A
fan,
aficionado, or
supporter is someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking and enthusiasm for a sporting club, person (usually a
celebrity), group of persons, company, product, activity, work of art, idea, or
trend. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its
fanbase or
fandom. They often show their
enthusiasm by starting a
fan club, holding
fan conventions, creating
fanzines, writing
fan mail, or promoting the object of their interest and attention.
In a few cases, individual fans may become so fascinated with the objects of their infatuation that they become obsessive. These fans engage in behaviors that are considered extreme or abnormal. This includes
idolatry or other forms of
worship, such as creating a personal shrine dedicated to the idol at one's home, and can sometimes extend to the point of the fans becoming
stalkers. In sports, some fans take their enthusiasm for the team to the point of attacking fans of the opposing team (e.g.,
football hooliganism).
Etymology
There is some confusion as to the origin of the word
fan. Paul Dickson, in his
Dickson Baseball Dictionary, cites
William Henry Nugent's work that traces it to
fancy, a 19th century term from England that referred mainly to followers of
boxing. It was originally shortened to
fance then just to the homonym
fans. The word emerged as an
Americanism around 1889. Many assume that it's a shortened version of the word
fanatic, and the word did first become popular in reference to an enthusiastic follower of a
baseball team. (
Fanatic itself, introduced into English around 1525, means "insane person". It comes from the Modern
Latin fanaticus, meaning "insanely but divinely inspired". The word originally pertained to a
temple or sacred place [Latin
fanum, poetic English
fane]. The modern sense of "extremely zealous" dates from around 1647; the use of
fanatic as a noun dates from 1650.) However, the term "fancy" for an intense liking of something, while being of a different etymology, coincidentally carries somewhat the same connotation as "fanatic".
Supporter is a synonym to "fan" which predates the latter term and as such is still commonly used in
British English, especially to denote fans of
sports teams. However, the term "fan" has become popular throughout the
English-speaking world, including the
United Kingdom. The term
supporter is also used in a
political sense in the
United States, to a fan of a
politician, a
political party, and a controversial issue.
The term "krank" (or
crank) carries much the same connotation as both "fanatic" and "fancy", of devoted attachment to something. While the object of a fan's interest is generally an intense interest in a normal, accepted activity (e.g. sports or rock music), a crank is often seen as being devoted to an unusual or even deviant idea or organization, such as alien abduction or racial superiority theories.
In scientific circles, a "crank" is someone who is devoted to some baseless scientific principle or idea - they often believe that they have invented limitless energy sources, or disproven the existence of God, etc. Often these "cranks" harass prominent scientists in much the same way that some fans write love letters to their celebrity heroes. This usage is closely related to
crank science - ideas such as cold fusion, zero-point energy, telepathy, etc. that are ridiculed by the scientific community, but appear frequently in the ravings of cranks and occasionally appear in the media due to the naivety of mainstream journalists.
The term "crank" was also once used to describe baseball fans, but this usage is now obsolete.
Characteristics
There are certain common characteristics to be found in fans interested in different topics and that these characteristics influence the behaviors of those involved in fan behavior. Those common characteristics include internal involvement.
Fans focus more of their time and resources intently on a specific area of interest than a non-fan would, and are not significantly concerned if non-fans (including family or friends) do not derive pleasure from the area of interest. Fans usually have a strong enough interest that some changes in their
lifestyles are made to accommodate devotion to the focal object. As well, fans have a desire for external involvement - are motivated to demonstrate their involvement with the area of interest through certain behaviors (attending
conventions, posting online, etc.). Fans often have a "wish to acquire" material objects related to the area of interest, such as a baseball hit by a famous slugger or a used guitar pick from their musical hero. As well, some fans have a desire for
social interaction with other fans. This again may take many forms, from casual conversation, e-mail, chat rooms, and electronic mailing lists to regular face-to-face meetings such as fan club meetings and organized conventions.
