When you talk to a sports fan, they will get really excited and talk about their favorite player, sport, stats, and the merch they have to support the team they love. However, if someone doesn’t enjoy sports and enjoys more nerd culture topics, such as video games, superheroes, or their favorite book series, sports fans will mock them for being excited about their favorite superhero, their powers, a book character they love, or a game they really love because of the art style, character development, and mechanics that go into the game.
As someone who has been a nerd her whole life and never been into sports, I’ve been mocked even by family. They get so excited at family gatherings to talk about their favorite team making it to the finals or how many goals their favorite player made that season. However, if I mention a game that I’ve been enjoying, or a book series that I am really into because the characters are relatable, I get a sense of backlash.
Having a love of reading since I learned how to read, but being born into a family that, when I am sitting quietly reading a book, they question what I am doing. I had my grandfather once, while he was watching football, ask me what I was doing when I had my nose in a book and was sitting quietly. It is hard being the only reader in the family.
Even at school, the cheerleaders and the athletes would make fun of nerds who would rather play chess than go outside in the cold or heat and play a game of basketball. I would spend some of my lunch time in the library to pick out books because I had finished the last one the night before. I feel that nerd culture is looked down upon even in 2026.
I think if people spent more time on their education rather than sports, unless they are trying to get a sports scholarship, they would realize being good at computers or knowing niche facts is a lot more useful than knowing stats of a baseball or basketball player.
