WEBVTT - What's it take to be a Superfan? 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.400 Guess what will? What's that? Man? Go? So? I know 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:04.680 you and I were both huge Lakers fans when we 0:00:04.680 --> 0:00:07.160 were kids, and my third grade basketball team was named 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:10.120 the Lakers, and I had this Magic Johnson basketball and 0:00:10.240 --> 0:00:12.600 even though I'm really a Sixers fan at heart, it 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:14.239 was nice to root for a team that actually had 0:00:14.240 --> 0:00:16.959 a chance of winning. But as much as I loved 0:00:16.960 --> 0:00:20.440 Magic Johnson, I really loved Kareem Abdul Jabbar. You mean 0:00:20.480 --> 0:00:23.400 even more than a C. Green or Byron Scott or 0:00:23.520 --> 0:00:25.599 Michael Thompson or Michael Cooper. Do you do? We just 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:29.840 keep going. Look, they're all clearly great, but Kareem's hook 0:00:29.920 --> 0:00:32.680 shot you couldn't defend against it. When I learned he 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:35.599 was a history nerd and a Bruce Lee fan, and 0:00:35.840 --> 0:00:39.400 he seemed kind of quiet and introverted, like I liked 0:00:39.440 --> 0:00:41.560 all of that. But the thing I loved the most 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:45.440 about him, he's a massive Sherlock Holmes fan. Wait, weren't 0:00:45.440 --> 0:00:47.879 you Sherlock Holmes for like two or three Halloween's in 0:00:47.880 --> 0:00:51.040 a row? Because I was. And this is where all 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:53.880 my third grade interests sort of come together. But but 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:56.680 apparently Kareem started reading homes when he was a rookie 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.000 with the Bucks and he got obsessed. He was inspired 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:02.840 to use his powers of deduction to figure out players weaknesses. 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:06.039 And just like Holmes had those Street Urchin spies, the 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:08.800 Baker Street of regulars, Kaem used a team of ball 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.000 boys to get him dirt like. He peppered them for 0:01:11.000 --> 0:01:14.319 info and injuries, or asked them for details on opponents. 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:17.040 And if he knew a player was smoking, like he'd 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:19.320 exploit that by running him up and down the court, 0:01:19.400 --> 0:01:22.559 just tiring him out. But his love for Sherlock Holmes 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:26.200 goes so much further. He's also been the keynote speaker 0:01:26.200 --> 0:01:29.640 at a Sherlock Holmes enthusiast club, and he's published not one, 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:33.720 but two novels about microft homes. Who you know if 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:37.160 you don't know, is holmes older brother. I mean, Kareem's 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:40.520 basically published his Sherlock Holmes fan fiction, but reading up 0:01:40.560 --> 0:01:42.800 about him again made me wonder about the world of 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:45.920 fandom and what are the most rapid fan bases out 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:49.000 there and why is identifying as a fan so important 0:01:49.040 --> 0:01:51.200 to us as humans? And that's what today's show is 0:01:51.240 --> 0:02:13.000 all about. Hey, their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time 0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:15.440 Genius I'm Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by 0:02:15.480 --> 0:02:17.720 my good friend man Guesh Ticketer and on the other 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:21.679 side of that soundproof class arranging an extraordinary cheese plates 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:24.800 our producer Tristan McNeil, so Mango. As you mentioned at 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:26.600 the top of the show, this episode, we're on the 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:29.320 hunt for the most devoted fan basis in the world 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:32.320 and to understand a little more about them along the way. 0:02:32.800 --> 0:02:35.480 You know, thanks to the Internet and social media platforms 0:02:35.520 --> 0:02:38.880 like Twitter and Tumbler, it's now easier than ever for 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.600 fans to find each other and geek out over their 0:02:41.600 --> 0:02:44.800 shared passion for you know, well just about anything. So 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:47.359 today we'll talk about how these fanatical fan bases got 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:49.920 their start in the pre digital age, as well as 0:02:49.919 --> 0:02:52.480 why humans form these fan communities in the first place, 0:02:53.080 --> 0:02:55.240 and because no subject is too niche to have its 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:57.880 own fandom. Will also spotlight a few of our favorites 0:02:57.919 --> 0:03:00.920 that fall well outside the typical realm of sports teams 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:04.119 or boy bands and movie stars. Again, and don't forget, 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:06.160 we'll also be talking to a couple of super fans 0:03:06.160 --> 0:03:08.640 to get their insiders perspective on some of the world's 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:11.440 most popular fandoms. All right, So we should start by 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:15.600 noting an important distinction between fans and fandoms. You know, 0:03:15.800 --> 0:03:17.960 most of us are casual fans of a lot of 0:03:18.000 --> 0:03:22.560 things we like or appreciate, specific movies or TV shows, songs, 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:25.160 or books, and you know, we might even become fans 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:27.160 of the people behind those works if we happen to 0:03:27.200 --> 0:03:30.280 watch enough of their catalog or maybe develop some personal 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.880 connection to the work. The capital f fandom is a 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:37.839 completely different beast. You know, there's this passion and enthusiasm 0:03:37.880 --> 0:03:39.960 there that most of us would find hard to even 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:43.320 muster even for the things we enjoy or consider ourselves 0:03:43.320 --> 0:03:46.240 fans of. Oh absolutely so. For example, if you're a 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.880 casual Tom Hanks fan, you might check out as latest 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.640 movie in theaters if you get the chance, and hopefully 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:54.200 you'll enjoy watching it in the moment. But a card 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:57.200 carrying member of the Tom Hanks fandom, they're gonna engage 0:03:57.280 --> 0:03:59.800 with the same movie a lot earlier and a much 0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:03.480 deeper and more sustained way. Like a Tom Hanks super 0:04:03.520 --> 0:04:06.320 fan will comb through pop culture news sites daily for 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.240 any sort of crumbs about the upcoming film, and when 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:11.440 a new trailer drops, they might do a ten minute 0:04:11.480 --> 0:04:14.480 YouTube video dissecting every second, and they'll pop over to 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:16.640 the Tom Hanks reddit threads to take in a little 0:04:16.640 --> 0:04:19.039 fan fiction and maybe get some tips on how to 0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:22.159 pull off the perfect Tom Hanks cosplay. All right, I 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:24.960 think we get the point on this. By the way, 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:28.320 kudos on choosing the most plain, vanilla example of something 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:31.960 people might get fanatical about. I mean, I know everybody 0:04:32.000 --> 0:04:35.440 loves Tom Hanks, but is anybody that into Tom Hanks. Definitely, 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:38.240 Hanks is a fans fan. I mean, he's obsessed with 0:04:38.279 --> 0:04:40.480 old typewriters, so he knows the drill. He's got two 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:43.440 under fifty of his own in his personal collections. But 0:04:43.440 --> 0:04:46.600 but he's super nice to fans. He has his special 0:04:47.000 --> 0:04:50.360 Quote Hanks stationary that that he uses to type out 0:04:50.400 --> 0:04:54.120 thank you notes. Um, that's whenever people's ending letters. Do 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:57.240 you do? You know this from experience? You know? All right? Well, 0:04:57.279 --> 0:04:59.960 back to the idea of fandom. So while your example 0:05:00.200 --> 0:05:03.039 was suspect that the kind of behavior you outlined was 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:05.440 spot on, I mean you could swap out Hanks for 0:05:05.520 --> 0:05:08.760 Justin Bieber or Marvel Superhero movies or Lord of the 0:05:08.880 --> 0:05:11.520 Rings and still have a pretty good overview of how 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.839 a fandom works, because regardless of what the content is, 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:17.800 the true mark of fandom is, you know, this intense 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.920 degree to which members engage with and and that's never 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:24.600 been more true than today. You already mentioned cosplay and 0:05:24.640 --> 0:05:26.640 fan fiction, but there are lots of other ways that 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.520 fans stretch out content to better suit their interest levels. 0:05:29.760 --> 0:05:32.800 Sure so, pop culture enthusiasts especially seemed to turn out 0:05:32.800 --> 0:05:36.360 a never ending stream of reviews and recaps and think pieces, 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:40.280 not to mention, like live tweeted commentaries during shows, right, 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:43.080 and you know there are tumbler pages cataloging these giffable 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:47.760 moments or video series dedicated to philosophical undertones of cartoons, 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:51.080 and this ever growing number of fan sites and podcasts 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:55.200 that approach they preferred subjects from every conceivable angle. I mean, 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:57.600 the Internet has opened the floodgates for this kind of 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:01.920 fan produced reactionary content. Yeah, and all those products of