As Cordner Nelson liked to ask, “What kind of fan are you?”<\/p>\n
CORDNER NELSON (see p. 35 for his obituary) \u2022Collectors Of Statistics \u2022Competition Lovers (fast times don’t matter; head-to-head competition reigns);<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022Prognosticators (picking winners ahead of the meet provides the rush);<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022Scouts (who can be first on the block to tab an unknown as a superstar-to-be?);<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022Technique Specialists (enjoying the nuts & bolts of how it’s really done);<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022Special Collectors (one who travels all over the country to see some specialized barrier, like every \u2022Enthusiasts (the broad-based fan, who samples some\/all the other categories).<\/span><\/p>\n In summation, Cordner said, “If I had to be only one of these 7 types, I would choose to be an I last talked about Cordner’s categories in this space in December of ’06, and at that time I Personally, I’ve always been a Statistics Collector kind of guy, lately leaning towards morphing into a Contributor.<\/span><\/p>\n The rise of the Internet and its omnipresent chat-rooms has caused me to realize that there’s yet another category of follower of the sport. It’s one of the most important there is, but it’s small, and on its way to becoming an endangered species.<\/span><\/p>\n Who are these hard-to-find people?<\/span><\/p>\n
\nproduced much of the best writing ever seen in the pages of T&FN<\/span>\u2014or in any
\nother track source, come to think of it. Through the years, we were so
\nenamoured of one of his best pieces, dealing with the various kinds of fans
\nthat can be found in the sport, that we ran it multiple times. Cordner divided
\nfandom into 7 distinct types:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n(the numbers can be more important than the meet);<\/span><\/p>\n
\nsub-4:00 mile).<\/span><\/p>\n
\nEnthusiast. To them, everything else is a bonus.”<\/span><\/p>\n
\nidentified what I considered category No. 8, and that’s the Contributors. Those
\nwho spend a lot of their own time and money making sure the sport keeps running
\nat the competitive level even if it co-opts much of their ability to actually
\nwatch meets.<\/span><\/p>\n