Steve Irwin, we hardly knew ye

I remember when I first heard about Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. It had to have been sometime in the mid-1990s. A friend said to me, "You've got to check out this crazy Australian guy. ..."

My friend tried to explain to me why I needed to and why "this guy" was so crazy, but he didn't do a very good job of it. But sure enough, I got around to watching that new show Crocodile Hunter and I saw what they were talking about, even though the guy wasn't actually hunting crocodiles, just socializing with them.

Irwin loved animals so much he went nutso around them and damn near got himself eaten every time he held one up for the camera. What's not to love about a show like that?

I must admit that I did not watch his shows as often after the first year or so. One can only watch crazy so many times and be let down by the end. I never even got to see his movie, which came out in 2002. I was probably one of the few who thought it looked good--stupid, but good.

I first heard the news of Iwrin's death in the oddest of places: the inside of an elevator of a parking garage. As the door closed to the elevator in Silver Spring, MD (coincidentally, the home of Discovery Channel's headquarters), I saw someone had scribbled "RIP Steve Irwin." I figured it was a joke of some sort until I found out later it was not.

Crikey.

Getting stung in the heart by a stingray is no way to go. Getting trampled by a herd of buffalo, or eaten by a much-beloved crocodile--that's the way to go.

So on behalf of SeriouslyGuys, I say, good on ya, mate.

Why couldn't it have been Jeff Corwin?