Is Comic fandom really comprable to being a Sports fan?

[Optimus_Prime_]

I have a friend who runs a local comic book store that I used to frequent and I heard him repeat this particular line many times

(Paraphrase): "There is a double standard when it comes to fans. Comic fans and sports fans are exactly alike. We both wear T-Shirts of our favorite characters, we both follow them in magazines/internet/TV, and we get together and talk about them".

He was never much of a sports guy, although he liked the Game***** having gone there, other than that he didn't watch much sports. I am however, both a (former) comic collector and still very much a sports fan. For some reason while I follow his logic completely I don't buy it. I don't buy that watching a sports team religiously, or watching ESPN is the same as reading issues of Spider-Man religiously.

Part of me thinks this is simply cultural bias, since something like Star Wars is not nearly as nerdy as liking Transformers, X-Men or Star Trek. If you were to tell a stranger "I like Star Wars", you'd no longer get this look in response. In fact, most people I meet have some affection to the movie, and very few have no exposure to it.

Part of me thinks there really is a difference, because the uber-nerds of comic/sci-fi fandom strike me as really different from die-hard sports fans. I'm intentionally comparing extremes there. Obviously a casual comic reader wouldn't carry the same baggage as the guy who runs the "Battletech and Silverhawks Podcast" for all those Battletech/Silverhawks fans...all six of them.

So is your take that all fandom is created equal, or is there a hierarchy of things?

 

[The Squirrel]

Fantasy Sports is just role playing for Jocks. So I can agree with his statement.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

I love how it bleeped out Game*****

 

[Alex The Great]

These days it's something like this

Person A: I like Spider-Man
Person B: Yeah, I loved the movies. Can't believe they're rebooting
Person A: I meant the comics
Person B: Oh...*tries not to laugh*

It's not really nerdy or whatever to like one of those things. Most people will assume you're talking about the movies

 

[Hotwire]

The best way to put this would have to be...
How far would you drive to see your favorite comic artist? If the answer is less than 100 miles, sports fans are FAR more dedicated. These guys, especially college football fans, will practically migrate to see their team play.

 

[Harls]

I think fans of anything are a lot alike. We're all fans in our own way, with different levels of dedication & obsession.

 

[Manic]

The fandoms are pretty much the same thing. If you don't believe me, get a hardcore sports fan and a hardcore comic reader. Ask them about their favorite athlete/character. Both will know all about that particular person's childhood, education, love life, special skills, wins, losses, and most embarrassing moments in excruciating detail.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

I think because athletes are real, as opposed the aliens and superheroes, there is a certain deference to people who are fans of something real (like a sport) than to those who are fans of a fantasy (like comic books).

 

[Figs]

I have a friend who runs a local comic book store that I used to frequent and I heard him repeat this particular line many times

(Paraphrase): "There is a double standard when it comes to fans. Comic fans and sports fans are exactly alike. We both wear T-Shirts of our favorite characters, we both follow them in magazines/internet/TV, and we get together and talk about them".

I've been saying this for years!

I don't even think it should be up for debate. Anyone who says that the double standard doesn't exist is a tool. They are the same, it's simply down to the fact that overall society has deemed one cool and the other not cool.

I think because athletes are real, as opposed the aliens and superheroes, there is a certain deference to people who are fans of something real (like a sport) than to those who are fans of a fantasy (like comic books).

While that's true, comic fans don't act like they are doing or can do what the heroes do. You know how often sports fans act like they can do better than the people they are obsessively talking about.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

While that's true, comic fans don't act like they are doing or can do what the heroes do. You know how often sports fans act like they can do better than the people they are obsessively talking about.

I believe the term you're looking for is "Monday Morning Quarterbacking". I don't know many sports fans who think they can out run Peyton Hillis or Chad Johnson, and even when they say something like "Aw, I could throw better than this schmuck" it's usually understood as a facetious comment. That aside though sports is about competition and winning, which is pretty primal to humans. If the New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders there is not really a debate as to who was the better team that day; it's more or less settled on the field. The debate as to whether Batman can beat Superman will never be settled, nor is it really a true competition.

 

[C. Lee]

An obsesive fan is an obsessive fan. The hate between two opposing teams is the same as the fighting between Marvelites and DCers.

 

[Anubis]

Or Macs and PC's. Or xbox and playstation. Etc, etc. It's just a buncha *****e bags being *****e bags with other *****e bags.

 

[Figs]

That aside though sports is about competition and winning, which is pretty primal to humans. If the New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders there is not really a debate as to who was the better team that day; it's more or less settled on the field. The debate as to whether Batman can beat Superman will never be settled, nor is it really a true competition.

