It's official!

It's official!
David Stubbs Photography

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Live with Kelly & Michael

Dang, that was sure fun. On Thursday, my girlfriend Laura and I went to a taping of Live With Kelly & Michael. Because Laura is a sportscaster for ABC, she got us special VIP tickets, meaning we didn't have to wait in line and got first dibs on seats. (Which I thought I'd feel bad about, but totally didn't.) She also introduced me to Michael Strahan which I'll tell you about shortly! It was an awesome day.


Let me tell ya, I'm no fair weather "Live" fan. I have loved the show for about 12 years. My first job out of college was as a master control operator, which basically meant I got paid to watch TV. I played commercials, made sure the correct show was on, etc. The highlight of my boring early morning shift was 9 a.m. when Regis and his new co-host, Kelly Ripa, came on. I thought her fun and self-deprecating humor was hilarious, and I quickly fell in love with her just like the rest of the country.

Fast forward to this week, and I couldn't have been more excited about the show. I even had my own version of Jersey Shore's GTL (gym, tan, laundry) to get ready camera-ready. Only mine was MHDST (manicure, hair did, spray tan). Unfortunately, Kelly Ripa was off this week and couldn't appreciate my pink nails, but we got to see two tapings, one with co-host Maria Menounos and the other with Whitney Cummings, and both were a lot of fun. (Tip: On Thursday's in the summer they tape Friday's show too, so you get 2-for-1!)

During the commercial breaks, Michael Strahan took the mic and entertained the audience. He's great and so funny! He also liked to explain to us how everything worked behind the scenes.




The best part was when he recognized Laura and came over to chat. In front of the whole audience he said, "Who's with you today?" Laura said, "This is my girlfriend, Jeannie." Then this happened...

Michael: "Hi Jeannie!"

Me: (Blushing and tilting my head down) "Hi Michael, how are you?"

He then welcomed us to the show and told us to have fun. It was the best. day. ever.


The first guest was Harrison Ford. He was there to talk about his new movie "Paranoia." They also had a little fun with him with a segment called "Harris-yes" or "Harris-no" asking him questions like does he go commando, etc.



The second show featured guest, Cuba Gooding, Jr. who's in the new movie 'Le Daniels' The Butler.' He even waved to me coming into the show! (Of course, I popped my top off at this point, so that may have helped.) Totally kidding. I would only do that for Leonardo DiCaprio.


I haven't watched both shows yet, but I saw the beginning of Friday's, and it looks like we got pretty good camera time! (Again, this could be because I popped my top off.)


And the icing on the cake was when Live with Kelly & Michael re-tweeted my tweet with the picture of Laura and me in the audience. For any of you non-tech savvy folks, this is basically the equivalent of the hot, popular guy in school telling his friends that he thinks you're cool. It makes your day.


Thanks to Laura, Michael Strahan and the rest of the crew for a wonderful, memorable experience! It is definitely in the Top 10 coolest things I've done so far in NYC.