A WFB Confessional: Why I Attend Supernatural Fan Conventions
As I plan my return back to normalcy after this weekend’s Salute to Supernatural convention in San Francisco, it seems right to take some time to share the reason why I put my life in temporary turmoil (as well as this website) and go to these conventions. After all, I’ve met many of the guests several times over and had more than my fair share of fan girl moments. Why do it? Easy, to spend time face to face with other fans. Every fan has a story as to why they are there and I wouldn’t miss any of them for the world.
I’ve heard some really great stories too. You see, to many out there, “Supernatural†is way more than a TV show. It’s a social network that’s changed them in so many ways. There are some that would find this to be very scary and weird. Fandoms shouldn’t be like this. In my three years of blogging for “Supernatural†though, I’ve found it to be anything but. It’s the conventions that make me see what impact this show truly has of people’s lives.
I’ve heard many stories from fans about how “Supernatural†has inspired them to lose weight, and they’ve even shown me their photo ops through the years to prove it. The photo op is the incentive to look better each time. There’s others that have struggled with physical ailments and/or depression and credit the fan community they’ve gotten to know with helping them through the hard times. These cons are a chance to get together and give face to face thanks to those that have given them encouragement and support. The cons are also a great opportunity for long distance friends to get together in a common place and share a fun weekend, often times friends that previously met at other cons.
There then are those that come because they’ve always wanted to but never had the courage. They can’t believe how warm and inviting many of the fans are. They find themselves opening up and making friendships that they never thought possible. They see a side of the fandom that’s often lost on negative message boards and it inspires them. I’ve seen the excitement in people’s faces when they meet anyone of these celebrity guests who treat them with kindness and respect, making them feel like they’re part of something special. That feeling often is lost in our hectic daily lives and it really does catch first timers by surprise. That feeling never gets old either, so that’s why fans come back. I know those that have been inspired to do things for charity and those that pursue lifelong dreams just because of this TV show that teaches them about courage and perseverance and they’re inspired by the fans they’ve gotten to know behind it. I’ve seen families actually come together and put aside their differences for the sake of “Supernatural.â€
These conventions have even been therapy sessions. I once had an in-depth conversation with a fan who was really hurt personally by “Swan Song.†She, like all of us, had really grown to love these characters, and the bittersweet ending devastated her like she had lost a friend. If I had read her comments over the net, chances are I would have dismissed them as sour grapes. Sitting there and talking with her personally though, seeing her hurt feelings first hand, it gave me full appreciation of how much fans can be affected by these characters. I understand too since I feel the same way. I was wrecked after “Swan Song†for different reasons. For the time invested, these are really more than fictional characters to us. I think just talking through these feelings helped and she was willing to try again with season six.
Yeah, it does seem weird that a mere TV show could do that for people, but it does. “Supernatural†has an impact with its fans that most cannot even fathom.
If you all don’t mind, I’ll give my confessional here. Before “Supernatural†came into my life, it really sucked. I was a stressed out, unappreciated contract software engineer for an institution involved in either banking, insurance or government (the three industries I swore I’d never get a job in) and getting no validation whatsoever for what I do. Not to mention drowning the ongoing daily demands of family life. Now, I’m a stressed out, unappreciated contract software engineer for an institution involved in banking, insurance, or government getting no validation whatsoever for what I do while struggling to meet the daily demands of family life, and a “Supernatural†website administrator/blogger. Somehow, everything is better. My second job, aka my “other careerâ€, is the best damned thing I’ve ever done in my life. For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I’m doing something worthwhile. I feel like I’m a part of something extraordinary. It lifts me up enough that I can deal with all the other crap that pushes me down.
While at the convention in San Francisco this weekend, someone wanted to know my story. How did I end up here, experiencing things that most fan girls could only dream of and how did I end up creating what is essentially an online love letter to the show I love, The Winchester Family Business? I’d like to think of myself as an ordinary fan that got hooked on a TV show, but that’s probably not the case. Like many other fans, my story gets bigger and stranger every time I tell it. So, if you don’t mind me sharing…
I’ve been writing about “Supernatural†for almost three years now. Three years ago I wrote an article about a TV show I just fell in love with. One I discovered channel flipping and then catching up on the catalog through Netflix. Writing had always been a casual hobby of mine but nothing serious. It was a way to escape the mundane work of computer programming all day long. It’s that whole left brain/right brain struggle for existence. Too much left brain makes the right brain flabby.
