NYCAviation on the Today Show - December 16th (Date Change!)

[CTNewbSpotter]

> I have always loved aircraft and while I don't know the specifics of astro physics<

I can assure you you aint the only one on this Forum that could say that. :lol: :lol:
The "Big Bang Theory" this isnt.
Welcome aboard. :)

Sometimes I am shocked on airliners.net how much people know about aircraft weight, and various details. I look at a 777, or A330 and think, "wow what a pretty aircraft." I couldn't tell what the MTOW is though!! :lol:

[robertprince]

Hey guys,
First of all, Roker's smarmy comments notwithstanding, I don't think you came across as nerds or anything like it. Our hobby is a lot like collecting, and really, who cares if Al Roker or anyone else finds it uninteresting? I'm sure some of the things he finds fascinating would put others to sleep. It really doesn't matter; we do what we do to please ourselves, that's what hobbies are about. Al Roker can make his best case for why he thinks plane spotting is boring and I'll bet any of us could make a good case that someone who thinks plane spotting is boring probably lack traits that we are proud to have: A love of flight, a sense of adventure and romance, an appreciation for the unbelievable ability of human beings to develop the technology that took us from Kitty Hawk to the 747 in 66 years. I'd guess most of the viewers this morning found Roker to be a self-absorbed boor. He reminded me of a guy at a party who thinks everything he says is so witty and clever while everyone else is laughing at him behind his back.

Keep in mind the job these people came to do: Take several hours of preparation and filming and distill it into a 5 minute segment that is entertaining. This is their one and only goal. It is not to be precise, not to get the names right, not to convince viewers it's a great hobby. They strive to amuse and entertain, because that's what makes people watch, that's what drives the ratings, that's what brings in the bucks.

After the filming is done, the first job of the writers is to decide the "hook" that the story hangs on. It's pretty clear what Roker's choice was. I'd say it was a poor choice. He made the story about himself. I found him boring, self-aggrandizing, and unprofessional. Every second he was on-screen would have been time better used exploring the topic. I think an impartial critic would see it the same way.

In the end, truth always comes out. Plane spotting is a very cool, interesting, and gratifying pursuit, and I'd guess most people who saw the segment came away thinking so. They probably also thought Al Roker is a horse's ass!

[sirloin]

Wow. There are ways to gently get the point across that it isn't your thing, and then there's the Al Roker method of not really even being nice about it. For being a host on a TV show where they're supposed to be nice to the point of looking like goobers, he royally dropped the ball.

Good seeing this site get some nice recognition, though.

[T-Bird76]

I really have to say Al Roker is just plain rude in this segment. There really is no reason to put down other people's likes and hobbies.

[moose135]

My favorite comedian, Lewis Black, talks about Al Roker in an old bit that I've always loved...

http://comedians.jokes.com/lewis-black/ ... he-weather

[Flying Tigers]

I totally forgot about this until I saw someone post something on Twitter about NYC Aviation getting a medal for putting up with Al Roker's punk ass. Indeed.

Overall it wasn't a bad piece. They did a pretty decent job explaining the hobby, and the opening "Resevoir Dogs" montage was pretty sweet. I wish they would have used more quotes from people like Phil explaining why they were into it, instead of showing clips of you guys pointing cameras at the sky and saying ish like "Wow the colors on that tail are nice". It also doesn't help that you had that fat bastard faux weatherman busting on you every other moment. I think the problem with Roker is that he's supposed to be there for comic relief, but it looks like his cranky mood had him making fun of the hobby rather than having fun with it. Shame.

But like they say, any publicity is good publicity. Plane spotting is kinda obscure and misunderstood, so raising awareness of the hobby might possibly bring more people in and soothe the fears of the "what the hell are those guys with the cameras doing, call the police" crowd. And plane spotting is damn sure cooler than metal detecting and hunting for mythical creatures. Seriously, who does that?

-Gabe

[PhilDernerJr]

Welcome to the site, Gabe! Some good points to add!

[Midnight Mike]

It was a nice piece, and yes Plane Spotting is a nerdy hobby and for that matter, so is bird watching, butterfly collecting, collecting comic books & stamps.

Remember, these shows are supposed to be entertaining and informative, which I think they did, sure they made fun of you guys a little, but, they also gave you kudos as well, take the good with the bad.

[Nick]

I felt like Al Roker was hosting his own version of the show " Bull**** ". But, knowing what you guys are about it was easy to disregard his desire to learn nothing about your hobby.

[Mayi757]

I just saw it now, I don't think it was that bad other than getting ppls names wrong lol (lame). Other than that, some cuts reminded me of a video from the Beastie Boys :D

AL is a clown (who isn't funny) and so he just acted clownish, what else could one expect? Behind that smile and making himself look too cool for "planespotting" most people who watched this can figure out there's some type of insecurity behind trying to spin plane watching as something for weirdos, but I can tell Ann actually enjoyed it LOL. Given the title of the segment, she had to appear to agree with Al Roker at the end.

Too bad I couldn't see Theresa giving her 20 min long explanation lol didn't even see her on the video? and more 'planespotter' footage instead of Al's childish and rehearsed facial expressions would've been nice, but oh well. Phil's response was ace and made his point very well.

Awesome!

[maestra80]

Too bad I couldn't see Theresa giving her 20 min long explanation lol didn't even see her on the video?

Uhhhhhhhh, maybe that's 'cause you didn't look hard enough Bunghole!! hahaha I saw Theresa several times during that video. But yeah, her 20 min. long explanation was noticeably absent...:(

[NIKV69]

Bunghole!!

[Mayi757]

Too bad I couldn't see Theresa giving her 20 min long explanation lol didn't even see her on the video?

Uhhhhhhhh, maybe that's 'cause you didn't look hard enough Bunghole!! hahaha(

Yeah, how about I kick you in the nads, turd burglar??

Now that I see that video, perhaps AL would've enjoyed himself more if someone would've done the cornholio as he was trying to be funny and asked him if he needed any.. TP??

TP for your uhh.. huhuhuhuh!

[PhilDernerJr]

Talented aviation blogger Dan Webb posted this article about our Today Show appearance:

:arrow: "Dear Al Roker - Shut Up" (click)

[MarkLawrence]

Should be interesting to see if that elicits anything from the said Today Show hosts......