I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm kinda sad about Steve Irwin

[LynneSin]

I watched his shows a few time - I thought they were pretty much kinda dumb. But then again I'm a 30-something single gal who prefers shows along the line of "Sex and the City", "Entourage" and "Lost".

Although I don't have kids, I have nieces & nephews and I have friends with kids. And those kids loved the Crocodile Hunter. Even my mother likes him because he was a guest on Regis & Kelly (and my mother loves that show). But for the kids it was a goofy show about a goofy guy that goes stalking after creatures far & wide. But that goofiness was paydirt for the kids who I know my nieces and nephews adored watching that show when they were younger. And the fact that they LEARNED something about the show created by a bit of a goofball made it even more appealling to kids & parents alike.

So don't mind me if I'm simply stunned by the negativity around the death of Steve Irwin. I mean, gosh, I could expect this if it was Barney but Crocodile Hunter was an important show geared towards the young and the young at heart. His show built the Animal Planet network (a channel that my one niece didn't have on her local cable and started a writing petition to get it.)

So stop acting like a bunch of 'know-it-all-elitist-liberals' - Crocodile Hunter, you will be sorely missed!!

[tigereye]

1. the whole thing is incredibly sad

regardless of how people felt about his style of interaction with creatures.

[LynneSin]

3. You know, I lost my dad when I was young

So I can imagine how heartbreaking it's going to be for those two kids, growing up without their dad except through reruns on Animal Planet.

:cry:

[Crazy Dave]

6. But what a wonderful gift to leave behind

His memory immortalized forever for them to see. Some of us have so few, just memories and a few fading photos.
Videos cameras were only used by the news before I left home for the service.

[LynneSin]

7. I can barely remember my Dad's voice

at least those kids will have that

[qwertyMike]

28. Yeah, an 8-year old

Duh

[tigereye]

10. it's so unfair when kids lose a parent

:hug:

[MrCoffee]

2. i agree...i liked Steve Irwin

his show was good for a laugh. and he taught me how to take down a 15 foot croc simply by diving on its back. which is good to know.

[LynneSin]

4. One day you might be confronted face-to-face with a crocodile

and you'll be damn glad to know how to deal with it.

[MrCoffee]

5. that's what i'm saying...

i thought he was quite engaging on tv. there was a time when steve was part of our saturday mornings. we used to watch him all the time (and this was before the kid was born, mind you). i'm bummed that he's gone.

[gatorboy]

8. I became incredibly bummed upon hearing what happened.

And that surprised me because I can be as staunchly cynical as the next guy. We watch Animal Planet quite a bit and I guess it really hit me that we're not going to see nothing new from this man ever again.

[xchrom]

9. i'm sad that somebody who was so exciting to kids is gone.

does that make any sense -- he wasn't my television cup o'tea -- but man could he reach kids.

he told kids they could LOVE animals -- that they should love animals.

and i felt like that's what it was about.

it's very sad that he's gone for that reason --

[XemaSab]

11. When I was, like, 5

my favorite TV show was 3-2-1 Contact! I used to look forward to that show every day after school.

I'm now a scientist, and who knows? Maybe it was watching 3-2-1 Contact!

I also really liked shows like Wild America and Nature, but not with the same sheer awe.

A whole generation of kids are learning that science is cool and that animals are cool from shows like Crocodile Hunter. Hell, I spent a whole summer in a trailer in South Carolina watching that show with my fellow biologists. But if even a handful of kids who watched that show grow up to be passionate about conservation and wildlife, I think it's totally worth it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/321_Contact

Looks like I was all about the 1980 version. Good times.

[XemaSab]

12. Dude.... here's the intro... nostalgia city...

http://www.tvclassic.net/programs/321contact/321CONTACTVIDEO.ra

[deucemagnet]

13. My niece used to do a Croc Hunter dance she learned...

...from watching The Wiggles. She also has an action figure of Steve and Bindi (the croc, not the kid). I think she was about 3 at the time, so Steve Irwin was reaching kids at a very young age. I'm kind of curious how my niece will react to the news (she's 5 now), or if my sister will even tell her. What a bummer. :(

[KurtNYC]

14. My sister - a former grade school teacher

loves to relate the story of grading papers where the kids had to certain words in a sentence. The sentence that got her was:

"Crikey, look at that croc!"

