Denver Comic Con 2017: The Life of a Nerdy Sports Fan

Written by Zeke Perez Jr.

As early as I can remember, I would plop down in front of the TV on Saturday mornings to watch cartoons like Batman: The Animated Series. Then on Sunday afternoons, I would plop down again and watch the Denver Broncos play. I collected bobbleheads and I collected HeroClix. I read comics and I read the sports page. You get the idea.
 
Every now and then, you find a sense of instant belonging. While I was prepping my schedule for Denver Comic Con 2017, staring me back in the face while I scrolled through the app was a panel titled ‘From the Stadium to the Convention Hall: Being a Nerd and a Sports Fan’. A chorus sounded as the story of my life emanated from my phone screen. I grew up a fan of both sports and nerdy things, and I was excited to hear from sports nerds just like me.
 
In a conference room coincidentally just a few hundred feet from a booth where the Colorado Rockies were promoting their Marvel Superhero Night and Star Wars Night, the panel on the intersection of sports and nerd culture took place. However, as panelists Shane Mares, Sarah Spaulding, Ali Woll, and David Johnson brought to light, the convergence of the two has not always been so common. Sports and nerd culture are sometimes kept apart as two different worlds, often by the people who inhabit those groups.
 
This insensitivity cuts both ways, too. Cliques and gatekeeping lead to the classic jocks vs. geeks battle that discourages people from being a fan of, let’s say, football and Magic: The Gathering at the same time. Growing up in school, we may have known individuals who were shunned from a certain group for their interests – or even been those individuals ourselves. Jocks looked down on nerds and nerds looked down on jocks. For many, it was tough to find a home within the two.
 
Yet for all the division that exists, the gap is being bridged. Right now may be the dawn of a golden age for the nerdy sports fan. Pro and minor league sports teams increasingly incorporate nights devoted to fandoms in their schedules. Sports video games do a lot to connect the two as well. It’s not at all uncommon for sports fans to view Madden, NBA 2K, or FIFA as an acceptable level of nerdiness. And fantasy sports are really just sporty versions of D&D.
 
It was wonderful to hear from a panel full of people who hope to see more unity between the groups. They were all eager to see the day when kids don’t have to choose between their interests in fear of bullying. There’s no need for one group to hate or discourage another because of their interests. Sports fans and nerds are intensely passionate about celebrating what they love, and that’s really all that should matter.
 
At Denver Comic Con, I saw an orange-and-blue Peyton Manning Stormtrooper walking around. If that’s not a sign of good things to come, I don’t know what is. 

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