There are several groups of fans that can be differentiated by the intensity level of their level of involvement or interest in the hobby (level of
fanaticism)
The likelihood for a subject of interest to be elevated to the level of fandom appears to be dictated by its complexity. Complexity allows further involvement of fans for a longer period of time because of the time needed to work the subject of interest 'out.' It also contributes to a greater sense of belonging because of the mental effort invested in the subject. This could be why sci-fi is so popular, some fans feel the need to work out all the scientific kinks in these programs. One example for Star Trek is that a group of fans designed blueprints for federation starships.
Comparison with fanatics
Japanese
football fans sit quietly and eat noodles.
The difference between a fan and a
fanatic is that while both have an overwhelming liking or interest in a given subject, behavior of a fanatic will be viewed as violating prevailing
social norms, while that of a fan will not violate those norms.
Types
Celebrities
These fans will often hold a crush on a major film or TV star, singer, athlete or
celebrity (see
teen idol). This can range from a simple crush to the deluded belief that they have a "connection" with the star. In extreme cases, this can lead to
stalking behavior or even violent attacks.
This is somewhat related to the concept of
parasocial interaction where audiences develop one-sided relationship with media characters and celebrities.
Politics
Even though they're not collectively called "fans", more often the term
supporter is used for people who often approve of what certain politicians do, or to a political party. Even though there's very less devotion to politicians, due to their controversial nature of the subject, it is not uncommon to find heavy devotion to a politician. For example, former
US President Ronald Reagan has an unofficial devoted "fan club" on the Internet. Often heavy enthusiasm or praise for politicians often are from a
personality cult, which are usually found in
dictatorships. However, a large fan base for a politician does not in any way make them a dictator, this is determined by entirely different set of standards.
Sports
Sports fan can describe enthusiasts for a particular athlete, team, sport, or all of organized sports as a whole. The Sports fans are often seen attending sporting events or following them on television, as well as through newspapers and internet websites.
The mentality of the sports fan is often such that they will experience a game, or event while living vicariously through players or teams whom the fan favors. This behavior manifests itself in a number of different ways, depending on the venue. At a stadium or arena, sports fans will voice their pleasure with a particular play, player, or team by
cheering, which consists of clapping, fist-pumping, or shouting positive exclamations toward the field of play and ultimately, the favorable object. Likewise, displeasure toward a particular play, player, or team is met by fans with
jeers, which consist of booing, the shouting of expletives, and in occasional, extreme cases, the throwing of bottles or even garbage cans onto the field of play in the hopes of injuring a particular participant. This violent type of fan reaction is called
hooliganism, an activity which is especially associated with football (soccer), where it is called
football hooliganism. Hooligans form clubs to fight with or attack the fans of the opposing team, and their brawls have led to injuries from thrown objects, stabbings, and beatings, and even to deaths.
Lighter, more harmless objects are also occasionally thrown onto certain fields of play as a form of celebration of a favorable sports feat. This is most common when a member of the home team scores a
hat trick in hockey. Other, more mild forms of displeasure shown by sports fans at sporting events involve simple groans of disappointment, and silence. These actions often denote that the favored home team is being outperformed by, or has lost to the much less-favored road team.
Teams that have a large amount of fans that have such an obsession with their team that their lives are practically based around the team are often called
rabid fans. These fans often congregate hours before kickoff in what is known as a
Tailgation. The
Pittsburgh Steelers is often cited as an example of a team with a
rabid fanbase because of
their large fanbase internationally as well as unusually large amounts of
local news coverage in
Pittsburgh in recent years being dedicated to the team even during the
NFL offseason.
At
sports bars, sports fans will gather together, often while consuming food and alcoholic beverages, with the purpose of following a particular sporting event on television as a group. Sports bars often advertise in hopes of drawing fans of a particular player or team to watch together to increase bonds between fans and prevent fights. This can create the sense of unity in a sports bar as all cheers and boos will appear to be synchronized due to similar feelings and reactions by nearly all fans at the fortunes and misfortunes of the favored team or athlete. Due to the level of devotion and intensity of feeling towards the favored team or athlete by sports bar patrons, as well as partially due to the alcohol being served, behavior that would be seen as unruly or fanatical outside of a sports bar is generally more common inside of one. The intensity of cheering and jeering at a sports bar by sports fans can often range from equal to stronger than that of fans actually at the sporting event for particularly significant games and matches.
