I know of a family who were rabid Clemson FB fans. Their house was filled with all kinds of Clemson stuff. Their daughter did not get into Clemson so they threw a tantrum and got rid of all the Clemson stuff. Don’t know what they do now for college FB.
I don’t think The Expanse fanbase is that pathetic, yet. Maybe I am wrong.
I agree with Chronos that is hard to beat hardcore sports fans for gushy patheticness.
In the deep south there are women who are really into joining a specific sorority at schools like Ole Miss, Alabama, LSU, etc. They even have their mothers stay in town to help them get ready. If they don’t get into the sorority they want they get very upset and sometimes transfer to another school to find another sorority
This is not my experience (and I’m a massive fan of the books).
For one thing, a *lot *of the Pratchett fans I know IRL are also *way * into Wicca as a serious activity, which is just *hilariously *missing the plot…
Having thought about it more, I regret participating in this thread. To each their own. Find whatever joy and passion you can, as long it doesn’t hurt anyone or break the law. Who cares what other people think of you and your rabid fandom? Just be aware that what is awesome to you may be a complete bore to whoever you are talking to.
Yeah, those are all obvious thoughts and I apologize if they are not in the spirit of this thread.
How about Tom Clancy fans? They may have an obsession with military minutiae, but in general they’re not all over social media whining about a mistake on the missile type or something.
I would bet that given calls to cancel Gilliam (and Cleese before him) that if such a hardcore fanbase exists there may be a schism there.
And all that stuff about a current BBC exec who said he would never “Greenlight a show with an all white male upper class cast.”
(Shrug)
Allthat said…what do we mean by “Pathetic”?? Cause theatre or DnD nerds going off on a Python quote rant is an abomination
I guess this submission wont count since I’ma part of the group, but I belong to a Neil degasse Tyson fan club on Facebook.
Everyone there is really nice. And when people ask “stupid” questions no one in the group feels the need to snark on them.
I don’t think you’re going to find any group in existence that is mockery free, because miserable people will always hate people who are enjoying themselves.
Ham radio enthusiasts aren’t pathetic.
Vegan radio enthusiasts, though…
At least sports fans aren’t known to crucify people.
Being a superfan of Shakespeare usually means you’re an academic, and so above being considered pathetic because Shakespeare’s art, innit? People into him are cultured and can therefore look down on anyone who isn’t a Shakespeare superfan, innit? Ditto being a superfan of Classical Mythology or other dead religions. It’s hard to say someone’s pathetic when they have tenure or an endowed chair or similar and come out looking like the adult in the room.
In fact, that’s a fairly good definition of The Canon (now that Bloom’s been mentioned): It’s the stuff you get respected for being a superfan of.
Parrotheads?
(AKA Jimmy Buffet fans?)
I’ve been a Browns fan since January 1986. I bring this up just to suggest that there’s a difference between people regarding you as pathetic, and people just feeling sorry for you. Sympathy is key.
Thanks in advance.
j
My brother had been a Browns fan since the 50s. He even had a ball from some Big Game and some seats in his apartment from the original Browns stadium.
And he hadn’t even lived in Cleveland since the early 60s.
Pathetic.
You obviously haven’t seen them in their native environment. Have you ever been to a ham fest?
I wanted to buy some CB radio stuff and the guy selling it mocked my choice of hobby! WTF, dude?
Well, there’s been times I’ve been stuck in bars with a bunch of them. A bunch of 60 plus year olds drunk and singing along to the jukebox they’ve monopolised isn’t exactly fun, but aside from that they’re fine. And I do try to avoid finding myself in those places.
I’ve been a Parrothead since the days of “Fingers” Taylor being the mono-Reefer and believe me, we’re pathetic. 
Mythbusters. And there is a growing fanbase following the DIY videos of Adam Savage. They can get a bit OCD arguing things like tool shed organization schemes. But overall, these are folks who can do really cool projects.
I agree with Elmer that Monty Python fans tend to be just in it for a good laugh.
And of course, there’s this guy Cecil Adams with a BUNCH of insanely cool fans. . .
Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans (MSTies) perhaps, because they tend to not take the show to seriously. It’s in the show’s theme song, after all.
Maybe not looked up to, but the Browncoats (Firefly) are one of the least pathetic TV/Movie fanbases.