But I did and still do feel some connection with him, since he was always my late-night host. It just so happens that I haven’t watched any late-night shows religiously for a long, long time. I watched Late Night through my prepubescent and adolescent years if I was up that late. Some point along there I started watching The Daily Show as well — even before Jon Stewart was the host. Remember Craig Kilborn? Sure you don’t.

But once I hit college, those TV viewing habits fell to the wayside. It wasn’t just late-night shows, it was practically all television. In the years that followed, I got into The Colbert Report for a little while, but even that interest quickly faded.

And this was how it went until it was announced that Conan would get The Tonight Show. Conan! It was what all his fans had been waiting for. I naturally watched the last few weeks of his awesome show and eagerly waited for his new gig. Little did I know it wouldn’t last a year.

And maybe it was my fault. Maybe it was all our faults. His fans didn’t watch his show nearly as much as they did years ago, and the people who loved Leno weren’t about to warm up to Conan. My parents are probably not indicative of their age group, as they actually love Conan, but it’s not like they stay up to watch late-night shows. So we all failed. Sure, it was really Jay Leno’s fault, but Conan was made expendable by his ratings.

And for being part of the problem, I do not deserve to display his banner.

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