The Decline and Fall of Fallout Fans, Part Two

The second installment to NMA’s “The Decline and Fall of Fallout Fans” article is now available, this time focusing on why the Fallout fanbase is so bitter.

The bitterness of a fan group is often a measure of its loyalty and devotion. For instance, one could turn open any page of Miller and Mayhew’s “Better to Reign in Hell” about the relationship of the 2003 Raiders and their fans, for evidence of the bitterness of dedicated Raider fans. Raider fans have frequently demonstrated their right to criticize Al Davis and his mismanagement of their fandom and any who would deny the right of the fans to be bitter would either be blind, suicidal or both.

If this right to criticise by dedication applies to a multi-billion dollar business like American Football, why do people pretend it does not apply to the relationship of players to computer games? The Raiders franchise has been kept alive by its fans’ stubborn unwillingness to give up. Likewise, the Fallout license has survived and thrived because of its fans. Anyone who believes that a series of events like the Brotherhood of Steel release and the Van Buren cancellation should not have killed the franchise needs a small gift voucher for Reality Shop, Massachusetts. In fact, the franchise should have technically already been dead after the disappointment of Tactics and cancellation of Tactics 2.

If you’re a Raiders fan and a Fallout fan, you might want to have your blood pressure checked.