Biggest Examples of Movie Fandom

I am sure that we have all seen them. The guy wearing bright leotards and a cape while walking down the street, or the person that will physically fight you for mispronouncing your vowels in Klingon can all be seen at some of the more major events, but what about those that are like this every day? These people do exist. For some odd reason, it seems that Sci-Fi tends to bring the super fans out more than any other genre. You don't really see anyone dress like Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as they relive "The Lake House" in their daily routine. Aside from Halloween, you don't even see many horror fans dressing up like Freddy for a night on the town. It is always the comic book characters, trekkies, and Star Wars junkies that seem to make themselves known. From those that take their favorite silver screen icons into their real life, to the rich people that use their money to bring the film into their lives and the lives of others, here is a look at three different stories of people that have gone a little too far to show their love and devotion.

A Whole Organization Touched By Star Wars Fever -

The occasional demonstration of Star Wars fever is not necessarily a bad thing. It was a good movie and allows for some real creativity. So what happens when you get an entire baseball team and all of their minor league affiliates infected with this highly contagious disorder? You get the Boston Red Sox. Once again, Star Wars day is making an appearance in several different levels of the Red Sox minor leagues. Their triple A team has already had their Star Wars day this season, but the Single A Spinners will be having theirs on July 31^st. Not only do you get to watch the game with all of the heroes and villains from the movie, but you will get to watch the movie on the Jumbotron after the game. These baseball owners are a little eccentric when it comes to being Jedi fans. From the big league team down to short season low A, you never know when Darth Vader and some Ewoks may show up to catch some baseball.

A Space Case with No Hope of a Cure -

While I was in the Marine Corps, I had the privilege to serve with some great people. Not all of them were mentally stable though, and one certain friend of mine was a little off when it came to anything outer space related. While he was one of the best guys you could know and an amazingly proficient helicopter mechanic. The problem was that he was a little off whenever the topic of anything space related came up. From immersing himself in a room full of Robotech and Macross models to painting his truck flat black with a huge Jolly Roger on the hood (from the Skull Squadron in Robotech) to a steady diet of all Macross, Star Trek, and Transformer movies, it was really no surprise. He would constantly try to outline the benefits of a Borg society or the actual science behind Warp Drives and Space Folding technologies. One shining example of this was when the Airframes shop decided to mess with him while we were deployed in the Mediterranean. As this guy was walking to the mess deck, the Airframe guys stopped him and wanted his opinion on some technical designs they had created. They had designed a version of the USS Enterprise that could be manned by four people. This had him so irate that it took at least a week before he would go anywhere near the Airframes shop. One other incident was early in his career. He left work for about a week out of the blue. Upon his return, he gave the excuse that his leader Optimus Prime had given him instructions that he had to carry out. Oh, and yes he does speak Klingon (and was learning Romulen last I knew).

Super Heroes with Not-so Super Powers -

While it may have worked for Bruce Wayne, dressing up in tights and making your own weapons may not be the smartest thing for the average Joe to do. That, however, has not stopped a small group of crime fighters that have had a little too much exposure to comic books. There is a group in San Diego and other major metropolitan areas that dress in tights and capes and patrol the streets to keep everyone safe. While having these citizen heroes may sound helpful, they have often gotten in the way of local law enforcement and pose a threat to themselves. Never the less, they venture out into the night in full costume to protect us all from their arch nemesis. Sometimes they can even be seen during the daytime. Armed with mace and some coat hanger and tinfoil contraption, these comic book junkies in tights can actually live out their childhood dream of being a super hero.

While we may laugh at these people and make fun of all the people that spend hundreds on an authentic costume for a movie premiere or convention, at least they are happy in their own little world. If anything, maybe we should thank them for making our own oddities not seem so bad, or at least for the nice little laugh or touch of humor they bring to our lives. These three are not the only ones. Even the most sophisticated of people can occasionally be seen dressing up as their favorite screen character. Just look at arecent picture of Rob Lowe.