Why can't you defend something without being labeled as a fanboy?

I noticed that anytime I defend something when it's popular to bash it I get labeled as a fanboy. For example when Final Fantasy 7 came out no one said anything about cloud or sephiroth being EMO. It wasn't until Advent Children came out that the whole EMO thing came up. Anyway that is just 1 example, but there are tons. But it seems that me and other people I know can't defend a game or movie or comic book without someone saying you're just a fanboy. Why does just defending something automatically make a person a fanboy?