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. I'm with you, my dear LynneSin..........

I am very sorry for his family first.......those kids without their dad is a tragedy, no matter how you look at it.....

And the fact that there won't be any new shows.........that's sad too.

I loved his energy, and enthusiasm........

He is definitely gone way way too soon........

[nemo137]

16. I think my roommate said it best

"You can make whatever jokes you want, but he died doing what he loved. You can't beat that."

[judaspriestess]

17. The entire world is sad about Steve Irwin

Australia is offering to have a State funeral for him. That is how much he was loved.

[Deja Q]

18. There's far more positivity surrounding him.

Another DUer said "8 positive threads compared to 1 negative thread".

And given that we all die, what the living to do help each other surely has more merit than telling us how deadly some animal is; particularly when the gross majority of us will only come within 30 feet one of one, and that's only when we go to a zoo.

He's done a lot of good, no doubt. And he's only hyped up because he's got charisma.

When the bloke who did all the "Nature" tv shows (PBS) narrations dies, who will be hyping him up? That's right, nobody.

[Haole Girl]

19. Steve Irwin saved my life, says diver

Steve Irwin saved my life, says diver

By Peter Mitchell
September 06, 2006

AN American diver who owes his life to Steve Irwin says he was shattered to learn about the Crocodile Hunter's death.

"He saved my life," an emotional Scott Jones said today from his home in Iowa.

"I've lost a good friend."

Mr Jones was part of a tragic scuba diving expedition in the Sea of Cortez, off the coast of Mexico, in 2003.

Mr Jones' friend, 77-year-old Katie Vrooman, died during the dive after a sea surge knocked her twice against rocks. Mr Jones fought to hold on to her unconscious body for almost two hours and, while hanging off rocks and floating in the water, attempted to resuscitate her.

Eventually Mr Jones had to let Ms Vrooman's body go and he spent a harrowing night alone perched on rocks.

In a lucky twist of fate, Irwin and his film crew happened to be in the vicinity shooting a documentary and heard an SOS call on their radio that two divers had gone missing.

Irwin, who had never met Mr Jones or Mr Vrooman, decided he would abandon his film project to try to find them.

Mr Jones was precariously sitting on a rock outcrop dehydrated and scarred from being battered on the rocks.

Irwin, dressed in his khaki shorts and shirt, dived in the water and swam across to save Mr Jones.

At the time, Mr Jones did not realise Irwin was a celebrity.

The quietly-spoken Mr Jones said he had heard of Paul "Crocodile Dundee" Hogan, but not the Crocodile Hunter.

"After they got me on to the main boat, Steve helped me get my wetsuit off me and he went below to do something," Jones recalled.

"Somebody behind me said 'So what do you think of the Crocodile Hunter?'

"So I was looking around for Crocodile Dundee. I thought when the makeup comes off Dundee's looks must change.

"But, when I finally got home my daughter turned the Animal Planet channel on and I started watching his show from then.

"It was wild. He was jumping on crocodiles and things like that."

Jones and his wife Deborah sent flowers to Irwin's wife, Terri, and kids, Bindi and Bob.

They are also planning a trip to Australia to speak to his family.

"We'd love to go to Australia and tell his wife and kids just what a great man he is," Mr Jones, who declined to tell his age, adding it was a secret, said.

"He was a hell of an educator, from kids all the way up to old farts like me.

"He was a hero."

Mr Jones, an experienced diver, said he was surprised a stingray, "one of the most gentle creatures in the ocean" caused Irwin's death.


http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20362783-1702,00.html

[Critters2]

21. Anyone who rescues an Iowan

and lots of crocodiles, is okay by me!!

Vaya con dios, Steve-o!

[Lisa]

20. my boss unexpectedly mentioned this today

He's a pretty serious scientist, and I don't think he even watched the show -- but he just came up and started talking about Steve Irwin. He said that after he got seconded to the UN Environment Programme for a couple of years, he thought that his right-wing mother-in-law would taunt him for being a "UN stooge". He was totally shocked when he found out that she adored "The Crocodile Hunter", and was bragging to her friends about how "my son-in-law is saving animals, just like Steve Irwin". Actually he was in the Nairobi office arranging project funding and meeting government officials, and hardly ever in the field, but she'd heard the word "conservation" and assumed that this was what he was doing.

