What makes anime experts so authoritative?

I've noticed a common thing among many anime fans is that they take anime very very seriously. It's like they desire to be seen as intelligent and a leader when it comes to anime. They want to be known as the most media literate and every word they speak is fact.

Why do they do this? Not even PhD scholars are that hardheaded when they discuss something. Do anime experts simply have more authority on anime than PhDs have in their own field?