It doesn't matter if it's a true competition or not. It's a copout to say that sports fans have the right to be obsessed since they're focusing on real people as opposed to having an interest in fictional characters and not be looked down at.

When sports fans never miss a single game, wear makeup or play dressup and memorize who did what over three decades ago, yeah that's just as obsessive and out there as comic fans/nerds.

It's ignorant and biased to say that it's ok to be obsessed with one but not the other.

 

[SpideyVille]

This thread reminds me of this commercial. It's basically the same idea.

[YT]0TBusqMaCEM[/YT]

I think fans of anything are a lot alike. We're all fans in our own way, with different levels of dedication & obsession.

I agree, fans are fans no matter what they are fans of. I mean some people will worship an athlete/team the same way someone will worship Superman or any other hero.

 

[SuperFerret]

While that's true, comic fans don't act like they are doing or can do what the heroes do. You know how often sports fans act like they can do better than the people they are obsessively talking about.

Kind of like how a comic fan complains about how a certain arc or book is written, and how their ideas would be much better than those of professional writers.

 

[Silvermoth]

Jocks are hotter but fanboys have inner beauty t:

 

[knowsbleed]

Part of me thinks this is simply cultural bias, since something like Star Wars is not nearly as nerdy as liking Transformers, X-Men or Star Trek.

I think I'm going to choose to dislike you now.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

I think obsessive fandom(redudnancy?) for any genre is ridiculous, not just sports. I've never met/talked to a comic nerd AS obsessed with it as some sports fans. Def had some run-ins w/ sci-fi nerds though. All that Battlestar Galactica/Star Trek talk is scary.

While that's true, comic fans don't act like they are doing or can do what the heroes do. You know how often sports fans act like they can do better than the people they are obsessively talking about.

This always cracks me up. So many sports fans living vicariously through athletes swear they could do a better job...as they reach for more wings, beer, and pizza. I've actually started to look down on my sports fanatic friends b/c they're slowly gaining weight and while memorizing useless stats and salary figures.

 

[knowsbleed]

Fantasy Football=sports fans' RPG.

 

[scifiwolf]

I've always explained my love of movies as being comparable to my love of the Redskins, Orioles, Wolfpack, and Mountaineers. Same thing goes for Jeeps and consumer electronics. I have brand loyalties, movie/comic franchise loyalties, etc. that I follow and want to succeed. I'm not as obsessive in the sense that I don't really hate anyone (except UNC, but they deserve it).

I think the reason why there's such a difference, though, in the public's view of following movies/comics the same way as sports is because it's just not real. It's make believe. It's fantasy. The other thing is that athletic competition is constructive. It keeps the body healthy, where as sitting around watching movies or reading comics is a fairly neutral activity. I'm not saying I agree with this 100%, but I think that's the basic, black-and-white explanation of why there's a societal dichotomy between the two types of fandom.

 

[choskins]

(Paraphrase): "There is a double standard when it comes to fans. Comic fans and sports fans are exactly alike. We both wear T-Shirts of our favorite characters, we both follow them in magazines/internet/TV, and we get together and talk about them".

He was never much of a sports guy, although he liked the Game***** having gone there, other than that he didn't watch much sports.

Like the original poster's friend, I also went to USC and am a fan of the Game*****. Small world!

The issue isn't the amount of fanaticism for one genre vs. the other. The issue is how society looks at one genre vs. the other... and it isn't close. Many here have said Marvel vs. DC is the same as USC vs. Clemson or any sport rivalry. The day they come out with billion dollar TV channels dedicated to comics or 110,000,000 people sit down in unison to watch a comic event (like we do for the Super Bowl), this isn't even a discussion.

Comic book fans may be just as fanatical or more so, but sports are accepted by society as a whole. Comics, to this day, are still considered "counter culture". That is the basic distinction.

The issue isn't how much dedication you show to your genre; the issue is how accepted that genre is. Sports is universal. Comics are not (although movies have helped a lot). Look at another genre... biker gangs for example. They live and breathe their culture, but that doesn't make it the same as a hardcore sports fan.

I'm not knocking any genre here. Just stating facts. This whole argument reminds me of the age old adage: The jock gets the girl; the book worm does not. It may not be right (to the book worm), but it is the way it is and always will be.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

If the argument is about social acceptance and/or attracting women, then I'm confused. The average sports fan looks like Kevin James and the average comic nerd looks like Jesse Eisenberg. Neither of which I'd imagine drives the ladies wild lol.

 

[Erzengel]

As someone who's an avid sports fan and a comic book fan, but like some of the folks said here, it's more commonly accepted to being a Sports fan.

Someone wearing a Yankees jersey is taken a little bit better than someone wearing a Spider-Man t-shirt.

 

[Hound55]

What... I can't be both..?

 

[Immortalfire]

I'm both.