fandom, 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.960 like the memes and essays and videos have really become 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.520 their own kind of entertainment. And the funny thing is, 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.960 in most cases, these fan produced reactions far outweigh the 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:14.039 run times of the content they're reacting to. Like it 0:06:14.080 --> 0:06:16.560 would take you a little over seven hours to binge 0:06:16.600 --> 0:06:19.120 the latest season a Game of Thrones, but a die 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:21.880 hard fan could easily spend three or four times that 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:24.479 just listening to a single fan run podcast, you know, 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.440 something that dives deep into each episode. And these days, 0:06:27.480 --> 0:06:29.640 if you're part of a devout enough fandom, there should 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:31.840 be plenty of ancillary stuff to keep you busy when 0:06:31.839 --> 0:06:34.200 the show isn't on, which is crazy to think about 0:06:34.240 --> 0:06:36.760 how much content is out there. But I mean, look 0:06:36.760 --> 0:06:39.480 back on the media reactions to big shakeups and popular 0:06:39.600 --> 0:06:42.640 old TV shows like you know who shot Jr? On 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.200 Dallas or whether the gang would end up in prison 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:47.719 on the Seinfeld finale. But you know, lots of people 0:06:47.760 --> 0:06:49.800 make sure to watch so they'd be prepared for the 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.359 inevitable water cooler discussion at work the next day. But 0:06:53.440 --> 0:06:56.040 now that feels really kind of like a quaint notion, 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:58.240 you know, I mean, like like, why wait until Monday 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:00.920 to hear someone else's opinion. You can hop online and 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:04.360 find a million hot takes on your favorite show immediately 0:07:04.400 --> 0:07:07.080 after it airs. I know, for me, that's part of 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:09.600 what stopped allowing me to identify as a fan. Like 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:12.200 this is so weird to say, but I knew about 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:14.960 Harry Potter well before other people did. A kid cousin 0:07:14.960 --> 0:07:17.120 who'd been abroad had gotten in on the craze early, 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:19.560 and before J. K. Rowling had sold the rights to 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:21.320 the film. I was telling my boss at the time 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:23.520 that he should try to option it because it could 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:26.560 make a great animated feature. But as much as I 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.400 love those books, I'm not like Hank Green, who you know, 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:32.160 has a band that writes Harry Potter songs and he 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:35.720 writes fan fiction about Wizards dealing with teen issues like 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:39.480 being sixteen and getting pregnant at Hogwarts, Like like, how 0:07:39.520 --> 0:07:41.280 can I call myself a fan if that's what the 0:07:41.280 --> 0:07:43.840 measure of fan is? Yeah, I mean I know what 0:07:43.920 --> 0:07:46.600 you mean. So what single thing do you think you're 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.760 the biggest fan of? Yeah, I don't know. I'm I'm 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.160 kind of inconsistent. Like at one point in my life 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:54.720 it might have been like Calvin and Hobbs or Rushmore 0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:57.160 or P. G. Woodhouse. I I don't know, I'm just 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:00.240 not that committed. I mean, I love Duke basketball all, 0:08:00.280 --> 0:08:02.600 but I'm not the you know, I'm in my thirties 0:08:02.600 --> 0:08:05.600 and still face paying every game level of enthusiasm, and 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:07.760 I don't even think I own a T shirt anymore. 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:10.920 What are you passionate about? Well, you know, I've always 0:08:11.000 --> 0:08:14.040 had a love affair with chicken biscuits, right. I once 0:08:14.120 --> 0:08:16.520 tried to start a breakfast club devoted to them in 0:08:16.600 --> 0:08:19.360 high school. It was called the Chicken Biscuit Club, and 0:08:19.360 --> 0:08:21.440 and I tried to petition for it, had like three 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:24.920 hundred people sign this petition to start this club. And 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:26.800 the principle pulled me aside, is like, is this a 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.840 service club? I was like, no, was this? Ah? You know? 