, the fun you have with the company you're with while you are eating your food, that is priceless and materialistic.

If you want me to flip this on it's head.

Buying a bunch of Tom Brady jerseys - materialistic
Going to see a Superhero movie in theaters - not materialistic.

Buying the ticket to see the movie, dressing up for the sake of the film, loving the movie because it's a movie by a certain director or it features a certain character is materialistic. The enjoyment you get from the themes in the film, the messages, the feelings the music and acting emit, the tone of the editing, the seamlessness of the cinematography and how pleasant it is to the eyes, as well as the fun factor of seeing it with your friends is priceless and non-materialistic.

It's seriously not hard to understand.

Apparently it may be.

Also don't tell me comic fans don't place emphasis on owning tangible comics.

I never said that.

As I say, maybe the internet will change this, create a breed of fans who is happy to read them and store them temporarily on a harddrive rather than have an actual collection.

If you pay money to buy the digital comic, that's still materialism... the emotions you get from reading it are non-material.

Sports fans can get along just fine without tons of "stuff", toy collectors and comic book nerds can't or it's much harder.

I'm sorry, that's total ********. It's all about degrees. You're comparing the average sports fan to the stereotypical comic book collector. THAT is "pettifogging".

Compare the fanatical sports enthusiast to the crazy comic book fan, if you're really a fair minded individual. Hell, just compare a google images search of "Crazy Sports Fan" vs. "Crazy Comic Book Fan". If anything, the Crazy Sports Fans stand out way more and are FAR MORE common than Crazy Comic Book Fans - the only image of an "over the top" Comic Book Collector in that google images result is "Comic-Book-Guy" from the Simpsons.
Now before you argue that it's BS and that Comic Fans are more crazy, I'm gonna stop you there to remind you that that wasn't the point - this specific point is that it's all about degrees.

Because I honestly believe there is no other way to help you understand, I've created a graph for you (don't worry, it has pictures).

Comic nerds have very strong emotional attachments to "things" (and imaginary people). True, I have a lucky shirt that's had a pretty epic history for which I'm very attached, but otherwise I don't.

Ah, see! Now there it is! The emotional attachment is a priceless experience - the emotions you get aren't materialistic, provided you have strong feelings towards it for a reason. If you love the comic because it has Spider-Man, that's just as stupid as loving a shirt because it says "Marino", or a team because of a specific player like Messi. However, if you like the character because of what he represents, or if you like the shirt or the team because of experiences, then that's an emotional attachment, not a material one. Again, it all goes back to degrees and WHY you like something.

I know you guys hate that I keep pointing it out, but your hobby simply does not appeal to socially active people by and large.

I already know that... that's obvious - it's also completely irrelevant to the topic at hand. Who's "pettifogging" now? BOOYA! (That's a rap word)

 

[BlackLantern]

I would say at level 5 both are dumb.....a comic book nerd like that may be "smart" per se, but probably has the social smarts of an amoeba

 

[Asteroid-Man]

That's true. The level 5 is a bit of a myth though haha, or just INCREDIBLY RARE - I've never met a Sports fan or a Comics fan at that point.

 

[terry78]

I'm a level 3.

 

[Kane52630]

I would say that im a mix of Level 2 and 3 for both Sports and Comics.

 

[BlackLantern]

everyone in the Bat Forums is a level 5, borderline 6

 

[Asteroid-Man]

I'd say I'm a 2.5 of Comics and a 1.5 of Sports. And the Bat-Boards posters don't even belong on the graph; most of them are just close minded fools. Don't get me wrong, I post in there, and I have Batman comics - but those guys aren't even bat-fans... most of them who think are loyal fans are just loyal to a bandwagon they jumped on a few years ago, and the new ones are jumping on the bandwagons' bandwagons.

EDIT: Or should I say: "bat-wagon"? hehehe...

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

I would say at level 5 both are dumb.....a comic book nerd like that may be "smart" per se, but probably has the social smarts of an amoeba

Yeah, comic book nerds are rarely smart, or at least not in fields that count. Heck, it's probably harder to keep baseball statistics straight. You want to talk about social injustice, it would be lumping in Math nerds with Comic nerds because the former is actually dedicating himself to a skill that is enormously benefitial to society. Of course this is from someone who doesn't know the difference between material and immaterial goods apparently .

Materialistic: a person who is markedly more concerned with material things

Guess what a sporting event isn't: material.

Asteroid-Man, you pay for things because you live in capitalism. I don't assign money values to the games I go to, they are assigned by someone else. If I can get out of paying for tickets, which I do often, guess what, I don't. "Pettifogging" means focusing on petty or trivial details. Pointing out you usually pay for games is a trivial detail, because very few forms of fun and entertainment in capitalist society is free. If I liked a sports team who didn't charge for games, like some college club rugby team, your point would be moot. However if you inherited a comic collection you didn't pay for a kept it, I could still talk about the materialistic nature of hording a collection of things. What you said would be like accusing someone of being materialistic for dating someone since the general assumption would be he is spending money on that person.

 

[Mace Bloodstone]

Level 2 Sports / Level 1 for Comics, I only care about the movies.

