# You Nerds Really Annoy Me **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579 "2003-10-15T15:01:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Thurgood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@Thurgood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thurgood)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/21 "2003-10-15T16:58:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\*Plus, I got picked last for kickball. Which made my dad hate me. So when I joined the soccer team in second grade, just to get him off my back, he volunteered to coach the team, and then (as he explained to me first, bless him), he had to treat me worse than the other guys so there’d be appearance of favoritism. > \*\* Now your previous statement makes more sense to me. It seems to me that you are not necessarily opposed to sports, but you are opposed to what I refer to as “daddyball.” If that’s the case, I completely agree. Sorry about the hijack. The OP is right on the money. Waiting in line for the guy who played Chewbacca to give you an autograph is no more nerdier than waiting in line for Fran Tarkenton’s autograph. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/22 "2003-10-15T17:04:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Now tell me I’m a loser for instinctively knowing that Tony Gwynn hit .370 in 1987. How do you _instinctively_ know this? You never had to actually learn it? Damn, why can’t I instinctively know Heather Graham’s phone number? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/23 "2003-10-15T17:06:15Z")
Good rant. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/24 "2003-10-15T17:06:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by roadrunner70 \* > \*\*Herman Munster played baseball too? \*\* Herman Munster was played by **Fred** Gwynne. ---
**Author:** ![HumanStromboli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@HumanStromboli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumanStromboli)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/25 "2003-10-15T17:08:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grem0517 \* > \*\*How do you _instinctively_ know this? You never had to actually learn it? Damn, why can’t I instinctively know Heather Graham’s phone number? \*\* Well, that’s a good point. I didn’t mean it quite like that. What I mean is, if someone were to ask me what Gwynn hit in 1987, I’d answer, as if by instinct, .370. Of course, now I’ve been outed as a sports nerd, so what does it matter? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/26 "2003-10-15T17:09:54Z")
My favorite player of all time is Joe Orsulak. I know I’ve met a fellow sports geek when I meet someone who could pick him out of a lineup. The OP is absolutely right. There is very little difference between a sports fan and a Star Trek conventioneer. I suspect the guys who get the girl can’t be bothered with either. ---
**Author:** ![HumanStromboli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@HumanStromboli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumanStromboli)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/27 "2003-10-15T17:13:59Z")
Now, _here’s_ a sports geek: Bill James once wrote that if you say “Orsulak” really fast over and over again, it sounds like a locomotive. If you say Quisenberry (as in Dan Quisenberry, the later Royals’ reliever) over and over again, it sounds like windshield wipers. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/28 "2003-10-15T17:20:09Z")
**HumanStromboli** Actually, I was just poking fun at you for being a sports geek which is obviously sillier than being a grammar geek. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/29 "2003-10-15T17:25:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Great Unwashed \* > \*\*Hang on Bannister, this “mile” of yours,… it’s 309.344 metres short! \*\* uh, well, the race track happened to pass near this, uh, black hole, see… ---
**Author:** ![HumanStromboli](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/958977/32.png) [@HumanStromboli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HumanStromboli)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/30 "2003-10-15T17:29:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grem0517 \* > \*\*Actually, I was just poking fun at you for being a sports geek which is obviously sillier than being a grammar geek. 😉 \*\* Obviously. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/31 "2003-10-15T17:29:58Z")
Must say, I agree with the OP 100%. I’ve seen sports fans get team logos tattooed on various body parts, and shave off all their hair when their team loses … these people are calling _me_ weird, just because I watch _Blake’s Seven_? (Nb. - I do _not_ have the _Blake’s Seven_ logo tattooed anywhere. Nor did I shave anything off when the series ended. OK, I might have gone into mourning for a while, but this is perfectly normal behaviour. Wibble.) ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/32 "2003-10-15T17:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uvula Donor \* > \*\*Herman Munster was played by **Fred** Gwynne. \*\* Who played baseball for the Dodgers in a classic Munsters episode featuring Leo Durocher. Nerd, yourself! ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/33 "2003-10-15T17:31:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Uvula Donor \* > \*\*Herman Munster was played by **Fred** Gwynne. \*\* Whoooooooshhhhh ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/34 "2003-10-15T17:40:29Z")
_The Trouble With Dribbles_ is that they can run inbetween Bill Buckner’s legs. Yep, works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/35 "2003-10-15T18:05:58Z")
Okay, can we all agree to draw the line with The Munsters Nerds? I mean, we have to have **some** standards, don’t we? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/36 "2003-10-15T18:40:56Z")
Being the worst of both worlds, I don’t understand society’s obsession with marginalizing minority behaviors and ridiculing them, just for the sake of ridicule. I like football and science fiction, and have been attacked for both. I’m not hurting anyone-yet. I’ve got Steelers apparel galore and a Klingon prosthetic forehead. I play D&D and write modules for Neverwinter Nights. I have five fantasy football leagues I’m participating in, one of which I am the commissioner. I’ve also been married twice, I’m not socially inept, and I was a frat boy in college. You just can’t stereotype some people- you shouldn’t stereotype anyone. Didn’t Herman knock down the scoreboard with a line drive homer in that episode? Darn darn darn… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/37 "2003-10-15T18:57:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by davidm \* > \*\*Great rant. As someone who doesn’t really belong to either group I guess I qualify as an objective observer. And looking at both groups from the outside, there’s a lot of truth to what you’re saying. But there is one major difference. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a SciFi nerd criticize or attempt to marginalize someone who doesn’t share their obsession. I wish I could say the same thing about some sports fans. \*\* Oh, they do. They do. Go to a Star Trek Con and shout out, “Picard could kick Kirk’s ass!” and watch the slap-fighting riot begin. Those TOS pansies always get their asses kicked, too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/38 "2003-10-15T19:15:12Z")
I hate “me too” posts, but this is just too beautiful a rant to let pass without saying “Bravo!”😃 ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/39 "2003-10-15T19:22:15Z")
Oh, Kirk could _totally_ kick Picard’s ass. I mean, it’s like, Picard is this social worker in space who always wants to talk things out, and Kirk, you know, could, like, he’s a space COWBOY, man, and he’d just BIFF POW punch Picard’s lights out, and Picard would be like “ow ow ow stop it hurts” and Troi would be like “I so feel your pain captain” and Kirk would be like “huh you want some more huh do you huh huh” and yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579/40 "2003-10-15T19:25:32Z")
Yes, indeed. Star Trek (and the rest of fandom) often refer to non-fans as ‘mundanes’ and suchlike. Trust me, fen know their way around exclusionary practices. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-nerds-really-annoy-me/207579.md?page=3)