So fandom has been somewhat dead lately and with the TAR Finale coming up I've found myself reading some of The Amazing Race boards. Last week while reading the Survivor Sucks board I was rather amused at how controversial the Rob/Amber pairing had become -- complete with board war. Pro-Rob/Ambers call the anti's "Romber Haters!" And that anti's call the Rob/Amber fans "squeeing mindless fangirls." (I'm sure all those on my f-list from Spike communities can intuit the parallel that's begging to be made here.) One thing different in the parallel is TWoP, however. The recapper for TWoP has her nose so far up Rob's ass that she has no hope of ever getting it out. And TWoP being TWoP is of course single-minded as ever. Whatever the recapper loves is the board rule and those who disagree better walk on egg shells or they'll be banned.
Now, see, I sort of enjoy Rob/Amber. And I rather like Uchenna/Joyce. So, personally I'm netiher a Rob/Amber fangirl nor am I a Rob/Amber "hater." Both R/A and U/J have their good points and their bad points, and the race has an inescapable element of luck. I'll be happy if either of those teams win (I just don't want "I was Miss South Carolina" Kelly to win the million). Since I feel pretty neutral (having both likes and dislikes about Team Romber), I have been able to be rather amused by the Romber Board Wars and have even been amused bu the unnamed parallel of another board war. That is, I was amused until...
Poor Spike's name came into it. Now I'm just ticked. Not with Team Romber... but TWoP, ever the bastion of Spike hate. Guh!
Apparently USA Today's Robert Bianco doesn't care for Team Romber and stated so in an article about tonights upcoming finale. So over in the TAR thread people are going off on Bianco. Apparently his choices are inherently WRONG because (gasp!) "He liked Spike!" And if he liked Spike he must be an idiot and all of his opinions dismissed.
Grr! Like if things don't agree with the TWoP mindset then people are stupid? Gee, do you think there's a reason why there's a "TWoP posters are Sheep-le" thread to Survivor Sucks?
See, I hang out on TWoP in a few threads because its... well... it's CONVENIENT. But what never fails to hack me off is TWoP certainty that their view is representative of... anything other than the "approved" mindset of the board. It isn't an open forum. It isn't one that allows dissenting opinions, so the people who go there and think that just because they visit TWoP that it's the TRUE prevailing opinion of the world at large ticks me off. No, TWoP opinion is not inevitably the RIGHT opinion. It may not even be the most prevailing opinion. It's only the only opinion allowed on the TWoP (where my favorite description of the forum was that it was "Snark with fascism.")
Regarding Bianco's take on Romber... well, I do think he was a bit extreme. But, you know, Romber has done enough questionable things that a good case could be made for disliking them. On the other hand, they've played well enough and have shown their relationship to be surprisingly healthy, that I understand liking them. I'm neither defending nor attacking Bianco's position. Just-- damnit, TWoP, people are allowed to have opinions that don't agree with your iron-fisted bitchy recappers and those opinions be as valid as said iron-fisted bitchy recappers.
I really can't stand TWoP recaps. I only enjoy them for shows I hate myself (so I do half-way enjoy The Apprentice recaps). I shuddered when Farscape won the auction for the show to be recapped for charity. I kept wondering why in the hell fans who LIKED Farscape would PAY TWoP to rip at the show. That seemed terribly dumb to me.
Anyway. Bianco liked Spike... I like him. I thought his opinion of Romber was his opinion. Doesn't matter either way. I will be quite happy if Romber wins tonight. I'll be quite happy if Uchenna and Joyce win tonight.
Oh... and TWoP sucks!
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