Can the hobby go too far?

[AJLe]

I think the answer to "Can the hobby go too far?" is "unequivocally yes." You can spend THOUSANDS of dollars every single year, waste hundreds of hours waiting for celebrities that may or may not stop for you...and all of that can rob you of a more robust social life.

Like any obsession/addiction, I think the key point is whether or not it's adversely effecting other areas of your life. If somebody's time spent in this hobby is running them into bankruptcy, or alienating them from friends and family, or making them emotionally miserable while they're doing it, then yes, it's likely gone "too far" for them.

But if the person is still able to pay their bills, still holding down their job, still having a relatively normal family/social life, etc, then the hobby is just another thing people spend their time doing, and it's not hurting anybody.

[ICW]

With the benefit of hindsight, I actually cringe over how upset I was that I had to miss Big Event for my best friend's wedding. After it was over, I told myself that shit had to stop and that I was being ridiculous.

[oldschoolwwwf]

Icw, it’s not really your fault dude. If anything, your friend was selfish in demanding that you be at his side all day when he either didn’t need you or someone else could have done whatever minor task was needed. You miss one of these shows, you miss opportunities that might not ever come again. You could have easily gone and then made it back in plenty of time for the wedding. Someone else could have wiped your friends nose all morning.

[lanza218]

Of course it can, as can any hobby

[ICW]

Icw, it’s not really your fault dude. If anything, your friend was selfish in demanding that you be at his side all day when he either didn’t need you or someone else could have done whatever minor task was needed. You miss one of these shows, you miss opportunities that might not ever come again. You could have easily gone and then made it back in plenty of time for the wedding. Someone else could have wiped your friends nose all morning.

Eh I appreciate that but I really didn't miss anyone. My friend got me an Ultimo Dragon and Sonny Onoo autograph -- and I got to meet them both months later. I think the only person I missed was Larry Hennig. It happens.

I'm glad I was there for my best friend. Zero regrets.

[mikeyicon]

wow I'm glad I was able to engage you all. :) Maybe it came out of my subconscious, but I mean no harm and if anybody takes my stuff as insulting or demeaning, I truly do apologize. That's not my intent to ever make people feel bad, I'm just curious and fascinated by this. Easy to focus on these kind of words and questions about the energy and levels of craziness, but I'm also a fan of a few of you guys who I met . One of the best things from the last Chiller show was a good convo I had with Jeremiah of which he discussed a lot of what he wrote and he taught me some things as well. Appreciate the comments whether I empathize or not, and definitely don't want to be a "troll".

[mrira]

Icw, it’s not really your fault dude. If anything, your friend was selfish in demanding that you be at his side all day when he either didn’t need you or someone else could have done whatever minor task was needed. You miss one of these shows, you miss opportunities that might not ever come again. You could have easily gone and then made it back in plenty of time for the wedding. Someone else could have wiped your friends nose all morning.

Eh I appreciate that but I really didn't miss anyone. My friend got me an Ultimo Dragon and Sonny Onoo autograph -- and I got to meet them both months later. I think the only person I missed was Larry Hennig. It happens.

I'm glad I was there for my best friend. Zero regrets.

Hennig never came, so you missed nothing.

Agreed with everyone else. If it's effecting other parts of your life, then it's gone too far.

[Greg2600]

I have a few combo regrets, more due to having the wrong strategy.

[class316]

I have a few combo regrets, more due to having the wrong strategy.

I have too many regrets

[WOODMO]

I've found lately a reduced willingness to travel in for any one spot day type things where you're really rolling the dice on success vs failure. I get the pay to play analogy, but I just struggle either giving up time with my friends or girlfriend, or my scarce downtime to fail. That is a worse negative than the positive which is success in many cases. I prefer things like this week where you will succeed in some way no matter what, or paid events where you know if you give the time to the hobby you will achieve what you set out for with greater certainty.

[overthetop17]

I too find this interesting of course...I find it interesting on one end you have the people who have a wife, gf, or kids and enjoy the hobby and go to conventions and maybe do an occasional street meet once in awhile. Than you have others who have no kids, no wife, no gf and dedicate many many hours and days to this. I would assume it would be difficult to have any of those when so much time is dedicated to chasing celebs. Most females would probably find the time devoted to this to be very odd or they would have to be into it as well I would think. Sadly I have actually seen this be a problem in one marriage that eventually ended in divorce. If I told my wife I was flying out west for some random names in a movie I just happen to like she would be like 'huh?? Really? are you kidding me?" If I told her I was going for something she knows I genuinely love she would get it and we have had that conversation, (Stallone and MR.T are the only two at this stage in the game).

