All-Access

It's 4pm, New Year's Eve. I'm laying in my hotel room, trying to nap after six hours of hoofing it around Manhattan. Halfway down the block, the crowd has gathered in Times Square. A countdown begins, even though it's still light out. "4... 3... 2... 1..." and with a outburst of cheers, New Year's has been rung in for St. Petersburg.

I try to roll over and tune it out, but there's no sleep. The biggest party in the country is starting right next door and, thanks to one of my good friends who happens to work for Dick Clark, I have an all-access pass.

Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve '10 is filmed at the ABC studios overlooking Times Square. It's the same studio where Good Morning America is shot.

We stopped in the day before to pick up our passes. Here's the view out the window.

Times Square, Dec. 30

We spent the rest of the day doing a whirlwind tour with my buddy Chris who lives in NYC and was kind enough to give us the nickel tour. The night ended at the karaoke bar where my friend Tom rocked the house with Don't Stop Believin' (he's the only guy I know who can actually hit all of those formidable notes) and I did a passable Kermit the Frog on Rainbow Connection.

5pm the next day, we walked out of the hotel to go to dinner. The police presence made a bold first impression -- the officer on the street toted body armor and an M16. Huge concrete blocks cordoned off the street and we were checked for our hotel keys as we went in and out.

By 8pm a light rain began to fall, but we reconnected with Chris and headed down to the studio to watch Mr. Clark rehearse.

Covering the crowd for ABC

Times Square, New Year's Eve

Despite the chilly rain, the square was packed. See those gated off pathways patrolled by the cops? Our passes gave us free rein to go up and down the square. It was truly a bizarre experience to stroll through the middle of the crowd as we pleased.

As we left the studio to check out the square, another member of the production stopped and handed us three wristbands. "Be at the live stage at 10:05 if you want to see Daughtry play," she said.

Next thing we knew, we had a front-row spot on the show.

Daughtry warms up

Rockin' it like an Idol

Once the set was over, we headed back to the Green Room to warm up. (Yet another advantage of our all-access passes.) J-Lo and Daughtry had their own buses and Dick and Ryan Seacrest had their own dressing rooms, so there was no celebrity ogling to be done.

Instead, I ogled the GMA pinball machine.

Custom pinball machine in the Good Morning America green room

We belong together, like Traffic and Weather.

Triple your score with Diane Sawyer

My buddy Tom had to take care of some business for the show and we didn't want to be too far up the square when midnight hit so we didn't get to see J-Lo up close. Fortunately Times Square is constructed entirely of televisions so you just had to turn toward the closest building to watch her perform.

Then it was time for the big event.

Sailors waiting for the ball to drop.

11... 10... 9... 8...

Happy New Year!

The rain dampened the fireworks and confetti a bit, but it was still an amazing experience. Cops hustled J-Lo and Ryan Seacrest through the crowd, couples kissed, people shot picture after picture after picture.

And then, it was over.

The aftermath

We shuffled through the rain puddles and past the abandoned ponchos. The crowd dispersed into the bowels of the subway, although we could still hear revelers loudly ringing in the New Year at 4am. (I'll never forget the woman I saw walking down the wet sidewalk barefoot at 1:30am, gold spike heels in hand. That's something I wouldn't do on a DRY SUMMER day in NYC.)

Then, after four hours of sleep, it was off to the airport and back to LA.

All in all, an amazing experience. I got to enjoy the benefits of being an insider without any of the downside. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime event.

-Tom, who now has one REALLY skewed perception of life in New York.