Through some channels I found an editor at Blogcritics that was willing to publish this article. I never thought about sharing my stuff before but I really wanted to get the word out about this show. Even if I had gotten the attention of three people, that would be something. I wrote it after getting familiar with the forums and hearing all the outcries about why this show’s network didn’t promote it. I spent two weeks researching not only why The CW didn’t promote “Supernatural†but why I had never heard of this show before it’s foray into season three. Once I had the answers, I wrote something that I thought would help introduce others to this show. Little did I know, I just kick started something that would take me on the strangest yet most thrilling ride of my life.
The article was a huge hit. It was the most read article on Blogcritics for two weeks and I got messages from fans all over the world sharing their support. The article was picked up for newspaper syndication. I started a regular “Supernatural†column on Blogcritics because of that success. Luckily I did all this during the writer’s strike, so there was a demand for new “Supernatural†articles. My articles on Blogcritics were meant to introduce the show to the casual fan, but eventually I found myself getting to know the hard core ones. When going through a bout of unemployment (something that happens regularly with an expendable IT contractor) I decided to use my programming skills and downtime to create a site for the fans. The Winchester Family Business was born. It was a simple blog site at the time, a place where I could express my love for my favorite show in my own forum. A place where negativity wasn’t allowed, which seemed to be excessive in most other fandom sites. A place where thought provoking yet civil discussions could take place. Most importantly, a place to just love and honor this under-appreciated show. We all could be among friends.
A few months later I took on another writer (elle2) and we started posting daily, a pace we have maintained to this day. Now the Winchester Family Business celebrates it’s two year anniversary this month and our growth has been phenomenal. Every time I think the bottom is going to fall out, we keep getting bigger. I’ve had help and have been very fortunate in taking on a team of writers that are top notch in what they do and come from backgrounds very different than my own yet share the same passionate love for “Supernatural.â€
My online successes have just been one part of the story though. What’s happened in these three years still blows my mind. I’ve gotten to interview Executive Producer Sera Gamble five times. When I first met Jared and Jensen at Salute to Supernatural in Chicago, they both personally told me they read my first article and loved it. Jensen even read it to people in his trailer (thud, floor, me). I was told everyone in the Hollywood office received a copy of that article too and it got the attention of Warner Brothers. Since then I’ve gotten to meet Jared and Jensen a few times, not to mention Misha, Jim, and many other guest actors. I’ve gotten to interview the actors in “Supernatural†press room at Comic Con two years in a row, along with Sera Gamble, Eric Kripke, and Ben Edlund. Thanks to Comic Con I’ve gotten to meet and interview TV celebrities from other TV shows as well. I got to write an article commemorating Supernatural’s 100th episode in Variety, which included an interview with creator Eric Kripke. I was recently interviewed by TV Guide for “Supernatural’s†first ever cover story for that publication. Every day I wonder how in the world all this happened to me. I couldn’t be more grateful.
However, of all my memories from this “Supernatural†blogging gig, it’s the times where this show helped me through the rough patches that I best remember. When I got my first publicity kit from Warner Brothers, a nice little set of season four promotional items along with an advanced copy of “Lazarus Rising†and “Are You There God, It’s Me Dean Winchester,†I found it on my doorstep after having a very bad day at work. A few hours earlier I was abruptly dismissed by a company that I gave three years of my dedication to without even a thank you. It was more of a “don’t let the door hit you…†message. With one look of that package (not to mention a few advanced viewings) none of that mattered. I was on cloud nine for weeks after that. I also remember the time I got a message of thanks from Eric Kripke after the Variety article, which ironically came on the same day that I got chewed out at my real job for an issue that I didn’t cause and if anything jumped in and went the extra mile to help fix. I remember another time being admonished at my job just because the boss was in a bad mood and then that same day having my work for “Supernatural†commended in a national publication by Maureen Ryan. It’s almost ironic that since I started blogging, every career humiliation has been trumped by a blogging achievement.
San Francisco was a very special con for me. This time I took my daughter who at the ripe age of 12 finally got to see firsthand what all the fuss is about. I swear, as a mom, I was never more proud than her boldly going up to Jared Padalecki and asking a goofy question about his hair. Considering she knows how much mom has made a playful fuss over that in the past, now she wants to be involved too. That hits me pretty hard actually. That’s another thing I never saw coming when writing that initial article.
It wasn’t just my daughter though that brought out my inner fan girl. I had my first ever photo-op with Jensen and Jared, something I swore I’d never do. It was a easy choice though, I needed something special to commemorate my daughter’s first con. She was there in the picture with me, although she was the one who ended up next to Jared (the height difference is pretty glaring!). Plus she was wearing a seal hat that Jared really liked. Yes, those are memories that will last for years. Another bit of personal excitement came in the autograph line, when I had Jensen and Jared sign their names in the TV Guide cover story, right near where my name was mentioned. They were both so appreciative and wrote down small personal messages of thanks. Here I am, a seasoned veteran at these cons, leaving that autograph room a gushing pile of jello.