I have had a discussion with my wife and some of her friends and asked what they truly thought of my situation and what I personally do with the hobby. They basically agreed that there are those who treat this as a hobby and are "collectors" most often seen at conventions and not on the street, and there are those go to airports, hotels, and wait outside places who they find "creepy." My wife likes to go to conventions with me every now and then mainly to people watch, I too am guilty of this and if you see me walking around a convention with nothing to get signed and just wandering this is exactly what i am doing. My wife likes the items I get done and thinks they look good on display, but it in no way thrills her to meet anyone. We had a discussion on what we feel are the two types of people in the hobby. We call them the "collectors" and the "obsessors." She will point out people that I have seen at various shows and it is fairly easy to distunguish the two. When she shes some of the photos people get and hears about the time they put in to get them it baffles her, and I cannot argue. I am fascinated just like MikeyIcon...and I guess it's like Class always says. Photo ops must be like crack to some people because to me it is just impossible to truly "like" that many celebs. I like Scwharzenegger....photo with him? I would pass. I like harrison Ford...photo with him? Pass. So no...you don't get photos with people just because you "like" them in my mind. A study needs to be done....a book needs to be written, and a documentary needs to be made.....the behavior baffles me what I truly want to know from everyone is why do you do it? What exactly does it do for you? Does every photo op make you feel good even after the fact? Do you like to impress people with what you get? What is it? It has to be something....

For me personally I collect what I do because I have a connection to either something or someone I grew up watching that impacted me in someway. It cannot be just anyone or anything I happened to watch, but something that had a bigger affect on me that sticks with me to this day and still makes me a feel a certain way. As a kid I watched shows like "Alf" and "Full House" and "Family Matters." Fun shows and good times...but it does not go deeper than that. Today I could take those shows or leave em hence the reason I have no desire to meet any of those people even though I like the shows. When I meet someone I admire on another level and then go back and get them again, it's for multiple reasons. Seeing them again never hurts because it gives me a chance to ask something else or sometimes have a great conversation, and second I often find other items I have been looking for to get signed. The items will eventually be displayed nicely in a room where I hope to have people come and hangout and they will provide a spot for me to relax and surround myself with the things that had an impact on me or made me feel good at some point in my life and still do. As far as the amount of items I have signed by one person, I am guiltly of going overboard in some instances, but I have weeded out many items and have finally gotten it under control.

I recently sold 2/3 of what I have and re-evaluated everything and was able to select the key items I want and from this point on it will be just that, if Im on the fence about someone or something I'm just going to pass on it. I have to be all in at this stage of the game. So when Class says this hobby is like crack for him, I don't have that same feeling. What the hobby gives me is a sense of knowing when I see someone on my tv screen that I admire and knowing the affect they had on me that I had a chance to tell them just what it did for me exactly and to shake their hand and thank them for it. These people truly provided "magic" for me...Rocky...Hogan...Kilmer...they took me away from reality and still to this day provide that magic with the characters or roles they played...these have always held up for me. I don't get that feeling from anything nowadays entertainment wise. So when I get an item signed and I can match it to a particular thing that they encompass it really does mean something to me as corny as that sounds and to be sitting there watching a movie like Rocky glancing over and seeing that figure I had as a kid now with Stallones signature on it, it just brings it all together for me...it's a really cool feeling. I could only dream about meeting these people as a kid, they were larger than life and the guys I mentioned will always be that way for me.

Damn I wrote a lot....that's what a few drinks does lol.

[lanza218]

And the guy from That Thing You Do

[overthetop17]

And the guy from That Thing You Do

That movie is HUGE for me...Almost Famous is my favorite movie all-time but "That Thing You Do" Is in the top 15 for me and his role in that movie was fantastic, he made that movie for me. He becomes the asshole and I love every minute of it...screw the rest of the band lol.

[mikeyicon]

overthetop, really enjoyed what you wrote and I have to make it a habit to say hello in person at a future chiller show. I'm the same way in terms of the stuff that I loved as a kid when I didn't know all of the magic and such and these artists or wrestlers or actors were "larger than life". To look back over the past ten years and having the opp to get photos and chat with actors from staple movies of mine like The Karate Kid, Just One Of The Guys, Revenge Of The Nerds or musicians whose songs were on the soundtrack of my life like Paul Stanley or Peter Cetera or Jonathan Cain or Debbie Gibson or actors from key TV shows like Breaking Bad, Mr. Robot, Saved By The Bell and Married With Children or crushes like Kim Richards or Kari Wuhrer or "Winnie Cooper" and have the documented photo to commemorrate the event, that's cool stuff. But as we get older and the stuff we thought was niche has become more mainstream, along with having kids, the focus does change. What's cool for me is my kids are now into their dad's stuff and are more eager to get photos with people more than me, which is the double bonus. My wife could care less about this stuff, but might be apt to people watch if another friend or her dad comes along. I got about 5 more Chiller shows and always down for panels/concerts with opps to possibly get the photo as long as no big lines and such, but my gut tells me I got about 4-5 years and a few more photos and I'm probably moving onto to something else. But I hope these photos will have more personal meaning forever unlike the baseball cards, magazines, toys, autographs that were good for their time.

[overthetop17]

Thanks Mikey I have yet to actually see you at Chiller...I will keep my eyes peeled for sure.