Non-autistics are more obsessed, and force them onto others

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Football was a special interest of mine for many years so I find this entire thread kind of amusing.

NT are much less likely to have special interests than ND; they mostly have obsessions.

"Special interests" are intellectual. You are very interested in learning all about the thing. You're usually eager to share what you learned. NTs can usually regulate that desire to share and understand when someone else doesn't care.

"Obsessions" are emotional. You care very much about the thing without actually knowing it in any depth. Most sports fans are very passionate about the team, but they don't actually know the rules in any depth and only know the highlights of the team's history (if they know it at all). Because it's an emotional connection, not an intellectual one, it is usually unrestrained by pesky things like logic and facts.

Furthermore, sports fandom usually involves tribalism. My tribe is best and everything they do is right, and every other competing tribe is wrong and sucks because they're not my tribe. Sports is the classic example, but see also Marvel vs DC, Star Wars vs Star Trek, WWE/WWF vs WCW or AEW, and Republicans vs Democrats.

It's possible for something to be both an obsession and a special interest.

Aha! So that's what they mean by 'autistic people have special interests'. They mean 'not sport' if you're a man. And 'not shopping' if you're a woman

I think it's the opposite of a "special" interest: it's a "default" interest that it is assumed all normal people will be obsessed with. In their worldview, everyone likes the footy / celebrity gossip / whatever, so it's always a good topic of conversation and must be covered exhaustively in all media.

Umberto Eco wrote a funny article about how random men on the train always try to talk to him about football. He imagined what it would be like if he got in there first and started grilling them on their views about Baroque recorder playing. Well, we get to live that dream!

My NT dad is super into baseball and was convinced to join a virtual league competition thing. He couldn't be bothered with it, so my 75-year-old Autistic mother who doesn't watch sports took it over --- she ended up winning the whole thing in his name. She was always genius with information systems.

When my work staff meetings turned into weekly football discussions it was my cue to leave the company. (Well, first I tried to make it fair and inclusive but nobody seconded the alternatives I offered.)

Not only they are obsessed, they actually attack and kill each other over some stupid football match too! Where i live its very common