The Chicken and other unsung #heroes
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's Chiquita Doesn't Want A Banana: Erin Capuano
From the Chicken to the Peacock mascots have traditionally been the unsung heroes throughout the history of sports. Typically portrayed as the "nerd or geek" role their presence alone at games is what keep fans cheering and stand for the true meaning of school spirit. High School mascots ride the fine line between Band Geek and Loner and usually would be a towel boy before they played on a sports team. Those days are gone, today most Mascots are actually very athletic usually involved in gymnastics and entertain the crowd by cartwheels back flips and some seriously cool acrobatics. Kids today are breaking down the stereotypes of what a Nerd actually looks like.
Nerd is a term, often bearing a derogatory connotation or stereotype that refers to a person who avidly pursues intellectual activities, technical or scientific endeavors, esoteric knowledge, or other obscure interests that are unusual for one's age, rather tan engaging in more social or conventional activities, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd). New shows like The Big Bang Theory to the new sensation Glee now more than ever show that it's cool to be a nerd. In the year 2010 we rely so much on what we call tech savvy people that what was once a nerdy thing to be interested in has now become what everyone wants to be involved with. The iPhone, iPad, Wii, and any other electronic gadget you can name has become the "it" things to have and if you don't have one you're considered from outer space. As they say in Social Media everyone is cool because they can be whatever they want to be. Online there are no clicks there is no locker to be shoved in no toilet to be dunked in you are a name, a hashtag and what you say truly can matter.
Steve Jobs is the Yoda of all nerds admired, looked up to, and worshipped by Appleheads everywhere. The co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple, Jobs has completely changed the face of how we communicate with innovative and fun technologies that fit the new generation of social media fanatics. It's now possible to connect with people from all over the world with the simple click of a button.
Remember when you were younger and your mother said you were wasting your time with those comic books well nowadays those comic books could easily buy you your first home. The value of such products has skyrocketed and sites like EBay allow us geeks to make some serious cash doing what we do best geeking out. I can hear parents everywhere saying that the invention of Atari was going to rot your child's brain now that same child is developing games for systems such as Playstation, Xbox and Wii probably making more in a year than most of us do in our lifetimes. Gamers can now play via online play against people from all over the globe and communicate using a headset. Its not your fathers generation anymore and everyday we are seeing the nerd revolution catch on from school to school kids are growing up stronger because they now realize they don't just fit into one group they don't have to fit into any.
Musicians and artists have opened up the door for more kids to socially accept those who are different; Lady Gaga for example prides herself on helping her fans to see that they aren't freaks just because they don't follow the "norm" of what society feels they should be. People who were considered geeks in high school have come back to become major rock stars. Feeling important and feeling like you belong isn't a necessity because now you can be whomever you want and see people like you on tv and hear them on the radio. For years medical professionals and scientists have concluded that music = brainpower those who are musically inclined are more likely to have better grades and better comprehension, (http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica.html). So while you may have been teased for not being a jock chances are you were ahead of most of the football team in brain power alone now there's a great bragging point.
Television has become super supportive of the nerd revolution by making them more visible on new half hour comedy shows. No longer is the hero the pumped up mans man now the hero is the one who uses their brain rather than brawn the one who fights fire with words instead of fists. The Guild is an award-winning online sitcom about the life of an online guild, "The Knights of Good," each webisode is 3-8 minutes long. The show follows the situations of this online gaming guild and their anti-social ways. The Guild is written by uber nerd Felicia Day who also stars as Codex one of the resident gamers. The Big Bang Theory is a sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and is set in Pasadena, California follow the day to day lives of four major nerds who also happen to be scientists. Leonard Hofstadter and experimental physicist and Sheldon Cooper, a theoretical physicists are roommates. The show follows their crazy antics with their two other nerdy friends and the hot blonde waitress who lives across the hall. It has taken television by storm with its witty humor and Sheldon Coopers OCD ways. To say that nerds don't rule would be a complete understatement in fact television shows such as The CSI franchise are tapping into the science geek in all of us with dark drama that mixes forensic science with personal storylines. More and more people are fascinated with all things nerdish and the more we ask for it the more television will offer it.
Whether it's gearing up the crowd for a home game or developing new technologies to help our future nerds are what make this world tick, they are the link from our past, present and future. Nerds will no longer need to hide under the bleachers to avoid gym class they will no longer be ashamed of owning action figures they will be the heroes.
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