The news of Anya possibly coming back has us all excited, but is it really the right decision? A longtime Anya fan takes a look at risks Anya faces if she comes back.
Playing devil's advocate on Anya's comeback
by Chris
Hi, Everyone! No doubt you're all aware of the possibility of Anya coming back. The news has everyone, including myself, excited about Anya showing the world why she's the queen of long hair again. And while this has us all excited, it got me wondering if this is really the right decision. So with this post, I as an Anya fan am going to play devil's advocate and take a look at why Anya coming back may not be the best idea.
First, let's remember what it means to "play devil's advocate":
to pretend to be against an idea or plan which a lot of people support in order to make people discuss it in more detail and think about it more carefully
Let me state before I begin that:
1. Like with everyone else, I love Anya with every fiber of my being and will support her 100% no matter what she does. I was a longtime fan of her site for 10 years and am proud of that. I'm still a fan and will always be one.
2. A post like this wasn't easy for me to make and showing an argument against her doesn't mean that I'm no longer a fan or dislike her. You can be a loyal, loving fan of a band or athlete and not like every single thing they say or do. This is just showing the other side of the coin on her coming back. You know if she asks us all about whether or not to come back everyone will say "Yes". So I was just curious to look at the other side of this as if someone were to say "No".
3. This post is not meant to be offensive, insulting, mean, etc. toward Anya or anyone else. It's just simply to look at one side of an argument. We have plenty of reasons why it would be great for Anya to come back and they're all sound. However, there are reasons Anya should maybe reconsider and I do think they're also sound. I hope you all can at least give me respect for having the courage to make a post like this. And this is especially considering that I'm a longtime Anya fan.
4. My idea behind this is to look at it as if a famous actor or athlete were making a comeback and the risks they face when they do this. We've seen comebacks be successful and we've also seen comebacks be failures.
5. I didn't want to put this with Anya's thread because I was concerned it would get lost in the shuffl with all the "Yes!" answers. I figure with a separate thread we can examine this better and discuss this intelligently.
Anyways, let's get to it.
1. If she comes back, how long before she leaves again? How long before age takes its toll on her or that she's past her prime?
Anya had 16 great years as a long hair queen online, but do you see her lasting another 16 years? You have to wonder how long Anya will do this if she comes back again before she stops permanently. And while the idea of Anya stopping permanently is something we don't want to think about, you know it's inevitable. Pro athletes can't play sports forever. Porn stars can't do porn forever. Strippers can't strip forever. Actors can't act forever. I think Anya still has plenty of gas in the tank, so to speak, but I just don't want to see her come back and have her last only for a certain number of years and then stop again. Maybe it was better for Anya to stop while she was still good. I've said that I'd rather have her stop while she's still good than to stick around and be bored, jaded, past her prime, etc. Not saying this was the case while she was around, but I was just saying that you want your favorite actors and athletes to stop while they're still in good form.
We know Anya won't be doing this at 80 or 90 and she said herself she doesn't want to reach AARP years. I think we all want to remember each year of hers as being great. When we think of, say, Michael Jordan we want to remember his days as a Chicago Bull and not as a Washington Wizard. We want to remember Brett Favre as a Green Bay Packer and not as a New York Jet.
2. Despite her best efforts, things just may not be as good as before.
We've seen comebacks of famous actors and athletes and despite their best efforts at what they do, they're just not as good as they once were. Now saying something like this about Anya is not something I want to even think about, but even the best people at their professions who come back just can't do things as good as they once did. I'm not saying this will be Anya's fate. But there is a risk that whatever material she releases if she comes back may just not be as good as what she released in the past. It's hard to pinpoint why stuff like this happens when it does happen even though you work hard at it. But we can't say Anya is immune to something like this possibly happening.
3. New generations of long hair queens competing against her
Granted, Anya has only been gone for a few years, but I'm sure that if she comes back she risks competition from other up-and-coming and potential long hair queens. Now I don't know who exactly fits the bill in terms of up-and-comers (perhaps Meana Wolf) and I'm sure the list right now is small, but still, I think in time there will be others that will give Anya competition. Of course outside of Leona we know Anya is in a class by herself, but it won't be easy for a veteran like Anya to go against long-haired women who are younger than her, have as good of long hair as her, etc. Maybe it's better for Anya to step aside and let some of the younger, up-and-coming talent to have their time.
4. Risking hurting her legacy if she comes back and it doesn't go well or not as good as before.
I said before that when we think of our favorite athletes and actors we want to remember them at their best. We want to remember as many of their good years as possible and not remember any years that were bad. And this is especially considering if they comeback and their comeback years aren't as good as their prime years. Anya's 16 years can definitely overshadow any not-so-good years she has if she comes back and they turn out not so good. However, any not-so-good years she has will still be a black mark on her legacy that she, and the rest of us, will have to live with. Perhaps it's better to stay gone and leave her legacy secure as it already has been.
5. She left unexpectedly before, what if this happens again?
It was always a mystery on why Anya left. It still is in fact. But regardless of what happened, it profoundly impacted her and caused her to stop after 16 years. What if something else happens in the future that makes her unexpectedly stop? Granted, this is a long shot, but it's not out of the realm of possibility. I'm sure we didn't expect anything unexpectedly to happen before to leave, but it happened.
Anyways, thanks for reading. I hope you all can at least see this as an intelligent, level-headed, non-judgmental look at what Anya negatively faces if she comes back. No matter what happens, her legacy is secure and if there is a Long Hair Hall of Fame she's a guaranteed member. I've said I support her 100% no matter what she does and I still stand by that in addition to the fact I still love her and am proud to be her fan.
Regardless of what she does, I have and continue to wish her all the best.