You find out about something, you start to like that something you found out about, and before you know it, fandemonium breaks loose, and you’re that something’s biggest fan.

Being a fan of something is all the rage these days. People are fans of bands, video games, super heroes, sports teams, clothing lines – you name it, and there’s a fan base for it.

But for some reason, I’ve always found it difficult to latch onto the clothing of a new trend, like a bur in an overgrown field, and consider myself a fan.

Sure, I might like something a lot, but I’m not going to consider myself a fan right away. Why? Because I feel like I don’t know enough about what I’m trying to become a fan of.

Some “fans,” especially those of sports teams, consider themselves bandwagoners. These individuals openly admit they are fans of something because it is what’s popular at the time, or their new favorite sports team is doing really well in a particular season.

These people may not know very much about the things they are fans of, but they get a “Get Out of Fan Jail Free” card because, at the very least, they’re aware of where they stand on the Fan/Trend-Follower Spectrum.

But what about the individuals who claim to be fans of something, but have little to no knowledge about what they’re supposedly fans of?

You know, the people that when you show them a cool new band, they don’t think much about them, but as soon as the band starts getting airtime on the radio, they claim to know every word to every song? Yeah, those people.

Sure, some can argue that being a fan is one’s own choice, and it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.

After all, that’s what zanhar1 said in a random opinion article on fanpop.com eight months ago:

“Step one: enjoy/love/like the show, book, movie, and/or band.

Good job, that’s it, you’re a true fan.”

But I digress – and unfortunately have to disagree. There has to be something more to it than just enjoyment.

WikiHow listed seven steps on how to become a fan of something: Decide what you want to become a fan of, research, join a fan club, if possible, listen or read any material you can – written or recorded – by the person/people you want to become a fan of, attend a live event, if possible, continue participating in fandom, and voila, you are a fan.

Now, maybe seven steps is several too many for reaching fandom. But WikiHow does have one crucial step that zanhar1 overlooked.

Research.

In order to be a fan of something, you need to have done your homework on it. As disagreeable as doing research may be, if it’s something you truly enjoy, it should never be a hassle.

Anybody can like anything they want to. Nobody should judge someone based on their interests (although, unfortunately it happens). But if you want to be considered a fan, you should be reading, watching, attending, listening, and/or participating in whatever your interest is as much as possible.

Don’t be a lazy, lackluster, trend follower. Do some research, educate yourself, and become a true fan. email: [email protected]

Twitter: @KatPoster