This past Sunday it struck me. As much as people like to make fun of nerds (even other nerds) the large majority of Americans are a special kind of previously unclassified nerd: Football Nerds. No doubt, in America football is king. Witness the number of jerseys you will see anywhere on Sunday. Witness the fact that you can't get decent wings anywhere on Sundays during football season without having to wade through a sea of beer swilling loudmouths. But really, what is this act of constantly wearing jerseys of your favorite player but a half-assed version of cosplay? Why is player statistic obsession any better than comic book knowledge obsession? It isn't. It's just that the majority of Americans have decided that even though the average fan displays obsessive and obnoxious behavior on part with, or in excess of, the average nerd, being a football fanatic ISN'T nerdy. Sure, they gather in large groups clad in costumes mimicking their favorite players. Sure, they pay fortunes online for memorabilia, "authentic" gear and tickets (not unlike the well-to-do geek who would shell out a grand for a limited edition She Hulk statue). Sure, they get irritated if you get the details of their obsession wrong (virtually the same reaction if you get the quarterback's team wrong as if you tell a nerd that Spock is your favorite Star Wars character). But that's not nerd-like behavior. Sure, it isn't.