In one's own "home" stadium, sports fans may have the smallest amount of shared company but also the greatest degree of freedom. This is sometimes where the most intense cheering or jeering will take place among particularly devoted sports fans depending on the company they keep for such an event. In the case of particularly frustrating and disappointing moments in sport for such a fan, many have reported such extreme reactions as punching a hole in the wall of the house. In the fan's own home, unbridled and lengthy screaming, crying, acts of destruction to household objects, and other manifestations of joy or anguish, are perhaps seen as most acceptable in comparison to the sports bar or sporting venue simply because such acts taken to such an extreme can be seen as disruptive to a large number of fellow fans even if they share the same sentiment if it is of less intensity. The greatest variables of the reaction of a sports fan in their own home are the intensity of the fan's desire to see their team win or perform well, and the presence of another: often a wife, children, or friends who may be significantly less ardent sports fans or not sports fans at all, which may significantly temper the fan's reaction to a highly positive or negative moment due to the fear of causing a scene or scaring those close to the fan, or alienating themselves from said others. Often sports fans will invite other fans of relatively similar rooting intensity over to their house to experience a sporting event together so that all involved can voice pleasure or displeasure to their heart's content and increase shared bonds in the process.
Professional wrestling
Fans of professional wrestling can be divided into two groups; marks and smarks. Derived from the same term used to describe the prey of
conmen, a
mark is a professional wrestling fan who believes that everything associated with pro wrestling is real, rather than recognizing the existence of
kayfabe (that is, it is a work). A mark can also refer to a devoted fan, either of a particular wrestler, wrestling company, or the sport itself. A mark is also someone who believes everything about a certain wrestling organization is good. This type of mark tends to overlook bad decisions that the organization makes (or to cast said decisions in a positive light) and overreact to the good ones.
A
smark ("smart mark") is a wrestling fan who understands that the outcome of a professional wrestling match is pre-determined, is privy to the behind-the-scenes operations, and enjoys following the on-screen product as well as the off-screen, backstage affairs. "Smark" is abbreviated professional wrestling slang for "smart mark". Many smarks are part of the "IWC" (the Internet Wrestling Community), a general term for wrestling fans who use the Internet as their means of fan-to-fan communication. Smarks define themselves by embracing the "workrate", or talent level, of wrestlers. They typically overlook those whom they see as wielding too much power backstage and support underdogs who they feel have been overlooked by management.
Science fiction, gaming and technology
Fanboy/fangirl
Fanboy is a term originating in the
United States, used to describe a male who is highly devoted and biased in opinion towards a single subject or
hobby within a given field. The earliest known recorded use is dated 1919.
Fanboy-ism is often prevalent in a field of products, brands or universe of characters where very few competitors (or enemies in fiction, such as comics) exist. An example is the market for
CPUs for
PCs, where
AMD and
Intel together hold a market share of 99.6% (as of Q1 2009). In this market, users of
home computers realistically only have a choice between two brands, and hence, a fight over which is better easily ensues. In this field, an "Intel fanboy" prefers CPUs made by Intel, and might aggressively defend their supposed superiority compared to the other brand(s), be skeptical or in denial about negative reviews of the product, and exert a high level of
brand loyalty. The same brand war ensues when comparing video card brands
Nvidia and
ATI, which together dominate the video card market.
The term originated in
comic book circles, to describe someone who was socially insecure and used comics as a shield from interaction, hence the disparaging connotations. Fanboys are often experts on minor details regarding their hobbies, such as
continuity in
fictional universes, and they take these details extremely seriously. The term itself is often used in a derogatory manner by less serious fans of the same material. Nevertheless, self-labeling usages of the term have been noted; in the songs of the
fannish parody musician Luke Ski, many characters proudly consider themselves
fanboys.
