Is Comic fandom really comprable to being a Sports fan?

[StorminNorman]

I take offense to the notion that playground games played by adults are more difficult to do than writing, an age old art form.

Being dismissive of one doesn't help the case of the other.

There is no difference in being a sports fan, a comic book fan, or a Justin Bieber fan or a Jersey Shore fan or being a fan of any other sort of entertainment.

As far as the above comment, I have no doubt there are a handful of non-professional writers on this forum that can make a better comic book than the professionals. I doubt there is anyone here who could make a professional sports roster.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

I do think that it's unfair that being a fan of a sport is judged as normal, or even cool, whereas being a fan of a genre, or a certain movie/tv show/comic book, or even a fan of a character in particular, is considered geeky.

And yeah, there are a lot of similarities. Sports fans dress up in the kit, 'geeks' dress up as characters. Sports fans argue over who's better, so do geeks.

But when it comes to English fandoms being comparable, i'd say not.

I can't imagine a violent riot errupting at star trek or comic book fan conventions every time an announcement was made that the fans didn't like.

I can't imagine comic book fans celebrating the launch of a new comic, or the release of a film, by getting ridiculously drunk and chanting inane songs.

 

[E-Man]

I do think that it's unfair that being a fan of a sport is judged as normal, or even cool, whereas being a fan of a genre, or a certain movie/tv show/comic book, or even a fan of a character in particular, is considered geeky.

And yeah, there are a lot of similarities. Sports fans dress up in the kit, 'geeks' dress up as characters. Sports fans argue over who's better, so do geeks.

But when it comes to English fandoms being comparable, i'd say not.

I can't imagine a violent riot errupting at star trek or comic book fan conventions every time an announcement was made that the fans didn't like.

I can't imagine comic book fans celebrating the launch of a new comic, or the release of a film, by getting ridiculously drunk and chanting inane songs.

That's just how European fans celebrate.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

but every fandom has those types though....how many wanna be writers do fan fic but then throw a hissy when a professional critiques their work??

I personally think that athletes can handle criticism a lot better than the other side can, because its part of the culture

In most sports criticism comes in the form of losing, so even if someone threw a hissy fit what difference would it make? They'd still be a loser. Athletes are in a constant battle with reality, because the consequences of failure really can't be interpreted. If a fan fiction writer has his work critique by an anonymous professional, he can rationalize it. Granted he's probably deluding himself, but for the sake of argument he's delusional. He can tell himself the dude critiquing his work is a jerk, or that he just doesn't understand the brilliance, or that's he's not really a professional critic. There is some good reason for this though. Art definitely has an element of luck in it. I've read fan scripts that are better than what was used for X-Men: The Last Stand but those scripts were never made and never read or acknowledged by the right people.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

There is a definitely difference between sports fans and comic fans. Sports is a social activity more than anything, comics are a solo activity. You'll never see 50,000-100,000 people sit down together to read a comic book. However, you can almost always find that at a sporting event. Sure there are the people way too obsessed with sports, but more than anything the social aspect is what differentiates sports and comics.

It's true. Most sports fans will have to travel out of their parents' basement at some point in time. Although most comic fans probably don't fit the 'basement dweller' stereotype, I can't think of any sports fans who would. I'd be hard pressed to imagine how someone could shut themselves off from the world and be obsessed with sports, whereas I can understand exactly why and how a comic fan could do that.

 

[roach]

It just more acceptable...its part of the american culture...its part of the nightly news and the few newspapers still around dedicate a whole section to sports...we have a 24 hour sports channel in ESPN and thats not counting the separate NFL channel or golf channel. We plan our lives around Superbowls and championships. Tiger Woods gets millions to sell cereal and Gatorade.
I'd love to live in a world where comic wednesday is a global holiday but that isnt gonna happen. No matter how much Batman or Transformers make money at the movies its still looked down upon when you say you read the comics

 

[BlackLantern]

well said, roach

I am a comic fan, but I don't advertise it except to my other comic friends...but I can walk into any sports bar and strike up a conversation and make a bunch of single serving friends right away

 

[roach]

i wish it wasnt so but as boys we are conditioned to like sports as soon as we get to school(if you didnt grow up in a household with a father who was into sports). We play in elementary school and try out in high school and in college. Schools put emphasis on Homecoming games and rival games.
How could we not think its acceotable to be a sports fan when the jocks got all the perks in high school while the comic geeks had to watch out for the upper class men

 

[SuperFerret]

Being dismissive of one doesn't help the case of the other.

