MEME: Unpopular Opinions

[dlgood]

Stolen from everywhere but I want to play this time.

1) Comment with one of my fandoms or a character or two from that fandom.
2) I'll answer with one or two of my unpopular opinions about that fandom or character.

OR! You can also comment with fandoms I'm not into, and I'll tell you why I'm not a fan.

Current fandoms/shows I'm watching: College Basketball (Mens & Womens), Dexter, Chuck, Heroes, How I Met Your Mother - I watch A LOT of television and could comment on a lot more...

Comments

[dherblay.livejournal.com]

Stephen Curry.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Stephen Curry is going to have an NBA career. But it's not going to be much more than Juan Dixon's career unless he spends the next two years running marathons until he's never, ever tired, no matter how many screens he has to run off of. He's not unlike Reggie Miller - but he's five inches shorter and that's a big gap in NBA terms.

Also, who's he gonna guard? I love his game and he's a great story and all, but seriously. Folks need to tone the fawning down a notch.

(Although, he's better than Wayne Ellington right now.)

[bastardsnow.livejournal.com]

I'm definitely gonna go with How I Met Your Mother.

Also, can I steal your Nats icon?

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

HIMYM: I've gathered that people kind of don't like Robin all that much. And Ted annoys people. I don't get that. Neither of them really bother, aside from FutureTed's voiceovers which I chalk up to convention of the show. Robin gives quality straight man.

Also, steal icon away. Have I mentioned that the new stadium is two blocks from my office.

[ladystarlightsj.livejournal.com]

I don't think you're watching Stargate Atlantis, so have at that one!

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

I don't even know what channel it's on. My Stargate awareness level is very low...

[scwlc.livejournal.com]

College basketball counts as a fandom? I mean, I get (well in theory anyways since I'm not one) being a sports fan, fan of a particular league or level of a sport or a fan of that sport in particular, but I don't see it connecting into the 'tradition' as it were, of fandom. I mean, maybe it's just my personal definition, but I think of fandoms as being related to works of fiction.

I have no problem with someone wanting to hash out who's making the playoffs or Rookie of the Year or the Cy Young Award (dammit, I never remember how to spell that -- that's the pitching one, right?) but is it fandom in the same sense as Dexter, Heroes or HIMYM? I really don't see it. And yes, I know Cy Young (spelling?) is baseball not basketball. It's the principle of the thing.

I mean, is there something in the generally accepted definition of fandom that allows you to put basketball in the mix?

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

I get being a sports fan, fan of a particular league or level of a sport or a fan of that sport in particular, but I don't see it connecting into the 'tradition' as it were, of fandom. (snip)

I have no problem with someone wanting to hash out who's making the playoffs or Rookie of the Year or the Cy Young Award (dammit, I never remember how to spell that -- that's the pitching one, right?) but is it fandom in the same sense as Dexter, Heroes or HIMYM? I really don't see it

Is it a fandom in the same sense? Yeah. It's the same thing, just much much larger. And whether your object is a work of fiction or a game, in both cases it's about taking the status of spectator, and transforming into communal engagement. Fandom isn't about the subject - it's about the experience.

Is the bar stool debate over whether the 1998 Yankees are better than the 1939 Yankees all that different than two Sci-Fi Fans arguing over whether Kirk or Picard is the better Captain?

As someone who actually lives in both of these worlds of fandom, it is almost the exact same experience. The primary difference is the gender ration.

[scwlc.livejournal.com]

I'll buy that. It still clashes with my personal view of that matter, but I'll buy it as a valid definition. You're right that the debates sound exactly the same.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

Can a 'Reality TV' program qualify? Or what about a case where a sports team's Off-the-field shenanigans are actually more scandalous and bizarre than an actual TV soap operas?

[scwlc.livejournal.com]

In my view no. I have never considered anything involving real people to really be 'fandom' unless you're dealing with a deliberate "breaking of the fourth wall" situation. I even find historical fiction to sometimes be a blurry line for me. Real people and events are more about hashing out odds and other things like that which separate them from what I would call a valid 'fandom'.

I don't know, I've never been sufficiently into any sport to have a word that would apply to real people in a similar way to fandom, but I truly feel it's a sufficiently separate issue between the fictional world and the real that a line should be drawn.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

I have never considered anything involving real people to really be 'fandom'

The behavior of the fan is exactly the same - and it's the fan that makes it 'fandom'. The way a person reacts upon finding out who'll direct the next Harry Potter movie... the way a person reacts upon finding out who the next coach of their favorite team. Exactly the same.

The fan's psychological connection to the event. The same. The fan's actual connection? I don't know Gilbert Arenas any more than you know Harry Potter. Yes, Gilbert Arenas is a real athlete (who is playing the 'character of "Agent Zero" much more than he is actually playing basketball this year). Regardless of objective reality - they are about the same amount of real to you or me.

And beyond which, the sports fan is a fan of the team - often more a fan of the uniform than the actual player. Just as a TV fan may well be more a fan of a TV Character than the actor playing the role.

I can see how one might categorize differences about between some sort of standard fanfic and RPF. (And do not doubt, there are people on my flist who write Sports RPF.) People who actually play the sports and know the players personally often cease to be fans in the same way. But then, the same often holds for actors.

You may want to draw some sort of a different definition, but to me it's artificial.