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Al Roker Reunited With a Man 30 Years After Meeting Him as a Baby on TODAY
It was a reunion literally 30 years in the making.
June 4 was a special day for Al Roker. Amazingly, America's weatherman was reunited after 30 years with a baby he initially met during an episode of TODAY in 1994. The baby (now man), Jordan Burrell, and his father made an appearance that warmed the hearts of millions of viewers (and especially Roker himself). It isn't every day that Roker catches up with someone he once held as a baby!
"Look at how big you've gotten, Jordan!" Roker happily declared when the two men met for the first time in three decades. Burrell himself summed up the wonderful, heartfelt reunion perfectly when he had the opportunity to speak to Roker directly.
Al Roker had a TODAY reunion 30 years in the making
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"It's definitely surreal," fully-grown Burrell explained. "I mean, I was just along for the ride when I was first here, and yeah, now circled back and get to see you again."
In a hilarious moment, Roker briefly jokingly debated holding Burrell in his arms just as he did 30 years ago.
"I was thinking about that, and I thought, 'That's going to be extremely awkward,'" Roker said to laughter from his co-stars.
How long has Al Roker been on the TODAY show?
Roker has been one of the pillars of TODAY for 28 years, ever since he joined the broadcast team full-time in 1996. However, longtime fans know that he's been tangentially involved in TODAY for even longer than that. The throwback video above predates his full-time status on the show by two years, so Roker was no doubt either filling in for someone or appearing on Weekend TODAY.
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That's right; before he became America's weatherman (and arguably the cutest grandpa in the whole world), Roker was TODAY's go-to substitute teacher, always ready to fill in where needed.
All in all, Roker has been with NBC in some capacity since 1978, when he started his career at the Cleveland-based local station WKYC. Time flies, doesn't it?
