So, the OTW's most recent link round-up post [http://otw-news.dreamwidth.org/116102.html] was about female sports fans. That's totally cool - except that I kind of have an issue with lumping 'sports fans' and 'people in sport fandom' into the same bucket b/c I don't think they're the same thing (and I'll explain why later).

And what I'm gonna mention here had nothing to do with their links, the links just got me thinking when one of the stories was about buying awesome sports gear. Why why why why WHYTHEEVERLOVINGFUCK do merchandisers think that female fans of sports or a team or a player need to have goddamned PINK jerseys/t-shirts/whatever? WHY? Like a chic-fan can't totally love the, oh, I don't know, ACTUAL COLORS for the team!

Seriously, I do NOT want a fucking PINK Dallas Stars hockey jersey with ANY of the players' names on it. Why? B/c their goddamned colors are GREEN, GOLD and BLACK - with a bit of white sometimes. NO PINK. Not one lick of pink!

There is totally an exception clause for Breast Cancer Awareness, but that is IT!

There should NOT be an all-pink jersey. That's silly. And no, don't make 'em kiddie-sized either. If the little girl in the family likes the team, let her wear the team colors. Don't tell her that b/c she's a girl she has to wear the 'girlie' hockey sweater, b/c none of the players are doing that, plus it's offensive and gender stereotyping and annoying.

Really, was there someone out there who wrote to sports merchandisers and said 'You know what sports needs? Pink stuff for girlz!'? Really? Did someone do that? Somehow, I don't think so. I think some moron marketing asshat said 'Hey, you know how we can get the girlfriends of these guys to come to the games and buy our shit? MAKE IT PINK! ALL GIRLS LOVE PINK!' Which, as 'girls' know, just ain't true. I hate pink. And I sure as hell don't want it on my sports stuff. (Again, Breast Cancer Awareness exception clause (TM)).

Now, maybe I'm a little 'girly' and watch some hockey for the hotness of the hotties, but I also love the game, I know the rules and what the positions are and other such mechanics that 'guys' would know. I can totally explain icing and off-sides. And, even tho I hate it with a passion, I can explain how the shootout works (and why I think it's bullshit). So, I am just as much a 'fan' of hockey as any 'guy' and those marketing assholes can fucking bite me with their goddamned pink shit.



Now, for the whole 'fan' vs. 'fandom' thing - this is all my POV, YMMV:

To me, being a sports fan and being part of sports fandom are 2 very different things. As a 'fan', I follow my fave teams and players and go to games and make pretty wallpapers from the photos I take and stuff. I have posters and hockey pucks and autographs and the like. I'm a fan of hockey and I collect things hockey and generally do 'fan' stuff. (Sometimes obsessively, which is why being 'obsessed' is not a fan vs. fandom distinction word.)

However, to be in 'sports fandom', to me, means going in a little different direction and writing fanfic and getting all into stuff like that, like I would for [H]ouse or MacGyver and stuff. This isn't a bad thing - people can do this type of thing if they want, but I don't.

It's the same for a TV show or a movie - I'm a fan of, say, Glee, but I'm not *in* the Glee 'fandom'. I don't get all up in the message boards and the fic and analyzing the show and chatting with people about the themes and arguing all sorts of things about it, b/c I'm just not that invested. However, I will roll all in the BtVS conversations and argue that Buffy treated Spike (and most of her BF's) like garbage and have all sorts of conversations and write fic and make icons and all that stuff.

* Being a Fan: watching and enjoying the show/program/hockey game/whatev and totally having of opinions about things, but not always uber!invested in discussing with the world
* Being in the Fandom: getting all up in that shit and throwing down with the best of 'em and making sure I'm all over the news and writing the fic and making the graphic things and all that

Maybe it's just me, but this is a pretty important distinction - both IRL and in internet social circle things too - and it kinda bugged me that the two are conflated in the links post. (Actually, they always are, no idea why today it bugged me more than others.) B/c it's like saying 'hey, if you're all uber!into this thing, we totally want your input on our super awesome wiki, but if you're just casually into it, we don't care so much'. And while that may not be what they're saying at all, it kind of came across to me that way when I read it tonight.

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