I guess my point is to this day I’m still floored over how much impact “Supernatural†really has. Maybe it’s the theme of overcoming evil over impossible odds and making deep sacrifices for the greater good. Maybe that it’s a show that’s never gotten mainstream appreciation and exists today just because of the passion and dedication of its fans. Maybe it’s because this show and its fans makes life suck a lot less. Supernatural inspires intellect, escapism, confidence, a sense of community, belonging, and so many other things that still I don’t fully grasp. Being with other fans and sharing a con experience reminds me that there is something good in this world, something that often isn’t a part of my daily life. After this con, just like all the others, I suddenly feel excited about what I do. I have renewed dedication to tell the world about this amazing show and help engage it’s amazing fans. It’s really strange, but as a fandom, we’re changing lives. That’s pretty freaking awesome.
So that, in a nutshell is why I attend cons.
Alice,
Thanks so much for sharing this with us, and giving us an insight into your `Supernatural` story.
It sems weird that `just` a tv show can inspire and change so many lives for the better as this one does. I agree with you, maybe it is the subject matter, the struggle we watch our beloved charaters go through and the strength and resilience in which they deal with the problems they have to face can provide us with inspiration to cope ourselves.
I have never been involved in any aspect of fandom before and if you had told me a few years ago I ever would be I would have laughed, images of `Galaxy Quest` would have come to mind. Then a couple of years ago I was at the worst point in my life, I had just lost my Mum, who was also my best friend, and after nursing her for many years through illness, the last couple of years 24/7, I was both physically and mentally shattered. I had not seen any tv for the last 2 years at all and had lost the habit of even watching , then I saw in a second hand shop a box set of Supernatural Season 2 part one, and I thought it looked interesting, the rest is history, by the end of In my time of dying I was totally hooked. Then, last year, after lurking for a couple of months I started commenting here and then `met` some amazing people who I now consider to be friends, some I know I can count on and call upon whenever I need them, you know who you are !!
I dont imagine I will ever get to a convention myself but love that we can vicariously visit them through you and the other writers here who have shared their own experiences.
Thank you once again for all your hard work, providing us with this wonderful little haven in a world of madness, where we can come and hide and indulge in our obsession with this amazing show. Love Ju
Hi Alice!
How wonderful to share your story with us. I even went back to Blogcritics to read you first artikel there. Thank you very much for your time and efford you put in this side.
Hello, ALice! THank you for sharing this and thank you for starting WFB. Thank you also to all the other writers. (Yeah, inspiring. RIght now, I am dealing with all things SPN and J2 than my overtime work.)
If you don’t mind, will you kindly give me the link to that first SPN article you wrote? I would really like to read it.
Ooops! Found it in your article.
Thank you for sharing this, Alice. From one sofware- engineer-part-time-DBA-in-finance-insurance to another, I’ve been living vicariously through you by reading your stories. Supernatural helped me get over my fear of the Internets. It gave me courage to post on various forums. It woke me up from a mid-career greyness and gave me a focus I haven’t had since my Doctor Who (4th – Tom Baker) obsession in college.
I haven’t gone as far as you have, but wow, it’s been great reading your work and following your journey. Thank you again for sharing it with all of us.
Thanks Alice. This is a great article and makes me want to go to a convention, which I have vacillated about. I’m glad that SPN has been able to give you so much, both intellectually and emotionally. It’s the beauty of literature – the power to touch the soul.
Have a safe trip home!
I remember reading that first article and how much it impressed me. It said everything I felt about the show I love in a way I never could have. For the longest time, I thought you were a professional blogger and only gradually began to realize that you came into this thing a fan and really stepped up to the plate with it. Hearing the whole story now, well, you have been lucky, sure, but talent and determination have a lot to do with it also!
For myself, I can now trace my own new, and very rewarding, second job as a contract copy editor almost directly to Supernatural fandom, as well as a number of extraordinary relationships with online friends all over the world. Supernatural is awesome. Fandom is awesome. Supernatural fandom is, well, “doubly awesome” doesn’t begin to say it.
What a lovely trip down memory lane, Alice, thank you.
I too remember that first article, not sure how I found it, I think I was googling for all things Supernatural and that came up. I then followed your articles on blogcritics and then when you came to create this site.
It’s funny to look back on it now and to remember how ‘little’ TWFB was in the beginning and then to remember the little progressions over time until this past summer when Jenna came on board and the site jumped by leaps and bounds with formatting.
