Al Roker has a surefire way of getting in the zone before his early morning TODAY Show broadcasts.
During a visit to “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” the TODAY weatherman and co-host revealed the fun ritual he performs every day before going on the air.
“Every morning, I play the ‘A-Team’ theme and recite the beginning opening,” he said.
oker then reeled off the famous opening lines of “The A-Team,” an action-adventure series that ran on NBC from 1983 to 1987.
“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit,” Al recited rapid-fire by heart. “These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire The A-Team.”
Al has had this morning ritual for years. Back in 2014, he revealed he listened to “The A-Team” theme song every day to get “jazzed” on his way to 30 Rock at 5:15 a.m.
“It gets me kind of juiced up, boom! A little motivation,” he told Colbert.
These days, Al is also focused on motivating others. He has been named the Chief Motivation Officer for the new Start TODAY app, which includes wellness resources including expert-led challenges, recipe ideas, and messages of inspiration.
Al has faced various health challenges in recent years, including a cancer diagnosis, blood clots, and a knee replacement, and he has opened up about he encourages himself to stay active.
“I sometimes have to have a talk with myself. ‘Look, you got to get up. You got to get out,’” he told TODAY.com in January. “Because we are very good at making excuses for why we don’t do something, it’s harder to make an excuse why you need to do something. So I like to let other people know you’re not alone. You’re not out of the ordinary.”
He also said he embraces the idea that “something is better than nothing,” a mantra shared with him by his wife, Deborah Roberts.
“I really was one of those people: ‘Oh, if I can’t get out there for an hour or do four miles I’m just not going to do it,’” Al said on a Start TODAY podcast. “Well, maybe you don’t have time to do four miles. How about two? Something is better than nothing.
