On 3/1/2017 5:01 PM, wrote:
On Wednesday, March 1, 2017 at 5:44:37 PM UTC-5, Jonathan St. Cloud wrote:
SNIP And what the heck does an American motor sport have to do with
gliding?

NASCAR is still the most popular in-person spectator sport in the U.S.
American football is the most watched, including on TV...
Good, thoughtful, assessment on "soaring participation considerations"
snipped...

....so I can quibble about a stat that was making the aviation press rounds a
few years ago, i.e.: air shows are America's most watched sporting activity.
(I saw it in several magazines, so it *had* to be true.) Since - so far as I'm
aware - no one/agency seeks to actually gather and "census-ize" airshow ticket
sales, so...take *that* NASCAR!!!

BTW, throughout a considerable portion of my misspent and extended youth, I
went to LOTS of airshows...even saw a few sailplanes (3 different pilots, to
be exact - long before those noisy jets came along) in 'em too! Take *that*
NASCAR!!!