Aviation Interest?
Jerricho,
"Do you require an interest in aviation to be an Air Traffic Controller?"
My answer: No.
I have known excellent controllers who know absolutly nothing about aviation (other than what's necessary to control traffic). They could care less about planes - "don't know and don't wanna know." This is particularly true in the Enroute environment, but I've even seen it in the Tower. An interest in aviation could even conceivably be a dissadvantage; I'm thinking of controllers who, because of their aviation backgrounds, try to "get into the cockpit" and fly the airplane rather than control sector traffic.
That being said, as a pilot and a person who grew up hanging out at the airport, I think I have just a bit more love for this job than someone who's just playing a well-paying video game for a living.
Rich