I love this site for all the ‘meat’ as well as all the fluff, the fun and the camaraderie, ’tis a great place to gather.
Thanks for envisioning it and bringing it to life.
Alice
I normally only lurk but wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your story and your experiences and indeed for all your articles.
I recently attended my first con with my 15 year old daughter the camaradarie amongst fans and actors put me on a high that carried on into the next week.
Brilliant Alice –
Thank you for you work, for the website, and more gratuitous commendations to all the other writer’s who contribute as well.
I tried out so many different places before coming to WFB and I must say that you provide a lovely platform to vent or cry depending on which season I’m re-watching!
One of my personal mottos is “there are no coincidences.“ Sometimes I think that my finding of this show wasn’t one, either. Because it has also brought me so much joy, and I feel grateful.
Thank you ever so much for sharing this with us. And – thank you (again) for guiding me to this site all those months ago when I found you on blogcritics and followed you here to The Winchester Family Business.
Writing for this site has been one of the major joys for me especially when I needed to concentrate on other things than moments in my life when things went really wrong and I was suffering for various reasons. (The only downside is, that I hardly find time to write my own novel, with work demands increasing and leaving me little spare time as it is and following this passion of mine, that is: writing about, promoting and simply loving Supernatural, and I wouldn’t change it for the world).
Coming here has given me so much. Not only in terms of fun, but in those departments that really count – friendship, camaraderie, the simple being there for one another.
Meeting you in person was fabulous, and I am sure it won’t have been the last time. And I met some others here that have become great friends, something I had not expected at all. I wasn’t going for it. It just came along and was the greatest gift someone can be given. And I trust those friendships to remain a part of my life, even when Supernatural will be off air one day.
This show is inspirational on so many levels, and I have had some patients over the years that told me some of their stories, how Supernatural inspired them to be brave. Or the Polish patient (I’ve told that story before) who was so proud that Jared kept his Polish name when going into show business.
With such patients I even use scenes from Supernatural in therapy and we talk about those, using them as a catalyst or a metaphor to make it easier to access the hard parts of their life stories. It doesn’t cease to amaze me.
I am so there with you – with those bad career moments being softened by a (well-deserved) blogging achievement. For me it’s those days when I get mad at my boss or think of leaving the place where I work (and I love the atmosphere and the freedom I have there, normally), this thing that we have here, on this site, within our writers team, in the contacts that have blossomed makes me come down again and find a form of happiness that’s not always available when I need it at work.
When I feel confined by new regulations or new documentary systems that take time from my patients, I breathe free air again when I meet my loved ones, watch the show or write about it. Within a schedule as tight as mine, it’s a blessing.
Thank you again for everything you’ve done and given me. I wouldn’t wanna miss a thing!
Love always, Jas
Hi Alice – I wrote a long post thanking you for everything you do, but when I went to preview it, it disappeared. Unfortunately I hadn’t saved it so I guess it is long gone.
Thank you for making my life brighter with your website and accounts of the conventions and meeting all the creative folks that give us this show. Especially your accounts of the 2Js. You’ll never know how grateful I am for all you and your other contributors do to keep me interested in continuing on into another day. The last few years have been hard for me and your site and this show that I love so much has kept me going and I hope it does for a few years more.
(hoping I don’t lose this post also) 😮
Wonderful, Alice. So glad I did a convention! It’s well worth it! Thanks for the article.
This might be way off, but I just thought of a poem Dylan Thomas once wrote. I think it’s very fitting for every one who loves to write – and who loves to spend energy on a labour of love, as you do, Alice.
In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms, I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.
Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.
:D, Jas
Great post, Alice. I saw the pilot for Supernatural and liked it and then for some reason totally lost track until the summer before season 3. I found the season 1 DVD set at Best Buy for $9.99, watched it in about 4 days, then ran out and got the season 2 set when it came out and finished just in time for season 3 to begin. It’s been my favorite can’t-miss show ever since. And, I’m happy to say that I’ve sucked four other people in as well!! 🙂
I’m so glad that I found WFB! I had been following another site and I just found people so mean-spririted and very intolerant of people’s differing opinions. WFB was such a breath of fresh air. I’m a devoted reader and do comment from time to time and it’s so nice to find that even if your opinions differ from others on the site, that’s fine! It’s discussed civilly and quite passionately sometimes, but never in a mean-spirited or insulting way. Keep up the good work!
