This study investigated fan identification and serious leisure of attendees at CooperCon, a gathering of researchers, experts and other enthusiasts interested in the infamous and unsolved 1971 D.B. Cooper skyjacking case. The case has experienced a resurgence of interest in recent years, and an online community has developed dedicated to researching, debating and solving the case. CooperCon is the only event where this online community meets face-to-face, providing a rich resource for investigating their leisure behaviour and the outcomes they may experience. Questionnaires were distributed at the event to measure independent variables—identity, unique ethos, fanship and fandom—and dependent variables—personal rewards and social rewards. Multiple regression analysis was run to determine the relationship between variables. Results indicated that fanship was associated with personal rewards and fandom was associated with social rewards.
Eric Knackmuhs (Thu,) studied this question.