There is no difference in being a sports fan, a comic book fan, or a Justin Bieber fan or a Jersey Shore fan or being a fan of any other sort of entertainment.

As far as the above comment, I have no doubt there are a handful of non-professional writers on this forum that can make a better comic book than the professionals. I doubt there is anyone here who could make a professional sports roster.

Saying things via text doesn't help convey sarcasm either.

Either way, you never know who has the talent for whatever if they don't have the opportunities set out before them. There's more of a chance that the best basketball player in the world is sitting in an office right now than there is that he's in the NBA. Same with the best writer in the world likely going unpublished, and the best musicians never getting a record deal and the best actor never having been in a major motion picture. Talent and ability is one thing, and the pros have varying degrees of both, but they all had the right opportunities, and that above all is what makes them pros.

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

Saying things via text doesn't help convey sarcasm either.

Either way, you never know who has the talent for whatever if they don't have the opportunities set out before them. There's more of a chance that the best basketball player in the world is sitting in an office right now than there is that he's in the NBA. Same with the best writer in the world likely going unpublished, and the best musicians never getting a record deal and the best actor never having been in a major motion picture. Talent and ability is one thing, and the pros have varying degrees of both, but they all had the right opportunities, and that above all is what makes them pros.

I would wager that if you're talented at a sport, and talented enough to play professionally, there's probably little chance you were passed over unless you had some untimely injury. Professional athletics are always, always looking for qualified athletes because they have such a high demand and so few people who are qualified to take those spots. You can be a great writer, however, and no one would notice. In athletics though you'd have to play the sport, usually for a school, and by playing the sport you're more or less bound to get noticed.

 

[SuperFerret]

Yeah, but having the skill and talent doesn't mean that you're the type to actively seek out and join such organizations.

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

As far as the above comment, I have no doubt there are a handful of non-professional writers on this forum that can make a better comic book than the professionals. I doubt there is anyone here who could make a professional sports roster.

Writing I agree with, writing can be learnt to the degree where you get good enough to make it in the comics field professionally.

But in the case of the artwork, I think that is of the same degree of talent as pro sportspeople.
It is one thing to be able to do a professional looking poster of a superhero, it is another thing entirely to be able to take that draughtmanship and put it into dynamic sequential drawings, keeping the same degree of quality of draughtmanship, and making each and every panel count and flow as a story. While at the same time being able to do so on a monthly basis to the tune of twenty odd pages.
That is up there with the same degree of natural(and learned) talent that the pro athelete possesses.

 

[BlackLantern]

no...but every university has scouting programs for a reason....their sole purpose is to seek out those highly skilled individuals...now not everyone works out, but if you have a high level of skill/talent at a particular sport, someone will take note

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

i'd love to know your reasoning as why star wars is less nerdy than x-men

 

[roach]

I believe both are equally nerdy...Star Wars gets a little bit of lee way since it was a cultural phenomenon but you will get laughed at just as hard if you dressed up as a Stormtrooper than if you dressed as Wolverine

 

[the_ultimate_evil]

it all comes down to how it is presented. if you run around with t-shirt with use the force across the front, it's nerdy as hell. same goes for the x-men.

it all comes down to how it looks, if you can get something that looks normal to the general public it'll go by without being noticed, but you can still including something nerdy in it that others will get

i have this on a t-shirt and only other comics fan get the joke most just this it's a graphic t-shirt

 

[Optimus_Prime_]

I believe both are equally nerdy...Star Wars gets a little bit of lee way since it was a cultural phenomenon but you will get laughed at just as hard if you dressed up as a Stormtrooper than if you dressed as Wolverine

On Halloween though I'd say the Stormtropper/Darth Vader costumes are popular enough culturally that they don't scream instant nerd.

...I dressed as Tom Brady

 

[THE MR. TERRIFIC]

I think that they are a lot alike. I like sports and comics and the feeling is the same.

 

[roach]

On Halloween though I'd say the Stormtropper/Darth Vader costumes are popular enough culturally that they don't scream instant nerd.

...I dressed as Tom Brady

a fellow NE fan...I knew there was something I liked about you

 

[mrvlknight21]

Alright, I would like to introduce a bit of a wild card into this mix. I would say that comic fans are looked down upon the same way that pro wrestling/WWE fans are.

Some people argue that WWE is fake and childish. I, however, find it entertaining. Yes, I know it is scripted, but the athletes are exactly that (athletes) and they make watching the show fun.

Comics/comic fans are often looked down upon because it seems childish and it is fantasy (again, fake).

Compare this to the fact that traditional sports have their battles settled on the field in competition and therein lies the rub.

Thats my 2 cents anyways.