Five years ago....

Five years ago, our nation was stunned into disbelief. We watched as the Towers fell, the Pentagon burned, and an isolated spot in the woods was searched for aircraft debris. We grieved with the families of the victims, we sorrowed for the lost heroes, we feared for our lives and our livliood. We sat silent in shock, watching the horror unfold.

There was one thing that we knew with certainty, our lives would no longer be the same. We suffered from a loss of innocence, and we would never be able to go back.

As I remember, I still feel awash in emotions. And, words still fail me.

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From Fan to Fanatic, the Origin of SNAFAM

Four years ago, I was a casual NASCAR fan. I enjoyed watching the races. However, I had no problems getting up in the middle of a race, running an errand, to come back in time to see the end. If I missed the race, I would record it, and maybe watch it later. I rarely watched more than a Cup race in a weekend, leaving the Busch and Truck races alone.

At some point, all of that changed. I hit a point where I became a Fanatic. In hindsight, here are some of the tipping points.

• I work for a sponsor, and the driver came to the work site for a meet and greet.
• I checked out his website, and his message board.
• I lurked on said message board, and then one day decided to join in with an occassional post.
• I ordered up Trackpass, and suddenly found that I could keep better track of my driver.
• A post on the message board talked about a channel called SpeedTV, with a nifty show called INSIDE WINSTON CUP!
• I discovered two great websites where there was an infinite amount of news, CATCHFENCE and JAYSKI. I spent hours a day surfing for the slightest bit of information.
• I attended my first race..... Oh MY!

Then, deeply enthralled, I found myself going futher into FANaticism.

• My posts on the message board became more frequent. I found myself immersed in discussions of race strategy, and racing history.
  
• I began haunting the local bookstores for books on NASCAR, both current and used titles.
• I helped start a race chat, where we could discuss the races LIVE.
• My weekend appointments became centered around the racing schedule. I bought a PDA to keep them all straight. All forms of NASCAR racing were on my 'watch list.'
  
• I flew across country to join about 25 of my newest best friends from the message board.
• I won tickets to a race in the next state. I planned the schedule to arrive HOURS early, much to the disgust of my husband. (I saw my driver win that day!) When we were home the next day, he sent out an email to friends and family, calling me
  

Supreme NAscar FAn Merri

(Being a SNAFAM is ever so much better than being a TRUE fan, don't you think?)