I’m so excited that a Supernatural convention is finally coming to Boston in August. I’m trying desperately to scrape the money together to go (I only live 20 minutes away, so I CAN’T miss this opportunity). It’s quite expensive, though, so my friends and I are at least trying to get the money together to attend on Sunday for Jared and Misha’s panel (unfortunately, as of today, Jensen isn’t scheduled to attend 🙁 ). I’ve been to other non-Supernatural conventions, and they were fun, but I’m really looking forward to going to a purely SPN event. I can’t wait to meet other people that are as passionate as I am about the show!
I’m new to this site, but I want to thank you anyway for this wonderful article and for sharing your feelings.
I’ve been a “fan of something” time and again all along my life, and what I was fan of always changed my world’s view, somehow. I don’t find that so strange: men are storytellers and stories are the straight way to their hearts. I often find inspiration in stories, if the stories are worth of it.
I think that particularly these days, when it seems that tv shows incline more and more towards the glorification or justification of illegality and immorality, sordidness, selfishness, meannes and pettiness (at least the ones most aired and talked of here in Italy), a show like “Supernatural”, a story where the heroes are real heroes, but not without human flaws, where love, friendship, courage, self-sacrifice, strong will, constancy, and moral choice are the “ethical core” is so rare and so more needed.
[quote]I’m new to this site, but I want to thank you anyway for this wonderful article and for sharing your feelings.
I’ve been a “fan of something” time and again all along my life, and what I was fan of always changed my world’s view, somehow. I don’t find that so strange: men are storytellers and stories are the straight way to their hearts. I often find inspiration in stories, if the stories are worth of it.
I think that particularly these days, when it seems that [b]tv shows incline more and more towards the glorification or justification of illegality and immorality, sordidness, selfishness, meannes and pettiness (at least the ones most aired and talked of here in Italy), a show like “Supernatural”, a story where the heroes are real heroes, but not without human flaws, where love, friendship, courage, self-sacrifice, strong will, constancy, and moral choice are the “ethical core” is so rare and so more needed.[/b][/quote]
Thanks Alice for sharing your personal moments of being a SPN fan or more so as an entrepreneur for this fab platform.
It is the 1st time i m commenting here and just wish i cud know WFB family much more..slowing reading articles here and read the first article u mentioned 🙂
Your articles are very interesting and touching all points in humorous and serious ways. Wud love to read more of your experiences just have one question though–what is Cons and Asylum…Some SPN fest?? Pls share more abt them.
I am quoting this above comment coz i completely comply with it and it pretty much sums up SPN for me. i am very new here and believe me still trying to figure out how does this site works and how to follow all the interesting posts here. I am form India and recently only finished watching SPN1-6 at one go.
Though what i perceived is that this show (which i not just a TV show for me and many here) is very popular at the other end of the world i rarely heard of it here and mostly when i hear of english soaps i hear/see them from much popular network like star and zcafe. But Wb/Cw never hear of these networks telecast here in India so chances of me finding this one of the finest show was very rare until recently when i was coming from college and and had some big bore project to do so in the nigh when bored up i was scrolling down the channels and i found this show on AXN (the network on which most of the shows are broadcast well after there actual broadcast in US)– I stumbled upon- When Levee Breaks (S4E21) and it immediately sucked me in while i had no idea wth these two brothers are fighting for but the chemistry was so profound that i didnt mind if whatever they were speaking wasnt making any sense to me but that gave me one moment of my fan connection
I instantly become fan of Sammy n Dean (J2 though i recently found their actual names) But i didnt get enough chance to follow them on AXN as the telecast time is lil inconsistent but not to mention my schedule was also the same but time to time i had opportunity to catch few Season 5 epis again (very obscure ones..) but in back of my mind i was planning to have all the episodes with me doesnt matter how.
Then three months back search on net about the SPN series and found that Season 6 is on Air @CW network? so after constant praying my elder sister (who is earning and is the only one i can ask for as father wud have slapped me for asking money to buy “some Tv Show”) and now i have all 6 seasons in DVD with me.
And i am now madly in with the two brothers extra ordinary- Supernatural story. Never saw anything like this ever before and this is my first Show and i dont want it to end.
One nagging question still remains after coming to this site as to why SPN is so obscure to mass audience coz i hardly heard abt it from anyone here?? And i wish more n more people get to know abt the show for its long run future success.
Wud love to hear from you more..till then God bless the whole WFB team!!
Dude, one of those people you wanted to introduce to the show with your article… standing right here! That article was the reason I Netflixed it in the first place. Netflix recommended it to me (and at that point I hadn’t realized how spot on Netlfix actually is, the trust wasn’t there) so I researched it, found and read your article, and was like “Queue, meet update button.” Then I proceeded to read all of your Blogcritics reviews after I watched the relevant episodes, I was obSESSED with them. I remember that I never bookmarked your thing on BC so I always googled “Alice Jester” to find it, and then eventually I found this site. I’ve never been on another fansite because this one is everything I need. So pretty much… thanks!
