Now we as nerds have been known to, on occasion, geek out about things. If you combine our obsessions with our excitability one can quickly find themselves with a new hobby. Who among us hasn’t wanted to wield a broadsword after seeing Lord of the Rings or brandish a bullwhip with Indiana Jones level of precision or, hell, join the Marines after exiting 300?
I personally caught myself driving home on my bike at 120 mph after seeing The Dark Knight, started fencing as a lifelong reaction to The Princess Bride and have lofty ambitions of designing a full set of armor inspired by Game of Thrones!
However the geek activity du jure is the summer of archery! Between The Hunger Games, The Avengers, Brave, & Arrow you can’t turn on a movie without a badass flourishing some fletching. The Los Angeles Times featured an article earlier this year saying that sales of archery equipment is up over 20% for the year; with attendance at the National Field Archery Assn.’s World Cup tournament up 40% from the year before. Whether we want to admit it or not, Hollywood plays a big part in showcasing and highlighting trends that then became mainstream. Pre-Hunger games, Pre-Lord of the Rings archery was the domain of hunters and renaissance re-enactors. Today, the Games paints it as sleek and a tool of rebellion, LOTR as smart and lithe, Brave as a symbol of independance, Hawkeye as precise and powerful, and Arrow as vengence personified in patience. With so many shades and some of the biggest franchises in history backing it, it’s no surprise that archery is putting up some very big numbers as “hunger games fever” (as it has been so affectionately dubbed at my local range) is poised to enter it’s third month with no signs of slowing down. Classes are filling up hours in advance and even for long time members parking and range time is at a premium.
