How Long Have You Been A TMNT Fan?????

[LenniluvsBrian]

I acutally just realized the other night, that I've been a Ninja Turtles fan for 20yrs!!!!!! Can you believe it!?!?! It's been that long already!!!! I'm curious to know how long the rest of yah have been fans - though, I'm sure just as long as me - lol.


~Lenni~

P.S. Alvin & Chipmunks fan for 22yrs, TMNT fan for 20yrs, Jonathan Taylor Thomas fan for 15yrs, & BSB fan for 10yrs!

[Michaelangelo]

18 years for me, I became a fan in 1989.

[Krang]

Since late '89/early '90, so that would be about 17 years for me.

[TurtleTitanMusician]

Been a TMNT fan for 17 years, once they starting playing instruments & formed the band.

[Buslady]

2008 = 20 years. since 1988

Raph specifically, since 1990.

[LenniluvsBrian]

Lol. Little did they know when maknig TMNT that it'd still be around 20yrs later!!!! Whoot!!!!! Hoep TMNT is around Forever!!!!!!    


~Lenni~

[Aignatius]

Since the first movie came out, when was that, 1990?  

[Absaraka]

Since December of 1987.  19 years and counting.

Raka

[LenniluvsBrian]

I heard some song on a commercial today - I think on Much Music - & I SWEAR the song sounded like one TMNT song - gah! What song was it! I think either Coming Out of Our Shells or Walk Straight - I swear the first line was practically the same! But, yeah - just thought I'd share - oh, & it was weird dudes singing it - lol. I was like, "WTF?"


~Lenni~

[Raphael]

Since late 86/early 87 - read the comics before the cartoon/movie/toys came out. Saw the ads, in fact, and couldn't wait!

Been a Beatles' fan since 1981, obsessed over Kids from C.A.P.E.R. in 1976 and have been collecting Aristocats' stuff since 1971.  

[AristaNiara]

Hey, good quiz but I wish you had put gaps in like 10-14, 15-19, etc.  Surprisingly, I've been a fan for 20.  Wow...time has gone by too quickly...

[Aignatius]

Now that I think of it, I had been watching the cartoons with my daughter since '87, but I was more a cynical parent than a fan, then. Heh.
I can say my daughter has been a fan for the last 20 years. Especially a fan of Mikey.

[Mindy]

I knew OF the TMNT since '88 but since everybody and their grandma liked it, I didn't quite care for it back then. I was off in my world and hardly watched much television. I became a fan, ironically when the 80s toon was nearing its completion, in 1996.

I'm really weird when it comes to fandoms; I tend to shy away from popular series. Even though the Turtles have gained more popularity over the years again, I wouldn't dare let it go. I guess I was pretty irritated with all the boys going "TURTLES! YAY!" back when I was 7.

Yay for Lenni always starting cute little topics~

[LenniluvsBrian]

Hehe. Thanks!


I used to play Turtles with the boys! Lol. Though, I think they always made me April - maybe that's part of why I hate her so much now - lol.


I went by 5's just because it was easier on me - my brain didn't wanna think - lol.


~Lenni~

[OnnaRaphael]

Since the cartoon started.  *L*  I used to say 18 years so I guess it's 19 now... I really don't recall.  I should though since I have to whip out the number constantly when people tell me I'll regret getting a TMNT tattoo when I'm older.  

I know I've been a TMNT fan most of my life.  

[Ninjara]

Officially, since 1987, when I saw the cartoon was based on a comic book.  So, it will be twenty years in August this year.

    Since others have listed their other manias....
     The Beatles-1964  
     Raph-1989  
     Metallica-1989

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

Since about 1988 or 1989. So seventeen or eighteen years. I was really young then so its kind of hazy.

But then there was the period between about 1994-1999 where I tried to follow along with the whole "turtles are uncool" thing. That was also when my action figures got tossed. If only I knew how nostalgic I'd be 12 years later.

[LenniluvsBrian]

I never went through the *Turtles are Uncool* thing. In grade 7 or 8 - guys were asking my Shredder's nake - I'd reply with, "Haroku Saki" [is spelled wrong, ah, well-lol]. And then I'd ask what the rabbit's name was "Yusagi Yo Jimbo" or something like that - I prefer to just call him Yusagi - lol. [again, if spelled wrong, oh, well-lol]. They thought it was neat I was a TMNT fan - lol. Tomboy what can I say.


~Lenni~

[Mr._Mutant_Man]

I never went through the *Turtles are Uncool* thing. In grade 7 or 8 - guys were asking my Shredder's nake - I'd reply with, "Haroku Saki" [is spelled wrong, ah, well-lol]. And then I'd ask what the rabbit's name was "Yusagi Yo Jimbo" or something like that - I prefer to just call him Yusagi - lol. [again, if spelled wrong, oh, well-lol]. They thought it was neat I was a TMNT fan - lol. Tomboy what can I say.


~Lenni~

Wow, you're pretty lucky then. In my middle school I was considered a dweeb and nostalgia wasn't in yet, so that wouldn't have ended well for me. I kind of wish I had held on to some of my collection, now that I have a large comic collection some more of those old Archies would have been cool. Plus I had a load of the action figures.

