Will Baer said he counts himself fortunate to have seen his late-night hero, Conan O'Brien, in New York before O'Brien's move to Los Angeles to host The Tonight Show.

"I've been a fan since middle school," Baer (sophomore-computer science) said. "He has a unique sense of humor -- no one tells jokes like him."

Baer said he won tickets to Tuesday night's show after putting his name in on a whim a month ago.

"Conan came on and said to send requests to conangobyebye@gmail.com," he said. "I thought I'd give it a try."

Baer said he left State College Monday and met up with friends from home before heading to New York for Tuesday's 5:30 p.m. taping. He said he had to arrive early to get tickets and be seated.

"I had a fantastic time. I loved it," he said. "He covered several of my favorite segments of the show."

Baer's friend and fellow Conan fan, Jason Siebott (sophomore-biology), said he watched Tuesday's show, hoping to see Baer. Siebott had also tried to get tickets, but said he wasn't as lucky.

"I'm happy for Will," he said. "At least one of us made it."

The final episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien will air at 12:35 tonight. To celebrate his 16-year run as host, Conan has featured many special appearances and segments on the show this past week. Tuesday, Stephen Colbert showed up to challenge O'Brien to an "invisible string dance," while Carrie Fisher of Star Wars fame showed up to free recurring character the Masturbating Bear from being frozen in carbonite, Baer said.

"We had no idea Colbert would be showing up," he said. "I saw the segment on Colbert's show about the dance, so it made sense when he came in."

O'Brien will be taking over Jay Leno's role as host of The Tonight Show in June -- a move Baer and Siebott said they are looking forward to.

"I think he'll get more attention," Siebott said. "His fans will follow, and he'll pick up some of Leno's audience."

Siebott also said he believes Conan will bring his signature humor to his new show -- and he's sure "it's going to be the same hilarious show."

Baer put it in simpler terms: "It's Conan, so I'll watch it."