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:32.840 Is this an academic club? Will know? And well, what 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:34.719 are you going to do in this club? And I said, well, 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.800 We're gonna sit around and eat chicken biscuits. And he 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:41.280 promptly threw me out of his office unfortunately, So I 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:43.240 mean I joined that. But I guess part of the 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:45.880 question we're asking today is why do capital letter f 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:48.640 fans spend so much time on this stuff and what 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:50.720 do they get out of it? Well, you know, if 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:52.960 you look at what psychologists say, most of them would 0:08:52.960 --> 0:08:55.480 tell you that fan mentality is tied up with with 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:59.280 two things. The first is self presentation. So think about 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:02.559 how we hadentify fire ourselves through our clothes and our appearance. 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.280 I mean that that conscious choice sends a message about 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:07.880 the kind of people we are, or at least about 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:10.640 the kind of people we see ourselves as or want 0:09:10.720 --> 0:09:13.079 to be. And in the same way, some people build 0:09:13.080 --> 0:09:15.559 parts of their identity around the media they consume or 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:18.360 the hobbies they take part in, and that sends a 0:09:18.400 --> 0:09:21.560 message about the social groups that they belong to. Sure. So, 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:23.160 I mean, so someone who paints their face for a 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.720 game is sending a very clear signal that he or 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:28.480 she is a sports fan. And whatever qualities that people 0:09:28.520 --> 0:09:32.480 associate with sports fan, like loyalty or enthusiasm, that's all 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:34.640 tied up in that message as well. Right, But you 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:37.360 know who is that signal for? And and that's the 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:40.360 second part of it. It's it's it's all about connectedness, 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:43.920 And so the paint tells others fans or non fans alike, 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:46.840 where you stand, you know. But the really interesting thing 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:49.040 is is how much of the signaling is for the 0:09:49.120 --> 0:09:52.120 fans themselves, you mean, sort of letting themselves know that 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:54.480 they're a fan. Yeah, that's true. I mean I found 0:09:54.480 --> 0:09:56.840 this study from a few years back where a psychotherapist 0:09:56.840 --> 0:10:00.200 and clinical social worker named Teresa Stern. She was either 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.360 determine how being part of a fandom affects people on 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:06.720 a personal level, and she concluded that communities of fans 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:10.120 with shared interests provide, you know, this comfortable space for 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.280 people to explore and come to grips with their own identities, 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:15.720 so they can figure out what they like and why 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.360 they like it without feeling judged or embarrassed for doing so. 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:23.280 But actually that wasn't the only benefit. The study also 0:10:23.320 --> 0:10:26.200 found that fandoms offer a support system for members and 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:29.560 can even help them build self esteem and confidence, which is, 0:10:29.920 --> 0:10:33.360 you know, where the desire for connectedness fits in. Yeah, 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:36.960 and obviously that's such a universal desire. I mean, we 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:40.040 all want that sense of belonging, and fandoms just seemed 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.360 like one way of finding it, Yeah, you know, which 0:10:42.360 --> 0:10:44.240 is why it's a shame that being a fan is 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:47.400 so often stigmatized. So you can keep painting your face 0:10:47.440 --> 0:10:49.600 magnet if you want to feel okay with that. But 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:52.160 you know, even with so much of geek culture having 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:55.360 gone mainstream, there's still a tendency to view die hard 0:10:55.400 --> 0:10:59.640 fans as crazy or unstable or maybe even kind of pitiable. 