On ‘Different’ Interests

I’m yet fascinated

by the way “jocks”

deride “nerds”

for their interests in

books, video games, cosplay,

anime, or the thousand other obscure

storylines we adore.

I’m just as amused when “nerds”

shame “jocks” for their

shallow fixation on meat-headed sports.

It seems I live many lives

with my fantasy football team

and my Wizards Unite augmented reality Harry Potter mobile game

and my many DraftKings entries

and my Pokemon GO collection.

As I sit cozily in my Zelda Christmas sweater

selecting my Sunday Night Football lineup,

I feel like a strange conglomeration of humans.

(It already feels as too much to be just one human, doesn’t it?)

But then I think, yet again, how unexpectedly similar these worlds are,

the domain of the nerd and the territory of the jock.

In both experiences

we entertain an affinity for players or characters,

build an entire space with specialized rules and abilities,

watch with intense anticipation in our uniforms or costumes,

pump fists as our team or character performs to their potential,

read news, share updates with companions, and learn more

about our favored sport or video game.

So, I, an amorphous assemblage of human interests,

will fist pump as my wide receiver makes a 30-yard touchdown catch

and as my Ultra Ball finally captures an evasive Pokemon,

just the same.

 

What collections of interests do you enjoy that are seemingly at odds or mutually exclusive?