Debi Does Fan Expo Speed Dating
This year marks the second year in a row that 25Dates.com has set up shop at Fan Expo, and according to site founder Ragna Stamm’ler, the turnout is even better than last year.
Tucked away in room 803A/B, the Fan Expo speed dating is an event that shouldn’t be missed, especially if you’re looking for someone to share your love of all things geek. While most of the spots have been reserved in advance, it’s still possible to participate, as there are the occasional no-shows. While that may seem daunting, the odds are definitely in your favor, as Ragna boasts a 98% match rate for the Fan Expo speed dates.
To put their claims to the test, I took the plunge…
My one and only true love, except maybe the Doctor…
This is my first time doing speed dating. Normally, I think it would be pretty daunting, but knowing that these are fellow geeks and comicon goers made me feel a bit more at ease (at least I wouldn’t get scoffed at right off the bat for being a geek!) Having said that, the room wasn’t quite as full as I thought it would be given that on the website it said all the male spots were full. Also, last year they organized by the type of genre you’re into (eg: comics, video games etc), This year they didn’t do that, so it’s kind of a mixed bag of what kind of geek you’ll encounter.
Now, if you’re a noob like me, here’s the lowdown. You basically get about 3-5 mins with each person and when the organizers ring the bell, the men move one seat over and you start again. After starting a few chats rather awkwardly and hearing on more than one occasion, “Oh, you’re into Doctor Who” because they can see I have a big TARDIS tattoo on me, that line gets rather old, especially when they don’t follow up the Doctor Who reference with any chat about my favourite Mad Man with a Blue Box. There also seemed to be a pattern of “comic book geeks” and I don’t read comics, so there goes that.
Catwoman was my fierce competition!
When all is said and done, I only came away with two possible connections, and that’s being generous. Everyone i met was very nice and to be honest, you can’t really complain since 25Dates.com does these speed dates for free for Fan Expo goers, but I think the biggest issues are that I’m in my 30’s and everyone I met there was in their 20’s. So even if I made a connection, my age range is certainly not the bracket that these dates are directed towards.
Spidey won my heart!
The Fan Expo Speed Dating continues throughout the day on Saturday, with multiple sessions at 1:00, 3:00, and 6:00.
