May, the fact is though that there is some behavior that is normal for teenage girls. It is irritating and eye roll inducing but ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s developmentally appropriate. The same cannot be said for adults who decide to play OTT fangirl.

Which is why I said in my post (first sentence) that the rules should apply to everyone unless you are not an adult . (read above post) Teenagers in my opinion are not adults. Nonetheless, I think my point about ageism just went completely over your head.

If an older fan goes to a show and actively tries to behave like she or he is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“50 going on 15à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ³ then they deserve all the eye rolls and mocking they get.

Niall, I think that SashaB’s point is that this should apply to everyone, regardless of age (unless of course you are not an adult). I agree that the behavior of some of the fans at AI concerts is embarassing and I hope that such behavior is limited to Idol concerts. However, it makes me uncomfortable when we start singling out a group of individuals just because they are over 40 and apply special rules to them. David has always said that age is just a number and I couldn’t agree more. I doubt that I’ll enjoy music any less when I’m in my fourties, so I can only hope that when I do hit that age, I will be able to freely rock out at concerts without getting mocked or labeled as a cougar.

And doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t this fly in the face of the first line of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Declarationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ll take you just the way you are.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ?

It does, because David would take us just they way we are. It’s some of his fans and detractors who are posting here who might not. People in this thread have been providing varied opinions, but none of those opinions represent David.
He’s not the one putting stamps on people because of how old they are, which gender they belong to, or how they choose to express themselves in public. We are.

However, on a practical level I will cringe if this demographic does mob David Cook and jeopardize his career with silly behavior. Ideally his audience would consist of beautiful, buff, hot, edgy young men and women who are in all ways cool. Preferably they will have good piercings, tatoos, the best clothes, be pleasantly diverse in a cool way, you know, the proper racial mix, some with spiky ‘scene’ hair and others with blonde prom queen good looks.

They can rock out to the music and scream and applaud but nothing too silly, please. ‘Must be enthusiastic but look knowing, like they ‘get it’.

So, who is sending out the memo and doing the audience pre-screenings?

And doesn’t this fly in the face of the first line of ‘Declaration’? “I’ll take you just the way you are.”?

So I gather that a ‘good’ middle-aged fan of David Cook would have the decency to stay out of sight, or if, God forbid, they do attend a concert, keep a very low profile. The truth is, that is exactly what is needed, but I think it is a sad comment on our culture.

Is Catherine Deneuve a cougar? How about Sophia Loren? Not every culture demands that women take to the veil after a certain age. It is much nicer to be a middle aged woman in France, David Cook seems intelligent and educated enough to recognize prejudice when he sees it. Another reason to respect him.

I don’t follow Daughtry or Carrie closely, but I’m assuming that tardish behavior was exhibted with them during their respective AI tours. I am hoping that Flat Carries and Flat Daughtrys don’t pop up when they are touring now. Actually, that’d be kinda funny to see a row of Flat Daughtry’s bopping. I mean, how does one travel with a Flat [Insert Idol]? Do you put him in your trunk or put him in your passenger seat? What if you have to take the subway? LOL. Sorry, that’s so bizzare that it’s actually making me laugh now.

* Status as a normal older fan excludes the following behaviors:

Bringing a stuffed unicorn
Flat David
Driving to the event in a tarded up car
Making sparkly signs to hold up in hopes of getting his attention
Grouping with 20 others from the fansite, all wearing homemade DC shirts, and herding together all night to bitch about how Kim Caldwell isn’t good enough for him.

I sure hope he appreciates fans like me and his younger fans need to respect that ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s best to have a huge & diverse fanbase in this tough music business.

David’s never shown anything but the utmost appreciation for support from fans of all ages, so you’re safe there. I think getting himself out there to the non-AI audience is crucial to his longevity in the business, whether that non-AI audience is young or old, I don’t think matters. A college tour can only help because if you look at AI demographics, it can be a mostly untapped audience for DC. That said, I am a “younger fan”, and I love that DC has a diverse fan base so long as they’re not carrying embarrassing signs and wearing AI T-shirts to shows. I also realize that while college age music fans might shell out for live shows, they don’t always tend to pay for their music… so I’m sure DC and his label are not going to do anything to alienate the older, paying fans anytime soon.

The OTT older fans have ruined it for all. Fair or not, theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve created the stereotype, going all the way back to the Claymates, of middle aged, overweight, and overinvested fans, often with religious over or undertones.

I’m an older fan but I’m not a “cougar” by any means. I didn’t even know what that meant…until recently. Do I think David Cook is a good looking guy–sure–I’m not dead but please….he could be my son. Now there are some fans out there who think a particular contestant this year is the second coming of Christ with an “angelic” voice and face which freaks me out.

I just like rock and I like David Cook’s music and I have the money to buy his CDs, download his music, gift his music and go and pay top dollar to see him at a concert. Will I book a plane to go to his concert. No. Will I follow him from concert to concert? No. Will I go to a college concert? No, but if he hits the Verizon Center here in Washington, D.C. you bet I will. My grandchildren (aged between 5-7) would beg me to take them to the concert if he came and my daughters would also mainly because they are always broke and never have any money.

No David Cook has fans of all ages and they are both male and female. I’m sorry folks, but my generation was breastfed on Rock music and we are f******g happy someone talented like Cook has shown up on the scene.

Now would I wear a David Cook T-Shirt to a concert?–OMG NO.
Would I sport a sign with anything on it?–OH–PLEASE……..
Would I go to any concert with mostly tweens there screaming and looking like they have stars in their eyes. ( OH HELL NO!!) Would not be caught dead there!
Would I listen to or buy music that tweens faint over. HELL NO.

No, I would act like anyone else going to a concert. I like rock, so the heck with how old I am…. I also busted my butt voting for the guy so I sure hope he appreciates fans like me and his younger fans need to respect that it’s best to have a huge & diverse fanbase in this tough music business.