The date: October 28, 2006, 9:15 p.m.
The place: 23rd Street between 7th and 8th avenues.
Sighted: "Sam Champion wearing jeans and a sweater. Boy, he is really good looking! He was walking with the guy he has been rumored as seeing — the manhunt guy — who is also very good looking. They were both strutting down 23rd and then hailed a cab. The manhunt guy opened the door for Sam and Sam got in first. Isn't that cute?!"
If "the Force" were a metaphor for "how to live an openly-gay lifestyle in Manhattan while simultaneously remaining publicly closeted in order to further your career as a newsman," Sam Champion would be Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anderson Cooper would be Luke Skywalker, and Star Wars would be fucking awesome. You see, way back when the Coop was still at Yale, daydreaming about how he would look in one of James Bond's well-tailored suits, Sam was seducing the tri-state area with his golden locks as our local weatherman.
Now, while we obviously love the man, it was with some trepidation that we watched as he got the nod to go national back in August. Because, while building a love nest down the Jersey Shore with Mike Piazza is okay, and kind of awesome, when you're the local weather guy, you just know that's not gonna play well in the red states. We are happy to report though, that Sam seems to be handling the exposure with his typical panache. Sure, there's been some dancing around the issue, but other than that, not much seems to have changed.
Back in April, Sam started dating a guy named Sean Bell, or, as the tipster calls him, the manhunt guy. And as we can only assume from this sighting, the relationship is still going strong. In addition, Sam is still being profiled in pieces like this, where his love of doing the hustle to Donna Sommer's "Bad Girls" is mentioned without even a hint of irony. It really does warm the heart. Good for you Sam, and don't ever forget where you came from. Or the gold lam shorts you wore on the way there.