 

[BlackLantern]

then you get the **** out of here


kidding

 

[Asteroid-Man]

Yeah, comic book nerds are rarely smart, or at least not in fields that count. Heck, it's probably harder to keep baseball statistics straight. You want to talk about social injustice, it would be lumping in Math nerds with Comic nerds because the former is actually dedicating himself to a skill that is enormously benefitial to society. Of course this is from someone who doesn't know the difference between material and immaterial goods apparently .

Materialistic: a person who is markedly more concerned with material things

Guess what a sporting event isn't: material.

Asteroid-Man, you pay for things because you live in capitalism. I don't assign money values to the games I go to, they are assigned by someone else. If I can get out of paying for tickets, which I do often, guess what, I don't. "Pettifogging" means focusing on petty or trivial details. Pointing out you usually pay for games is a trivial detail, because very few forms of fun and entertainment in capitalist society is free. If I liked a sports team who didn't charge for games, like some college club rugby team, your point would be moot. However if you inherited a comic collection you didn't pay for a kept it, I could still talk about the materialistic nature of hording a collection of things. What you said would be like accusing someone of being materialistic for dating someone since the general assumption would be he is spending money on that person.

Well if being with that person requires that you keep buying her ****, then YES it IS a materialistic relationship.

You're honestly hopeless... I made you a freaking graph. I'm done trying to argue with you.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

Well if being with that person requires that you keep buying her ****, then YES it IS a materialistic relationship.

You're honestly hopeless... I made you a freaking graph. I'm done trying to argue with you.

And you're graph was kind of dumb, no offense. Comic nerds aren't "smart" and sports fans aren't "dumb". Yes, unfortunately for comic nerds, comics are not a social activity, and are generally not the hobby of the socially affluent. It is also a highly materialistic hobby the encourages to horde and place large emotional value on objects. These things are not necessarily bad, albeit a little daft, but it's normal to engage in this kind of behavior from time to time. Everyone has a favorite shirt, pillow or teddy bear. As I say time and again comic fans fail because they don't consider the perspective others might have on them for devoting an inordinate amount of time on fictional characters created for children. Sports fans, by and large, favor interacting and going out, placing emotional value on people, and the future for what they follow is not set by someone else. Sports fans follow a real-life narrative. For you not to appreciate why some may have more respect for sports fans is exactly the trait I think many find insufferable about comic fans. Comic fans place incredible emotional worth on something that generally doesn't matter to anyone else. It's fine if you want to talk about it, but for the most part the majority of people are wrapped up enough in real life events that they don't and won't care. Sports benefit from the fact that they actually happen in real time, so people, everyone in fact, can relate to them on a level they can't relate to comic books. Comic books are a little like *********ion: we all understand you like to entertain yourself in private, but please stop talking about it.

 

[Asteroid-Man]

You're pettifogging again... I already explained that the level 5 thing was a joke and a myth.

You seem to be grasping at straws not and there's a way to deal with such behaviour on these boards; thank Mirko for the ignore tool.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

I also love how the sports guy who is a nerd has "been to a live game" (level 3). You realize going to "live" sporting events is a pretty standard social activity? All sports fans go to matches, or most do, you're almost not a fan if you haven't been to one. I think all your graph does is highlight how socially awkward most nerds are, that they have these hang ups about all these social activities. I don't judge people for dressing up for conventions or games, in fact those people are probably the more well balanced. Much moreso than the guy who blows a ton of money on comics and then tries to pretend it isn't a little weird. At least your average convention costume guru is having a little fun with his crazy. Humans are social creatures, it's how we've gotten to where we are, so people with solitary hobbies like comic book collecting are ultimately going to have a harder time doing both. As I've said, time and again, this is far from impossible and many do it seemlessly, but that's ultimately why sports fanatics are given less flak.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

I see the target audience for comics as having some similarities to the target audience of soap operas, except predominantly male.

 

[Erzengel]

Level 3 for both Comics and Sports, otherwise known as a Daywalker. All of their strengths none of their weaknesses.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

Level 3 for both Comics and Sports, otherwise known as a Daywalker. All of their strengths none of their weaknesses.

I've definitely been level 3 or above on both.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Level 3 comics, level 1 sports.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

I'd honestly say there are far weirder things about me than comics or sports. I mean, I am sitting here listening to Nu Shooz "Can't Wait" on headphones, that's pretty f***ing weird.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

Also, level 6 should be "lives vicariously through [sports team or comic character here].

 

[Bubonic]

I'd honestly say there are far weirder things about me than comics or sports. I mean, I am sitting here listening to Nu Shooz "Can't Wait" on headphones, that's pretty f***ing weird.

When it comes to the wild world of weird neither sport fanatics or comic fanatics register.

There are a lot of sick sick things out there, I'd direct you toward Japan's underground, but it doesn't stop there.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

Also, level 6 should be "lives vicariously through [sports team or comic character here]".

I'd say when you start using [sports team or comic] as a full time replacement for friends, or when you're absorbed to the point where you leave others out that's when you're at level 6.

 

[Erzengel]

I never liked the way sports fans used the word "we" when their team won.

Allowable exceptions:
College Sports if you had indeed played for said team. I would also begrudgingly accept if you went to school there.

All other sports, if you are currently playing for that team now.