For thousands of years a battle has been raging across the globe. Either you were a nerdy kid who liked comics and video games or you were the quarterback of the football team and knew the batting average for every player who swung a bat for Pittsburgh Pirates. Truth is, we are more alike than you think.

You both like to dress up in weird costumes.

Let’s face it, there are several sports fans that cover themselves in body paint and wear wacky armor. Hell, there are a few old Washington fans who wear pig noses, wigs, and dresses. Now THAT is what I call Cross Play.

You both enjoy things involving people being in incredible shape performing feats that you could only dream of.

Whether its fighting robots or winning the super bowl these are both things we a very little shot at actually doing ourselves, so we like to watch someone else do them. Some people like to watch players fight with their endurance and kicks in a game of soccer, while others might want to watch to Jedi spar using the force and their lightsabers.

You both wear goofy shirts that only fellow genre fans will understand.

Sports fans might be looking at your shirt going “What the hell is a Horcrux?” At the same time you might be looking at their shirt thinking “What the heck is a Hoosier?”

You both spend lots of money on collectables.

Maybe you have a bunch of different hats with the same logo on them, or an autographed jersey. Maybe you have the first appearance of The Punisher; maybe you have a complete in box Little Samson.

Fantasy Sports are basically a weird role playing game.

What if I told you I had a room full of people who all have sheets of paper in front of them? Several of them have a stack of reading material filled with various stats and information. A few of them are writing things down on the sheets in front of them. One or two may have lap tops open. Maybe there are various beverages being consumed. Someone is in the middle explaining what is going on. What would you guess was going on? It sounds a lot like Dungeons and Dragons to me. At the same time it could very well be a Fantasy Football draft.

You are both passionate about your hobbies.

The important thing to take away from all this is that we are the same. We are passionate about what we love. You might be a die-hard Trekkie or Star Wars fan. Or you could be a lifelong Florida Gators fan. Lucky for me, I am all of those things.