What's the Point to "Fanboyism"?

I'd like to think of myself as a game enthusiast. I play all sorts of games, I read magazines about games, I read articles about games on the web, hell I want to design games for a career. So I'd like to think I know a fair bit about my chosen medium. Now my question is, What's the point to fanboyism?
As the good majority of people on this website and others like it show at least a hint of fanboyism, most of you know what the term is. But for those without a clue. A fanboy is a person who supports only one system. They show up in droves to bash any other system and if anything bad is said about "their" system they go straight to the expletives and mud throwing about every other system. Usually the case is that its a person with an Xbox and a Wii, or a ps3 and a wii, or whatever...and yes always with a wii because people are hypocrites and don't consider the wii as a console on par with the other two. And to those people its not like having a gameboy, it's a legitimate console and the good people at Nintendo enjoy having everyone's money. Fanboyism has been around since gaming has hit pop culture. PS2 vs Xbox, PS1 vs Saturn/DreamCast vs N64, Sega Genesis vs TurboGrafx-16 vs SNES, and cause I'm sure there were fanboys for these too, Atari 2600 vs Magnavox Odyssey.
Now I understand that most people do not buy multiple consoles, especially if they go for 400 or more bucks on release. So people get used to one system and have a familiarity with it. This familiarity leads to people wanting to buy the next console made by whoever made their last one. If I played a ps1 for 5 years, I sure would want a ps2 and not have to learn a completely new controller and game configuration. I also understand that if someone voices an opinion, positive or negative, about a game you enjoyed, or the console you play and have fun on, you might have something to say in return. However I do not understand intensity that people show toward "their" console. Voicing a counter point about why you think another person is wrong is one thing, saying "[Insert Console Here] sucks, you suck, go die" is not a counter point. It is a statement that proves you are five years old and couldn't argue with the point they were making. The sad thing is the army of fanboys that post such things are not five. They are much older and should know better.
I own an Xbox 360, and owned an Xbox, and I also own most of the Nintendo consoles. Does that mean I am a Microsoft fanboy or an Nintendo fanboy. To an extent I suppose, I will tend to say more positive things than negative things but do I rabidly defend them and hold them on a pedestal? No. I accept the problems the consoles have and I enjoy playing other consoles when I have a chance.
As far as games go, the pure asinine comments I hear. "KillZone is sooooOO much betTaR than hal0!!111!", "Uncharted 2 kicks Gears of War's ASS!!" "Halo 3 are the best game eVAR!" (poor spelling and grammar added for realism). I have played the God of War games, I have played the Uncharted games. I have played the Gears of War games and the Halo games as well as the multiplatform games. They are all good games. Who cares that you can see the eye gunk on the corner of Nathan Drake's eye, or that a chainsaw on a gun is the best idea since sliced bread. It's great that you enjoy the graphics of your game, the sound effects, the story, the whatever of your game but stop comparing it to others like the other games don't know what they are doing. Every game has its ups and downs and if one fanboy cannot see the good in another fanboys game just because of some preconceived notion of superiority, than that is just plan immature and sad.
So one might say, "There will always be fanboys and fanboyism. There is nothing that can be done and it will continue as long as there is competition between console manufacturers." Well, I say yes and no. Yes, as long as there is competition between consoles there will be fanboys. No to nothing being done. People can better educate themselves about other systems. Play a game on a console you dont have at a friend/roommates place and see what you think. Don't instantly bash KillZone 2 just because you enjoy Halo 3 more. If you see an article saying how great or bad some game or console you own is, don't just go the message board for that article without reading the article and post, "You suck and don't know anything and everything you say is stupid and bla bla bla" you get the point. You might be surprised but what is actually said in the article and might find insight in it instead of instantly posting crap. And if you still disagree with what the person had said, than form a well formed counter point explaining your point of view on the matter. That way you turn the conversation into an educated discussion about an issue people care about and people will want to read the discussion and weigh in with your thoughts. Or you could start a flamewar and have everyone disregard what might have been a great well written article. The choice is yours, just ask yourself, What is the point to fanboyism?