I’m also so glad you’ve found something you love. I’m sixteen and I still have overly idealistic ideas of how wonderful my life is going to be (work, rent, taxes… they have no meaning to me), so when I read about someone who has something wonderful and to do it makes me really happy. : ) I’m also glad you can share your experience with your daughter, that makes me happy too. I’m the one in my family who discovered SPN but I shared it with my mom and now it’s our thing.
The way this fandom affects people is insane, in the very best way. : )
Thanks for the beautiful article Alice. And for the wonderful WFB! I must admit I want to cry, as you wrote about sharing the convention experience with your daughter. Very, very cool! There is something so magical about seeing your passion through your childrens’ eyes, and vice versa.
It’s funny how so many of us have “found” Supernatural during rough periods in our lives. I found it when I was losing my job. (Familiar refrain). In the end, I was still employed, but in a much different position. Supernatural gave me something to distract me from the chaos that was happening at work.
I took the leap into commenting, and actually writing articles (another on the way soon, I hope.. dang hockey tournaments and swim meets!) when my job threw another curveball at me. (This time a more positive one.)
But Supernatural remains my happy place, and The Winchester Family Business, one of my favourite routes to take there.
Thank you, and everyone else associated with the site, for all the hard work you do. It’s much appreciated. You heartily deserve all the recognititon that has come your way. Karma sometimes works!
Thank you for the site, your sharing, the articles and all the positivity and love that WFB has. It’s a place to come where I know I’ll be able to relax and enjoy the show without fear of falling into a bog of negativity.
That was the first time I read your beginning article (followed the link) and I was practically wriggling in glee for you over the success and accolades that it produced. Yay for you!
Wow!
Alice, you are completely right.
We as a fandom are far more complex and wonderful than any other fans I have yet met. I don’t feel like a fan when going to message boards or chatting with other fans, I feel like part of a really big family. We have our crazy relatives that we all chatter about, our shining examples (I would consider you to be one of them), our troublemakers that we really don’t want, and we have the Ma’s and Pa’s, which to me would be all the excellent people that make this phenomenal show what it is. I have never felt so accepted into a fandom as I did when I started meeting other Supernatural fans, and for that I thank every one of you.
These stories we have are excellent. It really warms my heart to read about how your experiences have made your life better, because I can relate too and I think many more people can as well that Supernatural and the fandom have touched us all deeply in some way or another. I don’t feel I can tell my story of how Supernatural and its fandom have touched my life to people outside of the fandom. We are regarded to be insane by those people that think, “It’s just a show.” They could never fully appreciate the effects it all has had on us. I have yet to attend a convention, but I plan on it once real life stops getting in the way, and from what you describe, if I feel so accepted already just on the message boards and groups, then I think that a convention would put me over the top in love with the show and the people who are just as nuts about it as I am.
Thanks for the great article!
Isn’t it beautiful how positively y’all, kind readers, react to this article?
And touching that you share some of your stories? For me this is always so astonishing.
Yes, it is ‘only a tv show’, it’s not real life, but the emotions that come to life after watching the show, sharing thoughts with others, sharing sad or moving moments, being inspired by various aspects of it all – that is very real. I think as long as we are aware of the line between unhealthy fanatiscism and loveable obsession, we’re fine.
It’s such a joy to be part of this, a humbling experience and an uplifting one.
Cheers to you all! Jas
Hi Alice
Thank you for sharing this wonderful and inspiring article.
Everything you and the others have written/commented on I agree with and can relate too.
I have loved other shows but none have ever come close to where I have cared so deeply and have been so touched by its characters. What Supernatural has meant to me, goes beyond anything I’ve ever experienced or could possibly explain. I don’t know how many time I’ve had to remind myself that it’s only a TV Show and to not get so emotionally involved, but the fact remains, I can’t stop caring. I know how Looney Tunes that must sound to most people, but I can’t help it. It is what it is.
I am so grateful to have found the WFB and want to thank-you Alice for creating this site and providing a safe haven for us to share our love and obsession for this show. I have made some very special friends here, that have opened up my world.
Gosh, I can’t even remember how I found the WFB; I can’t imagine life without it now! This is definitely the 1st site I check for all things Supernatural.
