I agree with you. Most of us on this forum are enthusiast, thus we've been around on many style coasters. But for the GP, Fireball (as well as Boomerang when introduced) were "new" rides SFSTL. Most in St. Louis and neighboring states don't travel far to amusement parks and SFSTL is as close as they ever get to thrill rides.
I believe we are one of the parks to host a convention this year.
I'm hoping the build up to the Chicago area is leading to something great to come soon, perhaps by expanding by Tidal Wave. I'm still hoping for a RMC Boss within the next few years as well.