We've made it abundantly clear how thrilled we are to witness the progression of fandom topics from the sidelines, to an era of "geek chic", to widespread mainstream adoption. Watercooler conversations now involve such subjects as the Marvel cinematic universe and 'Game of Thrones' as often as politics or sports (well, almost as often), and you can drop references to Star Wars, or even quote a line from a Harry Potter book at a party without getting side-eyed.
If this is the new age of geek assimilation, that should mean that the "old guard" of people in those fandoms should relish the new blood, increased interest, and new energy that the expanding fan-bases see, right? Well, not exactly. Why is it that the casual fan can still be made to feel marginalized, or even discouraged from the fandom because they're not as deeply invested as the hardcore or "superfans"?
Joined by our friend Chip from Two Minute Time Lord and The Audio Guide to Babylon 5, we discuss the rigors of being a casual fan of anything in a world of 'superfans'.
