Broken Frontier

I understand the world we live in is one where people can be judged for everything from their appearance to their political beliefs, but as I get older, I’m baffled by the condemning glares and comments I receive for my interest in…

SPORTS!

Yeah, it sounds ridiculous that I have to even defend myself on this subject, but in the geek circles I run (comic book writer, remember) I’m continuously surprised that people give me shit for being passionate about baseball, football and other sports.  Call me overly sensitive, but the pressure to not deviate from the world of comics, collectables and video games, has been like vice being tightened with each homerun and touchdown I’ve cheered for.  And what’s funny is… the feeling is already extremely familiar to me.

Back in my adolescent days, a similar type of peer pressure came in the same package, but was delivered on an opposite front.  With the majority of my spare time attention spent on comic books, many poked fun at me for my extracurricular collecting activities.  Similar to today, I often had to defend myself because while I liked one, it didn’t mean I disliked the other… and to me, it made no sense that I couldn’t walk in both worlds.  Even though Spider-Man was tops on my list, I still enjoyed collecting my Topps and Fleer cards, especially those of my favorite players.  Yet to the jocks and non comic enthusiasts, because I followed word balloons, it meant I had no business following earned run average and pass percentage stats.

Well to me, that was bullshit then and it’s bullshit now.

I have no idea why my comic industry friends are so anti sports, but just because they prefer spending their Sundays kicking back and playing Halo 3 while I prefer kicking back and watching the Patriots kick ass, it doesn’t mean I’ve sold out my creative geek side.  It absolutely blows my mind that full grown adults see it as a threat that one of their own isn’t cut from the exact same mold as them.  I’m sorry I’d rather watch nine innings of baseball than search EBay for G.I. Joe accessories, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to get a flat top, slip on a letterman’s jacket and then stuff you in a locker.

Organized sports are not the source of all evil in the world!  Fear them not, geek soldiers!

The ironic part to all of this is that many of my everyday friends that I grew up with are more extreme fanboys than the comic industry lot, though not for funny books.  What people fail to see is that many sports fans are more passionate about their favorite teams and players than we comic readers are about our favorite books and characters.  Between fantasy leagues and painting themselves in their team colors, sports lovers often blur the line between being fans and fanatics, making them even bigger geeks in my opinion than those of you who dress up for conventions in spandex and capes.

The fact is, one person should be able to enjoy both comics and sports without having to defend their interests to either side of the coin, though I continuously have to do both.  In fact, I’m writing this column on Monday morning, and later this evening, I’m going to be forced to choose between watching the second episode of Heroes or Monday Night Football where the New England Patriots are playing against the Cincinnati Bengals.  I’m sure I’ll flip between the two, but I’m much more interested in watching Tom Brady take the team to 4 – 0 than watching Peter Petrelli try and figure out who he is.

Does that make me less of a geek?  No… but if some of my peers think I’m risking membership to the club by wanting to follow my favorite sports teams, then so be it.  I’ll gladly hand over my membership card than change (or feel guilty about) who I am.

It’s just my opinion, but I think people in general need to grow up and just focus on who they are instead of worrying about who everyone else is.  To me, this is kind of reflective on our society as a whole… and maybe if more people followed this outlook on life, things would be a little better for everyone.

Oh… and one more thing…

Go Red Sox!