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:01.360 I don't I don't know that there's there's this quote 0:11:01.360 --> 0:11:05.120 from a psychologist named Jolie Jensen, and it breaks down 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:09.360 the discourse pretty nicely. So so she says, there's very 0:11:09.400 --> 0:11:13.120 little literature that explores fandom as a normal, everyday cultural 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:16.679 or social phenomenon. Instead, the fan is characterized as an 0:11:16.679 --> 0:11:20.640 obsessed loaner suffering from a disease of isolation, or frenzied 0:11:20.679 --> 0:11:24.720 crowd member suffering from a disease of contagion. In either case, 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:28.000 the fan is seen as being irrational, out of control, 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:31.560 and pray to a number of external forces. I mean, 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.240 we both witnessed Dragon Con in Atlanta a few weeks ago, 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:36.840 and it's so fun seeing people who are just thrilled 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:40.720 to be and just really comfortable walking around in giant costumes, 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:43.160 and you really feel like we're past that sort of 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:46.160 high school mentality. But I guess it never ends for 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:49.120 some people. Although you know, at this point you would 0:11:49.120 --> 0:11:51.760 think the folks who belong to a fandom might outnumber 0:11:51.840 --> 0:11:54.560 those that don't. It's like, if I don't know, three 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:56.760 quarters of the student body was in the A V Club, 0:11:56.800 --> 0:11:59.480 but they're a handful of jocks still trying to give 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:03.960 them all released exactly. Speaking of which, actually I remember 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:06.240 where you were talking about Dragon Con. I remember being 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:08.600 at a hotel here in Atlanta a few years ago 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.240 when Dragon Con was going on the same weekend that 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:15.480 Alabama and Virginia Tech were playing a football game, and 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:18.480 seeing these fan bases converge, and I remember seeing the 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:22.160 elevator will open up in this lady with these giant 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:25.520 wings and like beautifully dressed stepped off the elevator, and 0:12:25.600 --> 0:12:28.640 these two guys in these big Alabama sweatshirts saw this 0:12:28.720 --> 0:12:30.680 lady and I think they thought maybe they were dreaming 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:33.720 or something. It was the most bizarre convergence of these worlds. 0:12:33.760 --> 0:12:37.120 But super fans in their own right. But you know, remember, 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:39.480 being a dedicated fan is one of those rare points 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.880 of overlap between different kinds of people. I mean, they 0:12:42.920 --> 0:12:45.280 might be watching very different things, but the level of 0:12:45.320 --> 0:12:47.880 excitement in each group is is bringing to the tables. 0:12:48.000 --> 0:12:51.040 You know, it's pretty evenly matched. Are you sure about that, 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.360 because I mean I feel like a convention full of 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:57.040 trek ees can get pretty unruly, but sports fans can 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.400 get downright violent. Yeah, it's true. And for what a reason. 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.040 Soccer fans seem to be among the worst offenders in 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.840 that area, at least it used to be with, you know, 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:09.360 like the old fashioned European hooliganism. Yeah. I read this 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.880 book awhile back called Against the Thugs by Bill Beuford. 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:16.719 It's about these extreme menu fans but the way they 0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:20.760 justify acts of like intense violence and racism. And it's 0:13:20.760 --> 0:13:23.000 an amazing book. And you know, I'm such a World 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:25.480 Cup fan, but uh but you'll cringe at some of 0:13:25.480 --> 0:13:28.280 the things that happened in it and justifying these atrocious 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:31.720 fist fights and riots and things for like people's noses 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.080 are being smashed. I mean all because like you identify 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:38.200 with one jersey and they identify with another. You know, 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:40.960 Seinfeld has this bit about sports where he's talking about 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:44.480 how players and coaches are constantly shifting, so your allegiance 0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:46.560 is really just to the random colors on a shirt 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:49.679 assigned to a location. It's true, and and that can 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:51.800 sound a little bit bleak, but I actually have a 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.200 more positive story to tell you on this one. It 0:13:54.400 --> 0:13:55.719 before we get to that, why don't we take a 0:13:55.760 --> 0:14:02.000 quick break for a quiz. Okay, mango, So, as you know, 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:03.800 a couple of weeks ago, we put out a call 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:06.120 for for many of our fans who've been writing in 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:07.920 and wanting to be on the show to say, tell 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:09.760 us why we should have you on the show to 0:14:09.800 --> 0:14:13.640 play one of our quizzes. And with today's episode being 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:16.960 about super fans, we actually heard from someone who is 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:21.400 a die hard Game of Thrones fan also, Sarah Petrozelli. 