Is being a Springsteen fan a cliche?

There is so much backlash and almost public ridicule for being a Springsteen fan I'm starting to wonder if it has become a cliche to actually admit you are one.

I started listening to his music when I was in my mid-teens -- around the live album. I was in Bangkok and found a bootleg copy, dropped it into my yellow waterproof walkman and never took it out. Since then there isn't a day that goes by that I don't listen to Springsteen. I know there are others like me, but I wonder if there wouldn't be more out there who would appreciate his music but don't because of the fact that he is Springsteen and they have a preconceived notion of what that means.

For the longest time people I know sat on the periphery -- they hummed along but never saw beyond BitUSA and then I insisted they go to a show. Then and only then, they were sold. It seemed that when I mentioned his name they would let out a groan and dismiss him altogether.

This past May I was in Paris and wandering around with my custom Springsteen T and the looks I got were amazing! One woman just looked at me, looked at my shirt and said "Springsteen, harrrumph" and walked away. I was blown away. How could someone who clearly could name no more that 2 songs make such a snap judgement about a 30+ year music career? The same thing happens on the message boards, on YouTube and just about everywhere else his name is mentioned.

Anyway - I'll keep exploring this and see what comes up but I wonder how many people out there would become fans had he not released BitUSA or stumped for Kerry...