Buying expensive merchandise, splurging on tickets, fiending to get noticed, almost sacrificing one’s life to get merchandise signed. Some would say this sounds like a stereotypical fangirl. But all these descriptions also describe the stereotypical sports fan. Many people’s first thought is that sports fans and fangirls have nothing in common. Both fan clubs, however, are closer than one might think.
Many would agree that the term fangirl has grown a reputation. Junior Ryan Borromeo shared that the term is most often used towards women and has a negative meaning that is not always accurate.
“Society should reword that phrase and not make it based on gender,” Borromeo said. “Anyone is able to obsess over something or be a fan of something, show love and support for something, how it inspires them.”
Sports fans also have a reputation, as they may often be seen as obnoxious, loud and violent. This is also just a stereotype that many relate to sports fans because of rowdy examples.
English teacher Paige Cruz agrees that there are certain sports fans that ruin the reputation of sports fans as well as sports in general with their actions. These fans reinforce stereotypes, further fueling the negative reputation sports fans have.
“Unfortunately, those are the kinds of people who are going to garner our attention rather than your typical sports families and other fans,” Cruz said.
A common form of harassment toward music fans is cyberbullying. Nowadays, most people have social media accounts and post for the public to see, leading to a variety of public opinions.
Senior Vanessa Delgado noted that while she herself had never faced teasing for her passion for Taylor Swift’s music she has witnessed many hurtful comments toward others online who share the same interests. She also noticed that sports fans who shared their passions for sports were praised and supported rather than teased and noticed a double standard within music fans, specifically towards women.
“Especially on social media, fangirls are seen as obsessive or crazy for wanting to know or support an artist, specifically a female artist,” Delgado said. “If boys have a favorite athlete, know all their stats, know their history of everything, they’re seen as committed, but fangirls are seen as crazy.”
Certain events also have an impact on the relationship between music fans and sports fans. Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift have recently went public with their relationship, which caused many to rethink their previous comments on Taylor Swift’s music. Borromeo shared that he felt this relationship was a way for fans of both music and sports to connect, providing a positive bridge between two worlds for people to share passions.
“It sucks that before Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift started dating, everyone hated Taylor Swift, and a lot of people didn’t like football,” Borromeo said. “It’s great that guys are able to connect to more people. It’s amazing that people are able to connect through that from two different genres.”
At first glance, sports fans and music fans may seem to have nothing in common, but when looking closer, they may not be so different from each other. Yet, many feel they are still treated differently and have different opinions on how they perceive them.
“I think a lot of people have opinions, and that’s something we can’t control as humans,” Borromeo said. “In my life, everyone loves everyone. Everyone supports each other in my friend group. I support all my friends who went to the Taylor Swift concert, going to sports games, there shouldn’t be hate.”