Good Morning Norrath

Curt Schilling was on Good Morning America this morning to promote the ALS charity event in EQII. So, of course, I recorded it and checked it out this evening.

The EQII segments were split up and appeared throughout the show so a lot of fast forwarding was involved. But the segments went well. I think two factors figured into that:

1. The segments were shot out in Times Square with a live crowd and some awesome looking monitors set up to run EQII. What's more, EQII was actually running on those monitors. The outdoor setting and crowd added some excitement.

2. Schilling's 11 year old son Gehrig was present as well and playing EQII. He is not only cute but articulate and prevented the interviews from becoming stale PR pitches.

Here's the rundown of what occurred.

Segment 1: Lead-in with the famed bloody sock footage. Charlie Gibson intros the segment. He doesn't refer to EQII by name during this segment but refers to it as a video game you can play "on the net." Schilling briefly discusses ALS and how EQII helps him relax. In the background, Gehrig moves from the tower on the newbie island to the beach where he battles a crab. Looks like he's a playing a monk and doing well.

Segment 2: My favorite part of the whole show comes when Charlie Gibson refers to EQII as either "Everart" or "Everheart." Whichever it is, it's not even close to Everquest, which is odd because it's spelled out right on top of the monitor next to him. Someone corrects him from off camera with "Everquest." I'm not sure but maybe it was Diane Sawyer, who is present for this part of the segment. Perhaps she's a closet hardcore raider.

Segment 3: Marysol Castro takes the reigns for this segment. Schilling talks about how the game lets him hang out with his children even when he is on the road. Then, perhaps in revenge for Gibson's error, he forgets the name of the show he is currently on. Marysol is ready to challenge Schill in EQII and goes from a professional demeanor to throwing on a Yankees hat and warning that she is from the “Boogie-Down Bronx.” She sits down at a computer but then launches into the weather with absolutely no transition.

Segment 4: Marysol claims she is "getting her butt whipped" in Norrath. You can see Blackguard (who survived an Aggro NYC pub-crawl this past weekend) in the background of this segment standing about in a purposeful manner for about .5 seconds. Moorgard, you missed out on your .5 seconds of air time! From there we transition to a segment on "Summer Feet" which changed my life immeasurably.

Segment 5: Schilling talks a bit about ALS and even praises the sainted Joe Torre, skipper of the Yanks. Robin Roberts quizzes him on his new sinking fastball which even I have to admit was a well-researched question. Gehrig does a great job of answering some questions.

That's about it, although they do show Schilling and Gehrig at the end of the show in the studio.

All in all, it could have been cheesy, but it wasn’t. The segments were fun and involved every host at one point or another. The EQII PR people did a great job getting the game on a popular television program. Schilling and Gehrig did a great job of answering questions. And most importantly, it raised awareness about ALS which is always a good thing.

You can read about the segment on GMA’s website here. And you can learn more about ALS here. And according to this post you can now use the /ALS command in-game to contribute to the cause.

Schilling is scheduled to pitch this Wednesday evening against the Yankees.