Saturday, June 09, 2012

111. A true fan

Who is a true fan ? What does it take for one to be a true fan ?

Well, based on what the media tells us, a true fan needs to dedicate one's entire life religiously to follow one's idol, and if need be, give up many other common real world joys/pleasures when in the pursuit of the same.

For instance, a true Iron Maiden fan is supposed to have listened to all of their albums, to have been present in all their concerts, know everything about their lifestyle and emulate their lifestyle as much as possible(the tattoos and the rock band lifestyle).

A true Manchester United fan is supposed to watch all their matches hoping they win and also watch the main rival team matches praying that their rivals lose. All this while, the fan is supposed to be as vociferous as possible on all social media platforms about the success of one's idol team(Man Utd in this case). The fan is also supposed to keep track of all the transfers made by the club and the fees they pay to each player and to the coach.

A true Shah Rukh Khan fan is supposed to have watched all his movies, know all about how he struggled to get to the top, know about his family and his smoking habit and should be ready with any new news regarding any new films that SRK signs.

Well, from the looks of it, being a true fan seems too much work. The media has made it that way. And peer pressure has added an unnecessary dimension to this as well. If you're not anyone's fan, then you're not taken seriously in discussions. You're forced to take sides even when you don't want to be on any of them. So you give in eventually. You sport an exorbitantly expensive football club jersey even though you would have preferred to have bought new sneakers with the same money.

I thought being a fan was all about enjoying someone's work to a 'more than average' extent. And since you do enjoy that person/club/band's work more than others in that sector/work-area. you tend to follow that person/club/band's work more religiously. Is that not the purpose of following someone? Getting more bang for your buck because you are sure that your senses would be pleased when embracing your idol's work.

My two cents. A true fan is one who truly enjoys his/her idol's work. Period! A true fan needn't know much about one's idol. A true fan needn't spend every frikkin hour of his/her day thinking about one's idol. A true fan will never change his/her stance about one's idol based on peer pressure. In fact, a true fan will never form a stance on one's idol based on peer pressure. And finally, a true fan stays a true fan for life.