Fan or Fanatic?

Fanaticism is an emotion of being filled with excessive, uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby. A fan, aficionado or supporter is someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking of a sporting club, person, group of persons, company, product, work of art, idea, or trend.These fans engage in behaviors that are considered extreme or abnormal. This includes idolatry or other forms of worship, such as creating a personal shrine dedicated to the idol at one’s home, and can sometimes extend to the point of the fans becoming stalkers. The difference between a fan and a fanatic is that while both have an overwhelming liking or interest in a given subject, behaviour of a fanatic will be viewed as violating prevailing social norms, while that of a fan will not violate those norms (although is usually considered unusual). (From wikipedia)

Why fans are important? Fans played a big role in the entertainment industry of the financial world. Just look at how much revenue clubs have generated in the football world. World’s wealthiest clubs by revenue 1) Real Madrid: £236.2m 2) Man Utd: £212.1m 3)Barcelona: £195.3m 4) Chelsea: £190.5m. And money makes the world go round.

Why should we care? Humans have feelings and emotions. Although sometimes things fans do may seem stupid by others, it is only natural for us to be a fan of something. But as long as you have a clear mind of what you are doing, why not? Besides, being a fan can be beneficial. For example, psychologists found out that sports fan can lead to self-esteem, eustress, aesthetics, escapism, family bonding etc. For Otaku, maybe you are more independent and more skilled in IT? Go figure. One may argue otherwise.

Final words for the night – You can be a fan of Warren Buffet or a fan of Britney Spears, but nonetheless also become a fan of yourself because this is your life anyway.