I’ve been a fan of lots of things over the years, but the only two for which I can claim obsession are Supernatural & The Lord of the Rings. My 1st con experience was a Lord of the Rings one (a Creation con also) in Florida about 5 years ago, & it was such a great time that I’ve gone to many since (at least what my vacation time & finances permit). The actors & other con guests were so fun & friendly, plus I met many wonderful fellow fans that way, & we’ve stayed friends. One friend has even become my con roomie on every trip I’ve made, which we recently realized was over 16 events in the past 5 years! We’ve even been to New Zealand & back. I’ve been to Chicago & Vancouver for Supernatural cons & can’t wait to return to Vancouver this year! I’ve converted 3 friends at work into Supernatural fans also; I think we drive our co-workers nuts talking about the show, but we get the word out there.
I love the friendliness of the WFB. I’d never felt comfortable posting on any site before. Hopefully I’ll get to meet some of you in person at one of the cons!
A fantastic article Alice – has inspired me to post here for the first time after discovering this wonderful website a few months ago. I’m a recent convert to Supernatural – having accidentally caught the pilot episode late one night here in the UK and realising that it was the same programme that a few of the girls in my office in London had been raving about for a few years. I then borrowed my co-workers’ Supernatural boxsets and watched Seasons 1 to 4 in just a few weeks, catching up just in time for Season 5 in the UK and now watching Season 6 at US pace. I can’t believe how much this programme has come to mean to me. Now I’ve taken my courage in both hands and booked for the Los Angeles con next month (on my own) – really nervous but excited at the thought of meeting the actors in person. And I’m using the con as an excuse to visit the Grand Canyon afterwards (a longstanding ambition – like Dean!) so thank you Supernatural for inspiring me to step out of my comfort zone – little did I know what would happen when I chanced upon the pilot episode less than a year ago. And thank you for this very enjoyable fansite!
I came to the WFB via the blogcritic episode reviews. No clue how I happened upon blogcritics in the first place. I think I was looking for some reading on ‘The Benders’ (my very first episode), which was hard to find because everyone else in the world was watching season 5 at that time. So I found your reviews and I read them in the one night, every single one, even the ones for the episodes I hadn’t seen yet (not the best idea I’ve ever had…) I used to come back to reread them because, you know what, they were just so damn happy. Seriously, they were so full of joy and enthusiasm about the show that you’d be grinning while reading them.
Eventually I happened on this site (again, not sure how) and I’m damn glad I did! I’d been visiting for a good while before I actually got the courage to post an opinion online for the first time (an internet virgin, awww……) What was more surprising was that the opinion was discussed as opposed to just being shouted down.
Most importantly, it gives me a place to talk/type about the show. Supernatural is not shown in Ireland (unless you’ve satellite and even so, they’re way behind) so it’s difficult to find people to discuss it with. Quite a few of the students in school are fans (they’re the ones who got me into it) but you really can’t have a John ‘The Red-nosed’ Winchester moment with a 16 year old you’re trying to get homework out of!
I’m not going to add to the plaudits here (because there are so many) but Alice, we (or rather I…) don’t say it often enough but thanks so much for the site. I’m truly glad that your passion, professionalism and commitment have allowed us to further ours.
After going to a con myself, I totally get it now! Thanks for sharing the article, Alice, and for sharing your time at the con!
I still can’t get over the fact I missed Jensen walking right past me while I was yakking with another fan!! I did, however, make sure I was paying attention when Jared walked by!! Thank you Alice and Arde for sharing the con with me!! Alice, I had fun meeting your daughter! It was a true mother/daughter convention!
Hey Alice, like I have said many times, and will say many more, you are the best. I have loved The WFB since the first time I popped in. This place you have created for all of us, is beyond words. You give us a place that we can come to and never be fearful of how others will perceive us. We can share the love we feel, as well as the sometime frustration that our show can cause in us, without the fear of being judged. You and everyone involved with making this site what it is, have my eternal gratitude.
I also found Supernatural during one of the darkest times in my life. And, as dramatic as it may sound to non-fans, Sam and Dean saved me. Then I found The Winchester Family Business, and I realized I was not alone in my deep love for “just a TV Show”. I guess what I really want to do is say thanks. You really are the best.
~boobula
This was beautiful. I teared up.
Alice,
I am new to the site and new to the fandom. I discovered SPN only a few months ago and am already hardcore in love with not just the show, but the people who love it too. I count myself grateful everytime I pull out a DVD or change my desktop wallpaper (Dean lives there) that I happened across this show. I look forward to getting to know others in the fandom that love it as much as I do and am completely looking forward to my first convention in June in Nashville.
