Affection for Second Edition

Since its inception, the focus of this blog has been on the first decade of the hobby of roleplaying – 1974-1984 or thereabouts, though I have regularly strayed outside this arbitrary period of time when the mood struck me. I did this because I felt this was the most interesting era of the hobby and also because the latter half of that decade was the period of my own introduction to it. Obviously, I continued to roleplay after 1984, but I long had the impression that most of my regular readers came here out of interest in the Golden Age of Dungeons & Dragons and other early RPGs.
On those occasions when I have wandered outside the confines of that seminal first decade, I've noticed much more interest than I would have expected. This is particularly the case with posts relating, even tangentially, to the Second Edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. There is a marked increase in the pageviews and comments on posts about 2e, so much so that it frankly surprised me. There is, for example, much more interest even in posts gentling mocking the art of Second Edition than there typically is of my Pulp Fantasy Library entries. 
My surprise at this is entirely the result of my own myopia. Though I played 2e and even enjoyed doing so, it's never been My Edition. Likewise, when I finally abandoned playing Dungeons & Dragons in any form, it was during the Second Edition era, which probably clouds my judgment of it and its relative popularity. I've said before that, on reflection, I don't bear any ill will toward 2e and, in fact, don't think it's nearly as bad as its reputation in some old school circles.
I now find myself wondering both how widespread is the nostalgia for Second Edition and whether or not its fans feel that they're judged unfairly by aficionados of earlier versions of D&D. Because I only interact with a small sub-set of the larger old school RPG fandom – and likely a peculiar one at that – I have no real sense of how beloved AD&D 2e might be in the wider world. I can only say that, based on the response to my few posts about it, there's clearly some affection for it among my readership and I find that fascinating.
So, Second Edition fans: what do you think? Is 2e treated like the redheaded stepchild of the old school world or is it widely celebrated? I'm very curious about this, since I don't interact often with people whose favorite version of D&D is Second Edition AD&D and I'd love to know more about its place in the pantheon of RPGs. Please, enlighten me.