He said that he felt he owed one to Irwin, because if "The Crocodile Hunter" had managed to get through to his M-I-L and others like her, he had done some real good in the world. My boss added that the last time there was a family gathering, they'd actually managed to have a civil discussion about global warming, because he was able to talk about habitat destruction being a real problem (thanks to Irwin always going on about how important it was to save wildlife habitat) -- and this somehow bypassed all the stuff she'd been fed by Limbaugh and Co.

[Cannikin]

22. He entertained countless kids and adults alike

His death is tragic.

[blondeatlast]

23. He inspired so many youngsters to care about nature, including BAL, Jr.

My son is/was a big fan, and developed an interest in natural science fueled by the Crocodile Hunter.

I haven't had the heart to tell him yet.

His memory will live on.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

24. I am too...

I used to get my kids pumped to watch nature shows with an Aussie-sounding "Danger...Croc Week!", "Danger...Shark Week!", or "Danger...Blue-Footed Booby Week".

I always figured he'd go doing what he loved...with a foolish mistake of some sort. I always thought he was a little too sure of himself to avoid that one fatal moment. But I loved his show anyway. I thought he was terrific.

[LostinVA]

25. Me and the SO are, too

[Taverner]

26. I'm definitely sad

The man was 100% environmentalist, and yet proved this with the male ego

And for the life of me, I really thought he was invincible.

Not easy to do...

[qwertyMike]

27. Not me

Did you see him hovering his baby over some 'gator?

http://mostemailed.xidus.net/index.php?tt=40104&l=-1

He was in it for the Fame and the $$$$'s

Leno does it better

Next it will be a State Funeral for Brittney and Michael J.

He could have educated us much better about animals, and left a baby girl with a sane father.

Prick

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

30. Go do some research into what he actually did with his money & fame.

M'kay?

[qwertyMike]

32. Hope he put some aside

for his daughter's graduation, wedding, baby christening.

Psycho

[ForrestGump]

37. Why don't you put some aside

and use it to buy a clue.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. I thought he was great.

Yes, he was kind of goofy and hyper, but he had such tremendous enthusiasm and such obvious love for the animals. He was a showman, but that's not a bad thing because his enthusiasm was contagious, and I can't imagine that there are many other people who have done as much as he did to get people, especially kids, interested in nature and animals. It was always obvious he wasn't into it for money or fame -- you could see he just loved being around those animals. He took risks -- but anyone who works with wild animals takes risks; just ask Siegfried and Roy. Wouldn't it be great if everyone could love their work like he did... and I suspect that some of the negativity and snarkiness that we've seen here (unfortunately) probably arises from plain old envy.

I'll miss him...

[dolo amber]

31. Steve Irwin on the Larry King show:

"I believe that the time has come where if we don't get animals into people's hearts, they're going to go extinct."

:o

[Fenris]

33. ...

:yoiks:

[idgiehkt]

38. here's the transcript (link):

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0609/04/lkl.01.html

It drives me nuts I can't find the video online...does anyone have a link to it?

[RevolutionaryActs]

34. I'm really sad. My heart goes out to his family.

My dad died when I was ten of a massive heart attack. One minute he was there, the next he was gone. No time for good-bye. So my heart just breaks for his kids. At ten, I felt like I never really got to know my dad, so I can't even imagine if I had lost him when I was only eight (like Steve Irwin's daughter), or at two and half (his son). :cry:



At least they will have his show, and all the TV interviews. So they can look back and see what a huge personality and loving spirit their father had.

[qwertyMike]

35. My Mother died of cancer when I was 16

Mourn the living not the dead.
I'm 62 and my life was . . . well it didn't include alligators

[SammyWinstonJack]

36. I think it's sad. I think the World lost a bright light and I feel so

bad for his family.

[ashling]

39. Rachel Maddow said that the Aussies

have offered a state funeral if his family wants.