Richard Lawson is streets behind

My friend Chris forwarded to me this blurb in The Atlantic Wire. It's just one paragraph, I hadn't yet talked about the benching and possible cancellation of my current favorite show Community, and as a bonus this crosses into the sports world definitely once and arguably twice:

Good grief. Community, a good show in danger of being canceled by NBC, has fans. Well, saying that Community has fans is sort of like saying the Red Sox have people who like to watch their games from time to time. Meaning, Community fans tend to err on the side of crazy. They are both evangelical and oddly protective of their beloved show and are thoroughly convinced that anyone who doesn't like it is some sort of evil simp. This is a wild generalization to be sure, but it's also totally true. So now, just when we thought they couldn't get more irksome, some Community fans have decided to hold one of modern's society's more annoying events: a flash mob. Yes, they'll be storming 30 Rockefeller Center, home of NBC, tomorrow to protest the show's jeopardized status. They'll be singing Christmas tunes and wearing fake beards and oh god just being so annoying. Sorry, guys. Community is a good show! But nothing merits a flash mob. Just absolutely nothing.

The stuff about flash mobs is mostly true - they are pretty annoying and nothing merits them. NBC executives certainly deserve worse treatment; just not a flash mob specifically. But two snippets merit further inspection...

Well, saying that Community has fans is sort of like saying the Red Sox have people who like to watch their games from time to time.

Here's a little secret that most of us sports fans know about our fellow sports fans across the country: We're all not so different. Red Sox fans are no more passionate than any other fan base. Oh, they sure think they are, so I tend to believe the piece's author, Richard Lawson, is himself a Red Sox fan, and was trying to throw in a, "You see, we Red Sox fans are soooo passionate you guys..." If he wanted to make a comparison to a fan base's uncommon passion in the face of heartbreak, he would have gone with Cubs or Vikings fans. But that's the thing about Red Sox fans - there's more narcissism, more "Woe is us" even after they won a couple titles, more "We care more than you," and especially more "If you are not from Boston you cannot possibly understand what it means to be a fan of sports."

They are both evangelical and oddly protective of their beloved show and are thoroughly convinced that anyone who doesn't like it is some sort of evil simp.

No, we just don't like NBC canceling a great show we love. I've always been fascinated by how often the likelihood of Person A calling Person B's behavior "odd," is the extend to which they disagree with it. It's just about the cheapest troll comment there is, and I could say that about anything; "What's the deal with this bizarre, oddly protective way people get about the Phoenix Suns?" If I don't like the Suns, I just marginalized their fans by saying their level of adoration is inconsistent with where I deem it should be. And that example doesn't even give the full effect, because with the Suns no one is TRYING TO TAKE THE TEAM AWAY and move it to Baltimore or something. Also, unlike Community - champions of Being Awesome - the Suns have zero championships in their 42 year history.

I fear I may have just crossed into troll territory myself with that last comment (no rings LOL U mad?), so I'll just end here. Save Community!