The Culture of Fandom

Today is Superbowl Sunday and it's one of the biggest days of fandom in the nation. Even people who don't like football in general, often celebrate on this day. They have parties, they eat lots of food, they drink, they play beer pong, they gamble. They may or may not actually watch the game, though often it is on. Some people just watch it for the commercials.

As you will notice, however, while the game is the center of the fandom, the fandom itself far outreaches the game. People who don't get two shits about football still enjoy Superbowl Sunday. They like the parties, the company, the food, the drinking. They get excited about the idea of it, but not because of the sports aspect.

Now, if the Superbowl were a religious thing (which I guess for some people, it is), the fact that the fandom is bigger than the game would offend people. There would be memes all over Facebook like "Keep Football in the Superbowl!" Eventually, it may even get to that, but not yet.

It shouldn't though, because one of the things about fandom is that they make the core element of the fandom thrive. Even if someone isn't watching the game or caring about it, they still have it on. This means that the ratings will still be high. It means that people will continue to be excited about it and it will continue to be a big deal in our culture.

Even though it IS Superbowl Sunday, that isn't what inspired this post. The inspiration came from a thread I was reading on the Sims 4 forums. The discussion was about the fact that the newest game pack would only be available for digital download. Some people were upset about this because they want a physical copy of anything they purchase (something I happen to agree with), but other people were upset for reasons of cultural ritual.

Since Sims fandom started growing, it's been custom for a lot of people to take pics of themselves with their new games. A simple selfie of them smiling and holding the latest addition. For many people, this was a fun part of the whole Sims experience. Often the excitement of getting the game and being part of the large portion of gamers who posed with their box was even better than whatever the game was itself. The important things were the ritual, the feeling of community, and the ongoing participation in both.

If everything is going to download though, that part of the fandom will die out. EA may not really care, but they should. As I said before, fandom is the driving force of the core element. When you start seeing aspects of the fandom die, it puts the core element at risk for dying as well. When fandom is strong, even something that is already discontinued can still make money and thrive due to interest in it.

Of course, I somewhat doubt we will ever see Superbowl Sunday die in our culture. I could be wrong about that, but I don't think I am. However, next time you hear someone talking about how excited they are about it and how many chicken wings they plan on eating, don't get upset because you know they really hate football. Be happy that they want to help keep the fandom going. All fans benefit from that.