Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson still says one of the highlights of his 40-plus-year career with the Canadian power trio was the Glasgow Apollo crowd loudly singing 'Closer to the Heart' during their 'Permanent Waves' tour in 1980 - a moment captured on the band's epic "Exit Stage Left" live album from 1981. And 1992 Formula 1 world champion Nigel Mansell famously said the noise of the Silverstone crowd actually gained him laptime.
The point of my constant display of affection for Rush and Mansell's hyperbole is this: Fans are an integral part of an event.
Aside from the fact that they pay money to attend grands prix and concerts, it is their devotion to whatever it is they love that is vital to that thing's existence, and ultimately then leads to more people growing aware and becoming fans. And so the cycle continues.