- At least some fans are getting a chance to be in their own hall of fame. Through a popular vote various sports fans competed to be in the inaugural group. “The mission of the Hall of Fans is to discover, elevate, and celebrate greatness in sports fandom. ‘Greatness’ can be defined by a number of attributes: loyalty, passion, impact, just to name a few. At its core, the Hall of Fans honors those who have gone above and beyond in their careers as fans…On September 5, 2012, we announced our first-ever inductees, Emily Pitek, Captain Dee-Fense, and The Green Men. A ceremony was held to honor them in Bristol, [Connecticut] on September 19.”
- While few fans will get an inauguration of their own, more fans are able to put their own fannish stories before an audience. As Katrina Andrea Manlapus writes in a Filipino news site, The Sun Star, “Being a fan girl made my life colorful. It made me gain new friends and new purpose in life. Some may not understand us why we are like this. But I hope that society will try to look deeper to why we are like this. A fan girl does not only become a fan because of the beautiful and handsome faces of our favorite actors. We became fans because of the things that they did for us and how they changed our lives.”
- A fandom’s effect can also last many years. In a piece in The Washington Post, Suzi Parker wrote about that although “Duran Duran has never been a political band” it has still served as a “political unifier among Gen-X women.” For some who grew up with the band, learning more about their views began to inform their own. “Fans discovered that Le Bon often tweeted about many political issues that led to them to investigating the troubles of Julian Assange or more recently, the drama around Russian punk rockers Pussy Riot.” The debates then move to fan forums “where the conversation often turns on any day from John Taylor’s hair dye in the 1980s to political topics such as home schooling, Mitt Romney, the war on women and gay rights. A debate can often ensue before someone throws out a white flag – usually in the form of a Duran Duran music video or a random question about the band. At shows, fans from various socio-economic backgrounds and political persuasions come together. For two hours, politics evaporate even if a raging debate about Obama and Romney has just occurred at the venue’s bar.”
- Other long term effects are more domestic as more than a few people meet and marry fellow fans. But probably most impressive is when they come together to create a new life for their fandoms. “Half Life fans will have an opportunity to relive (or play for the first time, as it were) Valve’s original 1998 title Half Life, albeit reborn and modified using the company’s Source engine. The ambitious third-party project is called Black Mesa (previously known as Black Mesa: Source) and it’s been in development for eight years.”
If you’re a gaming fan, a music fan, a sports fan, or just a fan of your fannish spouse, why not memorialize those experiences in Fanlore? Contributions are welcome from all fans.
We want your suggestions! If you know of an essay, video, article, podcast, or link you think we should know about, comment on the most recent OTW Fannews post. Links are welcome in all languages! Submitting a link doesn’t guarantee that it will be included in a roundup post, and inclusion of a link doesn’t mean that it is endorsed by the OTW.