[Danceingfae]

In 2010 it will be 20 years for me. Can't believe it's been so long, i can still remember the first time i saw TMNT on tv. A friend and i were watching saturday cartoons overseas in Italy and they came up with a tv guide like menu before each show started and showed the next two shows following. When my friend and i saw the title we looked at each other and questioned "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...?"

Soon as it started to play though, instant fan for both of us. I don't know if she's still a fan, haven't seen her in forever much less i can barely remember her name, heh...  

[Mindy]

There was a time between when TNM ended and before the 2k3 series started that I didn't involve the Turtles so much in my life. I didn't get the internet at home until 2001 and since I live in the middle of nowhere with very few [or admitting to] liking the TMNT, I shifted away and moved to other fandoms. I was a pretty quiet kid who drifted here and there.

I don't think I'm any less of a "fan" nor do I think anybody is more of a fan just because they never left the fandom. It really helps to have a lot of TMNT fans and events in your area. I'm happy to have found such things now! *lol*

[LenniluvsBrian]

Even when TMNT was on hiatus, I was still in love with them. Sure, I didn't pretend to be apart of TMNT for a while - Power Rangers [even made up my own ranger just for me-lol] was in & my sis would play, as well as friends. But usually, I played by myself in the school yard, muttering what everyone was saying ot myself - they were all imaginary & it was just me against them. Okay, I was, like, 8-11, but still - it was fun! And usually when I muttered to myself, it was after school & I'd the playground to myself. Had to amuse myself somehow!


~Lenni~

[Brinatello]

Yes, there was a slow period in my life where I just picked up Archies and not much else.  I was in love with Archie and Chris Allan's artwork back in the mid-90's.  That's what kept me in love with the fandom and never falling out of it.  Since 1987, I've loved the TMNT and still do to this very day.  

[Ninjara]

It's neat reading about what some of you went through over the years on this ride with the Turtles.  I agree with Mindychan.  It doesn't matter much how long you've been a fan, or whether you left and came back to them.  And it's understandable, the falling away, when taken into account where most of this group is age-wise.  When I think back to where and what I was going through at 16 or 25 years old.....yeah.  It's not as steady, controlled, or predictable as it is now.

   The Turtles rolled into my life when most people my age wouldn't have gone with it.  But there are some things, in my heart of hearts, that I never put away for good, and maybe that's why I was open to them.  Two of those things are animation and comics.  My dream as a kid was to work for Walt Disney Studios.  My dad worked for the company, so I was connected in a sense.  But the industry changed as I grew into my teens......and then I went astray in college.  I became a hippie.  Talk about a lost span of time.  Partying for 8 years can put a dent in your progress report.  

   Anyway, after flip-flopping through another bout with college, getting a degree in animal science, getting married, working, having a kids......I hit a wall.  Life was too normal.  I don't know if 'bored' is the right word.  But I do remember thinking that if this was all life had to offer it sucked.  And one day, I was folding clothes, doing the mommy thing, the Turtles came into view via a commercial......and my world went upside down.

   It was Mike's voice.  He reminded me of everything I'd left behind in Orange County, CA.  The animation, the comics, my imagination that I'd put on hold......my childhood, my surfer friends.....actually that was probably the ticket right there.  His surfer accent thing.  Thank God he was talking like that.  I might not have looked up.

   I never looked back after that.  I climbed on board and never gave this whole thing a second thought.  Odd things have always colored my life from time to time.  But these guys just ripped everything wide open for me, from the cartoon, to the comics, to meeting Kevin in 1989, to now, it's been a magical ride in a lot of ways.  I've met a lot of really neat people, made a lot of  friends, and been to some really cool places.

   I have thought about when the time comes, and the ride is over.......and I question whether I'll be putting this behind me....I don't think I will, or can.  I'll have the memories forever.  That's for sure.
.......And well, Kevin's mom and I have joked about doing a book.
   I dunno.  Maybe we should.  

[LenniluvsBrian]

The Ninja Turtles are the Backstreet Boys of cartoon-land for me. Sure, TMNT has been around much longer in a sense, but still. I mean, cartoon wise I started off loving Alvin & The Chipmunks, then Ninja Turtles - but I'm more TMNT obsessed [though I own more Chipmunk videos-lol]. Celebrity wise, I started off loving Jonathan Taylor Thomas, then the Backstreet Boys - but I'm more BSB obsessed. It seems the ones I haven't loved for as long [though close enough to it] are the ones I obsess over the most. I can handle The Chipmunks & J.T.T. not being around so much or on T.V. all that often, but if you do away with TMNT or BSB I FREAK!!!!! Lol. That is how they are alike for me - that, & I can pick out a turtle [& rat] that reminds me of a BSB.


Raphael - Brian [my faves & I've heard Brian has a temper-lol]
Leonardo - Kevin [he played Leo at Disney World!]
Donatello - A.J. [I think they're both misunderstood-lol]
Michaelangelo - Nick [I swear the Mikey in the new movie looks exactly like Nick!]
Master Splinter - Howie [both peacemakers & are very goof with responsibilities]


~Lenni~

[Leonardo87]

18 years for me, started when I was 2 years old in 1989. Right then and there, my interest of the TMNT was born  

[Lady Mew2]

I been a fan girl since I was 6. So fer 20 yrs now.

