A fan is defined by Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary as “An enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport) usually a spectator. (Probably short for fanatic).” A fanatic is defined as one who is “marked by excessive enthusiasm and intense critical devotion.”

“Excessive devotion” is not determined, it seems, by how much one is enthused but by that to which one is devoted. For example, thousands of fans watching 22 men do battle on the football field for three hours in pouring rain or frigid cold are loyal, devoted fans. People who go to church every Sunday and sit in comfortable buildings for two hours are fanatics.

I attended one professional football game on December 30, 1978, between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The temperature was 30 degrees, with a wind chill of 24. My fanatical friend who bought the tickets thought it was great. As an armchair fan, I was miserable.