Complexity allows further involvement of fans for a longer period of time because of the time needed to work the subject of interest 'out.' It also contributes to a greater sense of belonging because of the mental effort invested in the subject. There are several groups of fans that can be differentiated by the intensity level of their level of involvement or interest in the hobby (level of fanaticism) The likelihood for a subject of interest to be elevated to the level of fandom appears to be dictated by its complexity. This again may take many forms, from casual conversation, e-mail, chat rooms, and electronic mailing lists to regular face-to-face meetings such as fan club meetings and organized conventions. As well, some fans have a desire for social interaction with other fans. Fans often have a "wish to acquire" material objects related to the area of interest, such as a baseball hit by a famous slugger or a used guitar pick from their musical hero. Fans have a desire for external involvement – they are motivated to demonstrate their involvement with the area of interest through certain behaviors (attending conventions, posting online, displaying team banners outside their homes, etc.). The term supporter is also used in a political sense in the United States, to a fan of a politician, a political party, and a controversial issue.įans usually have a strong enough interest that some changes in their lifestyles are made to accommodate devotion to the focal object. However, the term "fan" has become popular throughout the English-speaking world, including the United Kingdom. Supporter is a synonym to "fan" that predates the latter term and is still commonly used in British English, especially to denote fans of sports teams. He called the fanatics filling his stands "fans". Von der Ahe sold tickets for 25 cents, hoping the many patrons would purchase his beer the low ticket price helped him lead the stats in attendance. The Great American Baseball Scrapbook attributes the term to Chris Von der Ahe, owner of the Saint Louis Brown Stockings in 1882. According to that theory, it was originally shortened to fance then just to the homonym fans. The Dickson Baseball Dictionary cites William Henry Nugent's work asserting that it was derived from the fancy, a term referring to the fans of a specific hobby or sport from the early 18th century to the 19th, especially to the followers of boxing. Use of "the fancy" to mean avid sports enthusiasts emerged as an Americanism in the mid-19th century. However, the term "fancy" for an intense liking of something (a usage attested by 1545), while being of a different etymology, coincidentally carries a less intense but somewhat similar connotation to "fanatic". The modern sense of "extremely zealous" dates from around 1647 the use of fanatic as a noun dates from 1650. The word originally pertained to a temple or sacred place. It comes from the Modern Latin fanaticus, meaning "insanely but divinely inspired". Fanatic itself, introduced into English around 1550, means "marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion". When using a search engine such as Google, Bing or Yahoo check the safe search settings where you can exclude adult content sites from your search results Īsk your internet service provider if they offer additional filters īe responsible, know what your children are doing online.Merriam-Webster, the Oxford dictionary and other sources define "fan" as a shortened version of the word fanatic. Use family filters of your operating systems and/or browsers Other steps you can take to protect your children are:
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