FanSided Fandoms of the Year: Who we’re rooting for right now
By Ian Levy
FanSided’s Fandoms of the Year will be here in December to reflect back on what moved, excited and entertained us this year. But here’s a peek at what’s captured our attention right now.
FanSided Fandoms of the Year is an authentic celebration of fan culture, bringing together the FanSided community of readers and writers to celebrate the teams, players, competitions, movies, experiences, actors, music, television shows, games and more that made us want to stand up and cheer in 2021.
Fandom is all about community, people sharing passion, joy, grief and triumph. In a world wracked by sickness, fear and uncertainty the things that connect us as humans have never been more important. This project is a way to celebrate and examine the things that bring us together, to recognize the transformative power of positivity and maybe even help people find something new to fall in love with.
The project (formerly the FanSided250) is a curated list of things that moved, inspired, thrilled and entertained us this year, featuring 100 fandoms described, in-depth, by people who love them. This year, for the first time, the list will be unranked, putting all 100 fandoms on equal footing, highlighting how they are all worthy of celebration. However, we’ll also be highlighting 10 fandoms with superlative recognition in categories like “Most karmically-owed fandom” and “Most inspiring fandom of the year.” And, as in years past, we will be choosing one fandom as the FanSided Fandom of the Year.
In years past, the list has all been rolled out together in December but this year we wanted to extend the fun. As a lead-in to the final list, we’re going to start releasing a monthly check-in highlighting five fandoms that were relevant or that we connected with that month. Here’s what we were rooting for in July.
What Fandoms of the Year were we rooting for in July?
Even though Manifest was canceled by NBC after three seasons in 2021, the series proved how special and impactful it is when the first two seasons began streaming on Netflix. Billions of streaming minutes and millions of #SaveManifest tweets later, the Manifesters forced NBC and Netflix to reconsider saving the show. Whether you’re a new fan or a day one, it’s clear to see Manifest deserves the fandom and chance to tell its full story.
This summer, the Phoenix Suns ended a 10-year playoff drought, made the Finals, revitalized Phoenix as a basketball town, helped Chris Paul make his first Finals, and saw Devin Booker finally silence his critics. The run included countless iconic moments — “Suns in 4,” the “Valley-Oop,” beating the Lakers — and while it didn’t end in a championship, everyone is loving the Suns.
What Shohei Ohtani is doing in MLB this year is unheard of for this generation of baseball fans — and maybe generations of fans before us. For that reason, he’s really rallied fans of all teams to his cause. He’s basically appointment baseball for all MLB fans, whether he’s starting on the mound, hitting home runs at the plate, participating in the Home Run Derby, or more. This is really the year of Ohtani.
— Kurt Mensching, FanSided MLB
Fear Street on Netflix was great fun for any fan of the horror genre. Releasing three interconnected movies set over different time periods (1994, 1978, 1666), Fear Street took advantage of trends popular with movie and TV audiences including world-building, binge-watching and nostalgia. Imagine if Avengers End Game and Avengers Infinity Wars had been released in back to back weeks or even months? The Fear Street series could be a trailblazing moment, changing the way movies are made and released.
Simone Biles leapt into the heart of American fans not just for her legendary gymnastics status but also for her appearance in the 2021 Olympics. She shocked the world after withdrawing from many events due to mental health reasons, opening up a discussion for an important and controversial topic. Her strength in being vulnerable and then returning to win bronze solidifies her as the GOAT.
light. More. 2020 FanSided Fandoms of the Year