[Leonardo the 2nd]

Hmm..I think 15 years for me...and it will be more years. I can't imagine a life without them.

[TurtleNinja]

18 years for me, since November of 89. 23rd of November, to be exact. Was in fourth grade, remember when I became a fan because we'd just moved over to the farm house and my gram just had her double-wide trailer house put up that same year.

Kinda odd, though. I first heard of the TMNT before through ads for the cartoon and toys in the early days, thought it was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard of. Then a couple years later, I came home from school and sat down over at my gram's to have a snack and unwind before doing homework and going home. Turned on the TV and flipped through the channels to see if there was anything to watch and out in the country where we live, especially at that time, heh, there wasn't much.

I don't even remember which episode was on at the time, either, but by luck, I ran across the old cartoon and was hooked. Man, I even remember the channel and timeslot, too. 4 pm, KMSP channel 9 from Minneapolis. I even recall a few days or even weeks after that when I was so hooked, I was trying to get which turtle was which straight.

Been through some rough patches over the last 18 years. I had lots of kids pick on me in school for my fandom and even a couple of family members saying I had "problems"(though I've noticed, they never specified what problems I supposedly had, so they're obviously just looking for ways to pick at me) for being a fan.

I honestly thought I was the last person on the planet who liked TMNT when I was 15-16 years old because everyone I grew up with who was a fan had moved on and they weren't as popular in my hometown. I kept my fandom alive with fanfics(before I even knew what a fanfic even was), starting to write in sixth or seventh grade. First ones were really really bad, I have them but don't even want to think about posting them.

Then we got the Internet in 96 for the first time and I discovered that I wasn't "weird" or a freak, that there were lots of people(including people far older than myself) who were fans. Felt really good instead of being forced to keep it to myself all the time like at school and elsewhere.

Around the time of Next Mutation, I actually didn't let it die out, even when I was tempted. I've sadly backed off in my fandom a bit lately, mostly for a very personal reason having to do with nobody on here that quite frankly, I'm getting over and it's far too embarrassing to even bring up in public. Even if I were to go into detail, heh, I'd do it on my DJ or in the Flame Pit, not here.

So I'm still a fan, 18 years later, hoping to make it to 2009 to make it 20 years and beyond.

[Angelo]

I have been a fan since the recent TMNT cartoons came out which was like 1998 or something. So yer few years now.

[LenniluvsBrian]

I'm enjoying reading all the responses - though too lazy to go & fix my typos - lol.

It's fun being a TMNT fan! And the show knows how to stir lots of emotions within you. You yell at the T.V., you worry when they seem to be doomed [though you know they aren't 'cause TMNT always prevails in the end], you laugh when they say something funny....It's like they're human & you can understand them perfectly. I love it!

~Lenni~

[BubblyShell22]

I've been a fan for twenty years. Once TNM came on, I lost interest, but that interest rekindled when I saw the action figures at Wal-Mart and heard that the new cartoon was out. Since then, I've been a diehard fan.

And, Lenni, I'm also a BSB fan, too. My fave used to be Nick because I had a huge crush on him. I'm getting the new CD today. I can't wait!

[LenniluvsBrian]

Whoot! A fellow BSB fan! I didn't sleep a wink last night because of them!

Anyway, back on topic.....    

I watched TNM only because it was TMNT - lol.

~Lenni~

P.S. PM me! Lol.

[BubblyShell22]

Same here about TNM and Fast Forward. I can't wait for the new direction. I replied to your PM.

I didn't get the CD yesterday, but I'm getting it today.

[LenniluvsBrian]

Awesomeness!

I hope new non-FF episodes of TMNT are on soon - I stopped getting up for TMNT 'cause Cody started to get on my nerves again - lol. Though, the last time I watched - Oct. 13th - I did laugh quite a bit.

~Lenni~

[Nightwatchersonlygirl]

I have been a fan for 17 years same time I have been a Raph fan girl

[BubblyShell22]

I've been keeping tabs on whether they'll say when Ninja Tribunal will be aired. I'm guessing it'll be January of next year, but sometimes things change. I think they're gonna do some FF stuff though. The eps I saw on Saturday were FF ones.

[LenniluvsBrian]

Yay for Raph gals! Lol. Though, like I prolly said before - I used to be a Leo girl, then I fell in love with Raph, & now I love both! Hehe.


~Lenni~

[Calypso]

1989/90, I was either 4 or 5, so that'd be 17/18 years and I've been a Mikey fan since I was 6.

[LenniluvsBrian]

Awesome!!!!!! Raph & Leo keep battling it out on me - haha! Go figure the tmnt pillow case has Leo on one side & Raph on the other. Raph was face up until just before Christmas, and now Leo is - 'cause he matches the sheets & comforter better - haha.

~Lenni~

[BloodStainedWings]

Since I Was Born!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LenniluvsBrian]

Haha. Cool!

~Lenni~