Except people who were "nerds" were moreso out of interests, they didn't have a desire to be a football star (even though they may have desired to have the social clout).  

People who are virgins are so because... they can't attract women.   Its a base value judgement, because the assumption is that a heterosexual man will always want to have lots of sex if he can (a good assumption).  So if you aren't, then you have problems.

The dynamic is completely different, even if some of the implications are similar.  They aren't equivalent, "virgin" is far more visceral and damaging.  Women can love nerds.  Women can't love virgins, its inherently a sign of less worth as a man.  This is a generalization for the mainstream slut culture, it doesn't apply to communities that still value religious values and hold sex to be sacred to marriage.