I'm a fan (and you should be too) because...
Well, I'm not going to go on and on about why someone should be a David Cook fan. It's simply too obvious.

But I will say that being a FAN of anyone is a completely new experience for me. For example, I have been a U2 'fan' for decades-I really, really love them. And I show this by...well, I buy their albums and attend their concerts if I can. That's it. I don't belong to any U2 fan boards, I don't get invested in the ups and downs of their careers, I don't buy multiple copies of their albums, I don't fly across the country to go to more concerts because I want a chance to meet them just to say "thank you." All these things-and more-I have done as a David Cook fan. And it has been so much fun and so-oddly-meaningful.

I used to think these folks who were "fanatical" fans were weird and a bit sad. That was before I accidentally became one myself. How accidentally? Well, I never watch American Idol-not for years. NEVER. I particularly hate the audition shows. Cruel is the kindest thing I can say about them. But, I used to live in Omaha. I used to write reviews for local theater and music. So, when I had nothing to do one night and saw they were having auditions in Omaha I thought there was a REMOTE chance I would see someone I knew, so I tuned in just in time to see David's audition. I remember thinking-"hmmm, I actually kind of like that guy. Well, we will never see him again because no one I have ever remotely liked ever went anywhere on this show." How glad I am I was so wrong!

But I never thought I would be a FAN, one of those people I always thought were so pathetic. Even after I found myself voting for hours and hours every week. Even after I sobbed uncontrollably when David won. Even after I convinced my very understanding husband to take me to the American Idols concert when all my friends looked at me like I was from Mars when I suggested going. Finally, around when I found myself crouched over the computer at 2 AM because I had finally found a site that played Analog Heart songs and had to listen to the whole thing right then... I realized-I've become one of them... I'm one of those pathetic losers with no life who obsess about some "celebrity!!!!'

But that prejudice has been blown away after meeting so many David Cook fans. They have not been pathetic losers with no lives. Far from it. Smart, funny, kind, beautiful, loving and charitable-in every sense of the word-people are these David Cook fans. I am proud to number myself as one of them. (And I really have a number-Word Nerd #2221)