Magic Jewball

Confession: I’d like to say I was a big Conan O’Brien fan but I really can’t. That’s because I haven’t actually watched any of the late night shows regularly in, oh, about fifteen years. Except for sports, news, reruns, and true-crime specials, I couldn’t even really tell you what’s on TV. But like any trainwreck fan, I began watching The Tonight Show a couple of weeks ago when the whole “Jay v. Coco” drama started happening. Truth? I didn’t even know Conan was hosting The Tonight Show. I thought his show was still in New York. But I have followed this avidly and I couldn’t help but feel, as most people seem to, that NBC and Jay were being classless and acting like idiots. I’ll admit, it helps that I’ve always thought Conan was funny and that Jay was… not funny. And I like Dave better than I like either of them, but he doesn’t figure into this except for the fact that I’ve enjoyed watching clips of his remarks about this on Gawker.

But the more I watched Conan the last couple of weeks, the more I became his actual fan, rather than just an “I’ve seen a few of his shows – funny!” person. And when I watched his last show with his classy words about NBC and this statement, I felt I had to to use a word I rarely if ever do. I think he’s my hero.

Let’s go to the videotape.

But in case you don’t have access where you are or you don’t want to see Conan get choked up, this is too important to miss, and not just because this entire post makes no sense without it. He said this:

All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch, please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it’s my least favorite quality, it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard, and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.

I mean, did he have to mention being kind? I bet he could have gotten where he is without being kind and just doing the hard work part. And even though I would say that I’m not against cynicism per se, it’s not the kind of cynicism that’s the opposite of being kind, which is clearly what he means here. I just feel overwhelmed that he would make kindness the final message of his show. Go Coco! And when you come back, wherever you are, I’ll be watching.

Title comes from the name of a classic Supergrass album. In case you forgot the 90’s, the hit was:
Supergrass – Alright