Sunday, October 16, 2011

Nerding Out



For the past four days I have been in New York City covering Comic Con and I really have to admire the insanity of some of the people there.
The picture above was not even the best costumes I saw. There was one guy dressed up as Bumble Bee from Transformers and it was awesome. But I do not think that these people are crazy...well not crazy crazy...Their fanatical love of comics, video games an
d everything else in between seems extremely familiar to me. I see no difference with the picture above and this guy:
Seriously, I do not see a difference.
Dungeons and Dragons = Fantasy Football
Mark Hamill = John Madden
Cosplayers = Body Painters
League of Legends = Madden games

I just wanted to pose the question, why is one groups' actions more socially acceptable than the other? Aren't they both very similar if not the same?

1 comment:

  1. As a sports fan, an athlete, a person who has played League of Legends, and a member of a house who will spontaneously break out Star Craft and play 4v4 games, I wanted to discuss this question.

    In both cases, the NFL and Comic-Con, the fans are idolizing a person, idea, or group. They are idolizing something that they find impressive, cool, or that they can relate too. Mark Hamill's performance in Star Wars is epic, and Star Wars is a legendary movie, but there are many things that are epic about the NFL. All professional football players are genetic freaks. You can work out your whole life, but you won't become the 6'1" 217 pound, 4.4 second 40 running Adrian Peterson. Vince Wilfork defies nature at 6'2" 325 pounds while still being able to catch interceptions and run down the field. You can also film your whole life and not make a movie anywhere near the success of Star Wars. George Lucas has a gift. Both sides are equally impressive. Physical prowess and perfection versus unlimited creativity and imagination. Why is one more culturally acceptable?

    I believe it has to do with time. The NFL has been around much longer than Comic-Con. Its traditions are deeply rooted in our education system, things like homecoming games in high school, football players wearing jerseys in the halls before school. Sports also have a unifying effect for cities, states, and regions. But the internet and video games are helping spread this other world to the Jocks.

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