The term is usually used by and applied to people in their teens or 20s; an age group which is typically found pursuing
geeky hobbies obsessively. Within this group, common objects of deference for fanboys are
TV shows,
movies,
anime,
cars,
video game consoles,
video games,
music,
operating systems,
trains,
home computers (in earlier decades),
MMORPGs,
ISPs,
software and
computer hardware companies.
The term
fangirl can be used to describe a female member of a
fandom community (counterpart to the masculine "fanboy"). Fangirls may be more devoted to emotional and romantic aspects of their
fandom, especially
shipping. However, it is commonly used in a
derogatory sense to describe a girl's obsession with something, most commonly a male
teen idol or an aspect of
Japanese pop culture.
Fangirl behavior can vary in intensity. On one end of the scale are those that, while harboring a crush on a particular actor or character, are perfectly capable of understanding that the fulfilment of the crush is never going to happen. On the other end are the girls who are said to be obsessive in their claims on a fictional character, even fighting with other fangirls over who 'owns' the character in question. Fangirl behavior can fall anywhere in this spectrum, but the closer someone is believed to be towards the obsessive end, the more derogatory the use of the term 'fangirl' to describe them is perceived to be. Fangirls of all persuasions are believed to be the largest contributors to
fanfiction websites, sometimes disregarding the canon storyline of their fandom or altering it to fit either their own favored romantic pairings; or themselves into the continuity (termed
self-insertions or
Mary Sues).
Big Name Fan
A
Big Name Fan is a fan who has achieved notoriety and respect within a fandom for their contributions of various sorts, such as heading of a major fan club. Some big name fans have made such a longstanding contribution to the support of a team or celebrity that they are able to meet the object of their affection and interest. Big Name Fans in some fandoms or fan scenes may have fans of their own and be asked for autographs.
Otaku
In Japan, where the term
otaku originates, it is applied to fans of almost any topic, including anime/manga, the military, trains, etc. The term in Japan is derogatory (at least to those outside the otaku subculture), but with such works as the popular
Densha Otoko, this may be changing. In English, the term
Otaku has been adopted almost exclusively to describe fans of anime, manga and related materials. It also lacks the derogatory overtones it has in Japan.
Trekkies
Trekkies, the oldest organized fandom focused around a particular show, are fans focused on the
Star Trek science fiction franchise. Arising out of
science fiction fandom, they to some extent have served as a template for other organized fandoms in the
science fiction television and
film genres.
Gaming fans
Gaming fans (
gamers) are fans focused on gaming, usually
role-playing games,
board games,
miniature wargames,
collectible card games or
computer games.
Whovian
the term Whovian is used to describe a fan of Doctor Who.
Fan psychology
Sports
The drivers that make people fans, and in particular sports fans, have been studied by psychologists, such as Dan Wann at
Murray State University. They attribute people becoming fans to the following factors:
One element is entertainment, because sports spectatorship is a form of leisure. Sports is also a form of escapism, and being a fan gives one an excuse to yell at something, an activity that may be constrained in other areas of one's life. Fan activities give participants a combination of euphoria and stress (about the potential for their team to lose) for which they coin the name "eustress". Fans experience euphoria during moments when play is going well for their team, and stress when play is going against their team. This tension between the two emotions generates an unusual sense of pleasure or heightened sensations.
Aesthetics are another draw for some fans, who appreciate the precision or skill of play, or of the coordinated movement of the players during a pre-planned "play". Family bonding is a reason for some fan activities. Some families go to sports games every month as a family outing to watch a sports event and form a
psychological bond with one another as a family. Going to sports events can create a borrowed sense of self-esteem if fans identify with their teams to the extent that they consider themselves to be successful when their teams have been successful (e.g., as seen in the phrase "we have won").
Loyalty
Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists, who have determined several factors that create such loyalties (in addition to the factors that make people fans in the first place). Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.
See also