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:24.040 Welcome to Part Time Genius. Thank you, thank you for 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:26.440 having me on. Well, thanks for writing in. Now where 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:29.920 are we? Where are we talking to you today? I 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:33.400 am calling him from Connecticut. I asked, where are we 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:35.400 calling you from? I guess I could have answered that. 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.320 So we're actually recording in New York today. This is 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:40.000 kind of a different one, but you're in Connecticut. We 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:42.480 could almost throw a rock to you. So all right, Well, 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:44.520 before we jump into this, you actually told us in 0:14:44.560 --> 0:14:47.840 your email that you practice several forms of martial arts. 0:14:47.840 --> 0:14:50.680 What do you mean by that? Correct? Um, I study 0:14:51.240 --> 0:14:56.080 at the Bethel Accronemy of Martial Arts. I practice kick practicing, 0:14:57.160 --> 0:15:01.480 also practiced chi kundo, which is is Bruce Lee's style 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:04.560 martial arts, which is kind of a melting pot of 0:15:04.720 --> 0:15:07.840 Eastern Western martial arts. I'll see in a lot of 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:10.040 these movies that he practices and it's a lot of 0:15:10.160 --> 0:15:14.600 minimal movement with Maximus. That's super cool. When I was 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.000 a kid, I used to watch kung fu movies on 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:19.320 Sundays with my mom and that's how I got into karate. 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:24.200 Really alright, cool, very cool. Well, you are a big 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:26.280 Game of Thrones fan. I'll tell us when you say 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:28.080 you're a big Game of Thrones fan, what what do 0:15:28.160 --> 0:15:30.360 you do to express your fan and how do you 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:33.480 dig in? Well, I'm sure my Facebook friends and my 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:36.480 friends in real life are sick me hearing about it. 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:41.640 Talking right, we know every Sunday when it's done that 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:45.120 between nine pm and ten thirty. Do not follow me, 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:48.360 do not text me. Um. I watched the show. I 0:15:48.480 --> 0:15:50.720 read a little bit of the books. I read the 0:15:50.760 --> 0:15:55.040 fan theories online. I subscribed to YouTube channels and podcast 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:58.160 to listen about this series and what might be coming 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:00.120 up next. I also like to watch the I in 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:02.640 the scene, which is really neat because you get to 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:06.040 see how um scenarios can ride the dragon. It's she's 0:16:06.080 --> 0:16:11.880 literally writing like a mechanical bull looking. It's really it's 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:14.680 really crazy looking, and they put a green screen behind her, 0:16:14.760 --> 0:16:17.320 so she's doing all this amazing acting like she's actually 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:21.480 riding a dragon. It's just unbelievable. And the actors are fantastic. 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:24.440 They're definitely born to play this role. Yeah, and how 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:26.960 those whole worlds are put together, it's just amazing. At 0:16:27.000 --> 0:16:30.360 Metal Class, we did an interview with some of the 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:33.120 the costume makers for this show, and it was just 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:35.280 crazy to think, like how they were looking to like 0:16:35.400 --> 0:16:39.160 both modern and ancient fashions to pull together the styles. 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:43.840 It's really awesome. Yeah, it's pretty remark it's like a 0:16:43.880 --> 0:16:47.200 whole of the world. And do I understand correctly that 0:16:47.240 --> 0:16:50.000 the next season, the eighth season, is supposed to be 0:16:50.120 --> 0:16:54.360 the last? Is that right? Yes, it's so sad. I 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:56.360 don't even want to think about it. Well, we won't. 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.280 We won't think about that today. Instead, we'll play a game. 0:16:59.320 --> 0:17:00.920 What do you say, man, go yeah, I'm for it. 0:17:01.560 --> 0:17:04.320 We're gonna play a game called doing It for the Fans. Alright, 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:08.080 Doing It for the Fans? What a great name, manga. Alright, So, 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:10.080 so what we're gonna do, Sarah. We're gonna ask you 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:12.919 a question about a fan or fan bases and and 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:14.879 you'll have to come up with the right answer. Simple 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:18.600 as that. You ready, I'm ready alright? Question number one? 