What Makes A Fan A Fan?

Lake Charles, LA

I often read reports, opinion pieces, blog posts, and social media comments related to fans and fandom.  Most of them boast about the true fans of a certain sports team or the hardcore fans of certain superheroes.  Some of these fan groups that are mentioned have actually been given names like Trekkies/Trekkers, the KISS Army, and Twi-hards. 

Seeing all of these fan references made me think:  Exactly when does a person become a fan of something?  Are their degrees of fandom?  Are their some fans that are more deserving of the title than other fans of the same thing?

Of course, narrowing down a definitive answer on who is a bigger fan than someone else is pretty much impossible.  You have to take into consideration things like money, access to interests, social influences, advertising, and exclusivity.  What I mean by this is that there might be a person out there who loves Star Wars and has multiple screen-accurate costumes that they wear to conventions like Star Wars Celebration, buys books and comics related to Star Wars, and collects toys, shirts, etc., but are they more of a fan than the guy who only owns the films on DVD that watches them repeatedly and can quote them line for line because that is all he can afford?  I honestly don’t think so.  In fact, I know a few people who don’t own any Star Wars goodies save for the films and they can run circles around cosplayers when it comes to trivia.

But who is a truer fan?  Who is the real fan?  I guess that is all a matter of opinion.  I consider myself a Whovian, a New Orleans Saints fan, a Star Wars fanboy, a Browncoat, a mild Trekkie, a Houston Astros fan, a member of the KISS Army, and a comic book fan, particularly of Batman, Nightcrawler, Gambit, Thor, Flash, Doctor Doom, Doctor Octopus, the Joker, Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Captain America.  Do I love other sports teams, comic characters, science fiction, and/or fantasy titles?  Absolutely.  I consider myself a Ravenclaw and have read all of the Harry Potter books and watched the films.  Could I argue with someone over the virtues of Snape?  Yes, but only to a degree.  I’m much more involved in other fandoms.  Do I consider myself any less of a HP fan?  Nope. 

Heck, I’m not that big of a fan of Guardians of the Galaxy and I’m more excited about seeing Captain America:  The Winter Soldier than GOTG.  Does that make me any less of a comics fan?  In no way whatsover.  But I do wonder if there are people out there who snub their noses at me for not being more interested in GOTG or other things.  I’m sure they are out there.  In fact, I know they are.

I’ve witnessed true fans try to out people for their fan worthiness.  I’ve watched men try to outwit female cosplayers on whatever character they happen to be dressed as.  I saw one idiot attempt to embarass some female Trekkies and watched as they turned the tables on him, correcting him on multiple topics.  He had no idea what to do with them next.  They had him beat.

But are there people out there that we can consider truer fans than others?  Can people who watch Doctor Who for the sole purpose of seeing how cute Matt Smith or Karen Gillan looks in a particular episode really be considered a fan of the show?  Or are they simply fans of Smith/Gillan?  Just because I can’t name all of the Robins from the Batman comics, does that make me any less of a fan than the guy who has a poster of Nightwing over his bed?  Honestly, I don’t think it does.

What it all ultimately boils down to is that we are all fans of many things to varying degrees.  If you believe you are a truer fan of Star Trek because you can speak Klingon, good for you.  But in no way are you entitled to some special sort of recognition for this fact.  Why?  Because while you were learning Klingon, another fan of Trek might have been checking out Blake’s 7 or Percy Jackson. 

I guess what I’m really getting at with this rambling post is that we all need to get along no matter what we love and no matter to what degree we love something.  This is especially important for the Trekkies, Whovians, Browncoats, Bronies, etc. to understand.  Why?  Because like it or not, society looks down upon geeks, nerds, and fanboys.  While things are much better than they used to be, use nerds are stil considered outsiders.  If you find people who share a love of something with you, TALK to them!  LISTEN to them!  ENJOY their company!  Don’t scoff at them for not knowing who Remy Lebeau’s alter ego is.  Just be happy that you have made contact with someone who gets you and your passion for something.

I challenge any and every person that reads this to seek out a new friend in your chosen fandom.  Attend a fan group meeting or strike up a conversation with someone reading a novel you enjoy at the library or a book store.  That person might know more about the topic than you, or they might know less.  In either case, befriend them.  Eventually you will both grow as people and that is a beautiful thing. 

Thanks for reading.  Now go make some friends!