I also teared up reading your article. I am also one of the ones that is losing weight so I will look better for my photo op with Jared and Jensen. I won’t make my goal before June but I am hoping there will be more conventions, even if the show ends. Thanks for honoring us with your work and providing an online gathering place. I will be an active and devoted resident from now on. 🙂
Oh, Alice. This post brought tears to my eyes. I know I’ll never get to a Supernatural convention but your memories and experiences (especially meeting our boys!) brought joy to my heart. I found SHOW through NetFlix and have never looked back. In my 50-odd years of watching TV, no show ever grabbed me like Supernatural did. What really focused it was Sam and Dean’s relationship and Dean’s absolute commitment to the importance of FAMILY. That just struck a chord in me that has never let go. He spoke the words (with the heartache that goes along with it) that my daddy spoke to us kids many times over the years. Dean and Sam (and Jensen and Jared, of course) are the same age as my kids and Supernatural just filled a spot in my heart that has lead to this place of LOVE for Show that has no equal. You and the WFB just reinforces the reasons Supernatural became such an important part of my life. Your original article spoke to me, personally, in such eloquent terms that I’ve never looked back or questioned my ‘obsession’. Thank you for being the voice for so many of us.
Quoting Brynhild:
I’m new to this site, but I want to thank you anyway for this wonderful article and for sharing your feelings.
I’ve been a “fan of something” time and again all along my life, and what I was fan of always changed my world’s view, somehow. I don’t find that so strange: men are storytellers and stories are the straight way to their hearts. I often find inspiration in stories, if the stories are worth of it.
I think that particularly these days, when it seems that tv shows incline more and more towards the glorification or justification of illegality and immorality, sordidness, selfishness, meannes and pettiness (at least the ones most aired and talked of here in Italy), a show like “Supernatural”, a story where the heroes are real heroes, but not without human flaws, where love, friendship, courage, self-sacrifice, strong will, constancy, and moral choice are the “ethical core” is so rare and so more needed.
Thanks Alice for sharing your personal moments of being a SPN fan or more so as an entrepreneur for this fab platform.
It is the 1st time i m commenting here and just wish i cud know WFB family much more..slowing reading articles here and read the first article u mentioned 🙂
Your articles are very interesting and touching all points in humorous and serious ways. Wud love to read more of your experiences just have one question though–what is Cons and Asylum…Some SPN fest?? Pls share more abt them.
I am quoting this above comment coz i completely comply with it and it pretty much sums up SPN for me. i am very new here and believe me still trying to figure out how does this site works and how to follow all the interesting posts here. I am form India and recently only finished watching SPN1-6 at one go.
Though what i perceived is that this show (which i not just a TV show for me and many here) is very popular at the other end of the world i rarely heard of it here and mostly when i hear of english soaps i hear/see them from much popular network like star and zcafe. But Wb/Cw never hear of these networks telecast here in India so chances of me finding this one of the finest show was very rare until recently when i was coming from college and and had some big bore project to do so in the nigh when bored up i was scrolling down the channels and i found this show on AXN (the network on which most of the shows are broadcast well after there actual broadcast in US)– I stumbled upon- When Levee Breaks (S4E21) and it immediately sucked me in while i had no idea wth these two brothers are fighting for but the chemistry was so profound that i didnt mind if whatever they were speaking wasnt making any sense to me but that gave me one moment of my fan connection
I instantly become fan of Sammy n Dean (J2 though i recently found their actual names) But i didnt get enough chance to follow them on AXN as the telecast time is lil inconsistent but not to mention my schedule was also the same but time to time i had opportunity to catch few Season 5 epis again (very obscure ones..) but in back of my mind i was planning to have all the episodes with me doesnt matter how.
Then three months back search on net about the SPN series and found that Season 6 is on Air @CW network? so after constant praying my elder sister (who is earning and is the only one i can ask for as father wud have slapped me for asking money to buy “some Tv Show”) and now i have all 6 seasons in DVD with me.
And i am now madly in with the two brothers extra ordinary- Supernatural story. Never saw anything like this ever before and this is my first Show and i dont want it to end.
One nagging question still remains after coming to this site as to why SPN is so obscure to mass audience coz i hardly heard abt it from anyone here?? And i wish more n more people get to know abt the show for its long run future success.
Wud love to hear from you more..till then God bless the whole WFB team!!
Dear Alice,
Such a pleasure to read your articles! I am a fan from Pakistan, planning to attend the Asylum convention in London this year and am so very excited. This show has represented an amazing testament to the importance of family and the love that binds us. I throughly feel for the characters, and laugh and cry along with them in equal measure. When something can touch your heart that way, you know it is profound, rare and absolutely special. No matter where we are in the world, the universal themes of Supernatural resonate long after the show is over. Thank you for sharing your passion with us. Rock on!