Bienvenido a la Nerdery
Most of us know one, or might even be one. It was on a trip to Indianapolis to play in a $10,000.00 Magic: The Gathering™ tournament with a group of my closest friends that I realized, nerds of today are not our parent’s nerds. While playing in the collectable card game tournament, my best friend and I were verbally assaulted by an onlooker. Mind you this was the first day of the NFL playoffs after the Indianapolis Colts squeaked into the playoffs, now hosting the Kansas City Chiefs across the street from our tournament. “NERDS!” It was a simple slur, not even an attempt of clever name calling. It could’ve been detrimental to someone when taken out of context, but not in this setting. Try to imagine a guy wearing an all red and orange leotard with his face painted similar, with the letters “KC” plastered from head to toe, obviously cheering for the chiefs in the playoff game across the street. My friend and I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of the situation, here we were dressing like normal human beings, and yet WE were the nerds? Nerdom is highly sought after by some, others achieve it without even trying, but it is only when you have a complete disregard for any fashion sense and acceptability that you truly become a nerd.
It’s hard to get offended when you take a good hard look at your life and wonder what exactly a nerd is. In today’s popular culture you see kids going out of their way to acquire the “nerd” look, but true nerdom cannot be acquired, it is only gifted. Nerds don’t try, in fact true nerdom is actually the lack of trying. Some don’t try to shower, others wear what intrigues them, most just do what makes them happy, and aren’t shy about letting you know what makes them happy. Their enthusiasm is what makes nerds appealing, if you are truly enthusiastic about something, anything, you’re well on your way to becoming a nerd.
But what is a nerd?
Popularized in the 80’s by movies like...