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:22.800 What animated Disney character and uncle to triplets has a 0:17:22.840 --> 0:17:26.119 hardcore fan base in Germany, where they appreciate him for 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:31.119 being a lovable loser but not a quitter? Is it? Yeah, 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:36.160 you're right, it's but Donald Duck is insanely popular in Germany, 0:17:36.200 --> 0:17:40.040 like way more popular than Mickey and in fact, he 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:42.760 has a fan group called the Donaldus who liked to 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:47.040 study Duckberg in a way that's akin to anthropologists. Wow, 0:17:47.280 --> 0:17:51.480 very cool. Alright, one for one, Okay, this was a 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:53.959 good one, all right? What music streaming service did the 0:17:54.000 --> 0:17:57.720 funk band Wolf Peck used to release a ten song 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:01.520 album of Complete Silence, so they recommended their fans played 0:18:01.600 --> 0:18:04.439 on loop as they went to sleep every night. What 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:08.000 streaming music service did they use for this? Is this 0:18:08.080 --> 0:18:11.320 an allowed to ask questions? Or now I thought we 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.040 were asking the questions, but I just I just guess 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:18.639 a very popular streaming service, let's see modern day. I 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:24.480 would say Spotify. Yeah, that's right. So the then actually 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:28.360 collected twenty dollars in royalties from that and uh and 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:30.240 they used it to fund this free tour for all 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.800 their fans. So they made twenty dollars from this complete silence. 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:38.800 Isn't amazing? Wow? Okay, Sarah's two for two. Question number three, 0:18:39.240 --> 0:18:43.320 Tetris fans at what science focused university outfitted the windows 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.800 of a campus building into a screen for a giant 0:18:47.000 --> 0:18:50.360 Tetris game. What university are we talking about? Oh? My god, 0:18:51.520 --> 0:18:56.600 and I can't remember the science university cal Tech. Really 0:18:56.640 --> 0:18:58.720 good guests, but we're off on this one. What was it? Mango? 0:18:58.840 --> 0:19:01.159 It was m I t and and that's actually just 0:19:01.200 --> 0:19:04.160 the tip of the Tetris culture. There's everything from fan 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:07.639 fiction written about Tetris like fifty Shades of Tetris, to 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:10.399 U Tetris shaped tater tots on the market known as 0:19:10.440 --> 0:19:17.359 puzzle potatoes. Alright, Question number four, and I'm actually gonna 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:19.679 completely forgive you if you don't know the answer to 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:23.800 this one becassa alright, So, so what band, fronted by 0:19:23.880 --> 0:19:27.000 Scott Stapp was shocked when their fans sued them for 0:19:27.119 --> 0:19:29.960 two million dollars in a class action suit for playing 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:36.800 a truly terrible shown that what's not? That's actually I 0:19:36.800 --> 0:19:39.720 think we should give her a point for that one. No, no, 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:46.960 this is everyone needs to stand it's um. Yeah, the 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.760 money was supposed to be used to recoup ticket and 0:19:49.800 --> 0:19:53.399 parking costs for the fifteen thousand people in attendance, but 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:57.720 it was the case I actually thrown out in court. Alright, okay, 0:19:58.200 --> 0:20:02.080 let's do one more question. Let's see what Plucky Mexican 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:05.600 Mouse was pulled from the rotation on Cartoon Network for 0:20:05.720 --> 0:20:10.240 pushing stereotypes until Hispanic fans banded together to bring him 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:18.280 back on air. Yeah that's right. So, according to Hispanic online, 0:20:18.320 --> 0:20:21.439 many people grew up viewing Speedy as this positive character 0:20:21.520 --> 0:20:25.560 because he always outsmarts the quote gringo cat Sylvester, so 0:20:25.600 --> 0:20:28.320 they petitioned to bring him back. Wow, that's a good one. 0:20:28.359 --> 0:20:30.760 All right, Well, how has how is Sarah done? Today? 0:20:30.760 --> 0:20:33.560 A mango? So Sarah's got an amazing four for five 0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:36.760 and uh, in addition to earning our total admiration, we're 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:39.880 going to send her the official uniform of any PTG 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:43.640 fan Part Time Genius T shirt. All right, well, that's 0:20:43.680 --> 0:20:46.760 pretty awesome. We had so much fun with you today, Sarah, 0:20:46.760 --> 0:20:48.760 and for any of our other listeners, if you want 0:20:48.760 --> 0:20:50.560