To talk plainly, what is it with being a real fan? Of anything, for that matter. It is the join a secret society that thinks, breathes, and fawns over the very obsession upon which they call themselves "fans" of.
Is there anything wrong with being a casual fan? I certainly don't think so.
In the video game community, we've had to deal with this for quite a long time now. There's been a long standing elitest outlook on those who aren't as hardcore as others. In fact, Techradar posted an article about it a while ago: Link here. It's accepted that hardcore gamers play a certain set of games - all the AAA titles at least. Games have shortened acronyms that need no explanation - GoW (Gears of War), GRAW (Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter), WoW (World Of Warcraft). They've played through every single title of every single big franchise. They know the backstory to the Halo universe, or at least how to be mediocre/successful on Live!. They have running subscriptions to gaming magazines that they read cover to cover once it comes in their mailbox. They spend nights and days researching strategies, looking up maps, and never, ever will they cheat. Because they're too good already. Cheating is for ... well, everyone else. They've got every single console and handheld, and their PC rig looks like it belongs in Paul Walker's Mitsubishi Eclipse from Fast and Furious 1.
And then there were casual gamers. Those of us who, for whatever reason, couldn't dedicated 6-8 hours on any day to playing games. Some of us are parents, and would be lucky to spare 30 minutes to watch Conan O'Brian, let alone get on World of Warcraft to raid for 3 hours. We play in short bursts, and easy games that are fun and don't necessarily have to be competitive. Wii Sports is awesome. Anything made by Popcap, BigFish, or any of those other companies that make small, short games is great. Also, we like simple games. We don't have the time to sit around and read a manual or run through a tutorial that takes 30 min that has to be repeated every week because from one Friday to the next, I happened to have so much going on, I barely remembered how to play.
There's always been a big rift between the two, with the elitest hardcore looking down on the casual gamer. I personally identify myself now as someone who straddles the line. I've been "hardcore" and done some gaming myself, but I'm slowling to stop - er, pause, rather. Shorter games like Bejeweled that I can take anywhere and play for 10-15 minutes are super great. I'm liking the idea of being a casual gamer, and letting the hardcore stick their noses up at me all they want. So I haven't played RE4, RE5, or any of the Metal Gear Solid games. So what.
But recently this phenomenon of Casual vs. Hardcore has come into play in other areas of my life. Goddamn.
Hockey season is finally coming into my awareness, as the playoffs are right around the corner (Ducks play the Sharks tomorrow night at HP Pavilion actually). Living in San Jose, it's not easy liking anything besides the Sharks. Then again, I suppose this wouldn't be easy in any town, to not like the home team.
As one of my classmates pointed out, I am not a Ducks fan, but rather a Jean-Sébastien Giguère fan. And a Teemu Selänne fan. And a Ryan Getzlaf fan. And an Andy McDonald fan. Two years ago, I wanted to get into hockey. The playoffs were rolling around, and I chose a team to follow. I picked the Ducks, mostly out of spite that everyone was a Sharks fan. Lo and behold, they went all the way and won the Stanley Cup. During the playoffs, I tried to educate myself as best I could about the sport, learning the basic positions and the different line formations for my team. I had great trouble keeping track of the puck on the TV screen, but that was an adaptation my acquaintances said would take some getting used to (to this day, I still have a bit of trouble following the puck through traffic, especially the shots). I bought EA's NHL 07 for PS2 AND PSP, and 2K's NFL 2K7 for PS2, and played a full season on EA's title (2k's not having a 2D paper crowd wasn't enough for me) with "my team," the Anaheim Ducks. Of course, on normal, we went all the way and won the Stanley Cup.
Following the real life win by the Anaheim Ducks, I did my best to keep track of the team's news in the offseason. Selanne wasn't coming back, at least not for now. One of the Niedermayer brothers wasn't coming back either - I think it was Scott, who had now won 3 Stanley Cups. Jiggy, aka Giguère, was staying, but on the injured list. Getzlaf was still there.
For the most part, I don't follow any teams in their respective off seasons. I'm not that hardcore.
In 2008, we were coming back to defend our title. We failed miserably, bowing out in the first round agains the Dallas Stars. Both Selänne and Niedermayer came back though.
Now in 2009, the Ducks are going to the playoffs again - California Dreamin' style, as they are the #8 seed and the San Jose Sharks are the #1 seed. We barely made it, juggling the last few playoff spots here towards the end of the season.
Am I a Ducks fan? I think so. But others would say not.
To be a real fan, once has to follow their team throughout the season. Fair enough. Regular season hockey, I'm sure, probably has its great moments. But really, the playoffs - in any sport - is where are the great action is. It's where those moments for Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine get their equivalent "money shots." Not living in the area of Anaheim severely limits my viewings of the Ducks during the regular season, unless they're playing the Sharks, or NBC has decided to feature it on the weekend. But my few tastings of regular season hockey have been rather unpleasant. It's like playoff hockey, but ... slower ...
:-=-:
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