Farewell, Jon

By: Connor Lenahan

Jon Stewart announced his retirement back in February. That’s a real thing. Seriously, I wrote about it and everything.

Tonight is his final show. I’m not sure how in the hell we got here.

The past couple of months have been especially trying for fans of all things pop culture and sports. Derek Jeter, Steve Nash, Steven Colbert the character, David Letterman, and now Stewart. That’s not comprehensive, but that’s a murderers row of some of the most iconic figures that we have had around for the past 15 years.

I think Stewart’s retirement is the one that sticks out the most for me. Nash and Jeter had their bodies begin to break down, they would have to retire at some point after all. Letterman was around for thirty years, it’s not shocking that he’d want to step away. Colbert got hired to replace Letterman, his career is continuing. But Stewart has been a constant force in the news, whether comedic or realistic, for as long as I genuinely have a memory. It’s impossible to think he’s not going to be there.

It goes without saying that he’s one of the most exceptional talents to ever grace the airwaves. With all due respect to his counterpart Colbert, Stewart is, and probably will forever be, the standard bearer for the comedic newsman. A goofy Cronkite as it were.

Stewart has other things that he wants to do, but it just seemed like he would be in that chair forever, no? Slowly but surely the final show crept up on us, and now it’s here. Maybe I’m the only one. I kept thinking it was an extra month away at all times. Jon wasn’t really going to leave, right?

Tonight will almost assuredly be another wonderful retirement special like Colbert’s and Letterman’s before him. I’ll be watching what I refuse to accept as reality. Overall it’s going to be weird. It doesn’t feel like Stewart is meant to leave yet. But here we are.

Thank you for a wonderful run, Jon. Can’t wait to see what you do next.