we'll reveal the identity of "cigar guy," today, october 10, 2010. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good sunday morning, everybody. welcome to "today." i'm lester holt. >> i'm jenna wolfe, rescuers first thought it would take until christmas to rescue the trapped miners but now they could get them out in days. >> i'm sure they want to get out right away, but this is a critical period to bring them up safely. 2,300 feet is a long way to travel underground. we were live when word reached us. the bell rang signalling the breakthrough. what is it like for the men underground? we'll talk to an american miner whose dramatic rescue you may recall. he'll tell us about his experience and what these men can expect coming up. >> and a shocking story from here in new york. was a teen tortured by a group of men for being gay? several suspects linked to the notorious gang are in custody. >> and we'll talk about the phenomenon of 10/10/10. that's today. if you know someone gettinging married you're not alone. thousands of couples are walking down the aisle. they picked this sunday because of the unique date. does the number ten carry special meaning? >> and we'll share laughs with the queen of just that -- betty white. she's having the time of her life. we are all the better for it. i was lucky enough to spend the day trying to keep up with the golden girl. at 88, she hasn't slowed a bit. betty white on life, laughter and twitter, all coming up. >> looking forward to that. first, let's go to chile and the tears of joy from the families of the 33 trapped miners. their prayers were answered when a drill pierced the shelter 2,300 feet below the earth. reaching them is one thing. getting them out is quite another. kerry sanders joins us from the site of the mine. good morning. >> well, good morning, lester. everyone here is in countdown mode. the families today get a chance to do what they do oh once a week. they get to meet via video conference with loved ones down below for about eight minutes. they all hope the next time they see the miners is up here on the surface. the drill turned 622 meters into the earth and that was it. it punched through to the trapped miners. [ bell ringing ] [ cheers and applause ] >> on the surface, the celebrations began. it was as if they had just won the playoffs. a rush of emotion as some wives and daughters pushed past police to thank the team who never gave up. >> we could see the video feed of the miners going crazy. we were going crazy. just the fact that we did it. we knew we could do it. >> reporter: at the controls when the drill finally made it through some of the hardest rock on earth, american jeff hart who had only six hours' sleep in the last three days. >> this is the most difficult, most stressful drill we have done. there are 33 lives at stake. >> reporter: they were drilling wells for u.s. soldiers in afghanistan when they heard about the trapped miners in this desert. >> oh, butterflies, that's for sure. >> reporter: how many men are down there? >> 33. >> reporter: how many days have you been here? >> 33. >> it can't be much of a coincidence. >> reporter: three drills tried to make it to the men. the one that got oh there was paraded like the most valuable player it is. knowing that the moment everyone wants is now closer makes the next days that much more difficult. engineers decided to reinforce the shaft with a steel sleeve, a pipe that will go down 315 feet. the idea is to encase the hole to prevent rocks at the top falling down as the capsule come ohs up. officials determined an order of who will come up first, who will come up last. the first will be the most experienced miners, those who have proven to be calm under pressure and who can help solve a problem if one develops as they head up. the last one, the least experienced, likely 19-year-old gimmy lagas who entered his first mine only four months ago. >> their mental stability has been an issue the past few days. they are so excited to go oh through this and get up to the surface. our oh most concerns are in the younger miners down there. >> reporter: everybody wants to know when they are coming up. the officials here say they are following some advice that was given to them by nasa space agency which consulted them. move at a pace and don't set a schedule. you will know the time is right when it's right. i think it could be perhaps in two, three days. anxious moments here as everybody's waiting to see the miners make it to the surface, lester. >> the impatience is understandable. everybody wants it done safely. kerry sanders, thank you. while we can only oh imagine what those men are going through our next guest experienced it. he was one of nine miners rescued from the quecreek mine in 2002 after being trapped 77 hours. thomas foy joins us now. thank you very much for coming on with us. >> well, thank you. >> can you recall what you were feeling when you knew that rescue was imminent? >> well, when i heard they broke through yesterday morning about 8:00, that was a real good feeling to me. i knew what i felt like. >> explain it to me. >> well, like i said, it's the best feeling you have ever had. you know you're probably going to make it. our situation was we just -- it was rough, cold, wet. we heard the drill and then we heard it stop. then we heard it pick back up about 18 hours later. it was a good feeling to see that coming through the mine there. best feeling i ever had. >> if folks don't remember, you guys were in more imminent peril there. you were up to your necks in water as the water was gushing in. was there concern about making the ascent in the narrow rescue capsule? explain what that's like. >> well, you're down there for that many hours, you just want to -- it don't matter what it takes to get in that capsule. we had a couple big boys, 250-some pounds, whatever. we helped them get in. he was a little bit sick, but we finally got everybody in. that was the best way to explain anything. whatever it took to get the guys in there. if we had to kick them in the you know what to get them going, we got them going and up they went. >> it's been a lot of years since your experience. tell me what the men will likely go through based on what you and your colleagues have gone through emotionally. >> well, once you get out, that's your big emotion. just knowing you made it. that's number one. now we have to put up to see what kind of medical condition, how the guys are going to handle being trapped for -- they were down there 66 or 67 days. i mean, that's hard to tell what kind of -- what's going to turn out to them guys. some of them might be fine. some of them may have some problems. you'll just have to wait and see. i can't speak for them as far as how it went down there, but their situation is -- i mean, they had a place to move around, they was dry, stuff like that. >> but there is a celebrity attached to being in an ordeal like this or a curiosity. everybody wants a piece of you coming up. what was it like to adjust to a normal life? how difficult was that? >> well, for the first few months it was a little hectic. we went here and there and talked about it. all we wanted to do was thank everybody for all the prayers and stuff that really got us out. that's what i'm saying. celebrity, that's out. i mean, i don't feel i'm a celebrity or nothing like that. i just want to show people in the united states or around the world what the united states can do and how they feel about their people and stuff like that. i mean, celebrity, that's out. i don't want to be a celebrity. >> we hope the rescue in chile is as successful as the one that brought you and your colleagues up. thanks for talking to us this morning. we appreciate it. >> all righty, thank you. >> here's jenna. >> lester, thanks. it's been called one of the most vicious hate crimes in recent memory. police in new york say members of a gang tortured and brutalized a teen for being gay. michelle franzen reports. >> reporter: new york city police say the brutal hate crimes took place at this vacant bronx apartment. the first of three attacks happened after a gang beat and tortured a 17-year-old recruit they believed was involved with a 30-year-old man. >> he was thrown into a wall, made to strip naked, hit in the head with a beer can, cut with a box cutter and so domized with the wooden handle of a plunger. >> reporter: the gang attacked another man, dragged the 30-year-old man to the apartment and tortured him for hours. >> this is a terrible wolf pack of nine against woods. >> reporter: seven suspects were arrested aged 17 to 23. one turned himself in. police released a photo of the ninth suspect still at large, 22-year-old are you rudy perez. the crime was condemned. >> we will not tolerate it in the city of new york. >> reporter: the city has seen a rash of anti-gay violence and bullying cases n. the past week three men reported beinging attacked including one at the legendary gay bar stonewall. rutgers university student tyler clemene jumped to his death off a city bridge after learning his dorm room sexual encounter was streamed over the internet. >> we have seen far too many examples of how hate gets twisted into a weapon that can destroy young people and cut short their promising lives. >> reporter: city leaders say the latest attacks show they must work harder to send a message that hate in any form won't be tolerated. for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. >> we're coming up on 12 minutes past the hour. time for a check on the morning's other headlines with carl quintanilla at the news desk. good morning. >> good morning, everybody. we begin in north korea where kim jong il appeared with his successor, his youngest son, at a parade commemorating the 65th anniversary of the ruling party. >> reporter: we have been brought here to see what's been called the largest ever military parade in the country's history and that's saying? ing because practically everyone in this country is in the military. what matters here in this country is who the armed forces support. as long as the ruling family have support of the military they can keep control of the country that's been described as a cross between hitler's germany and stalin's russia. the ranks of the army in north korea will soon be ruled by the next leader in the world's only communist dynasty, a man in his 20s with little experience in global negotiation. he will have his finger on the nuclear button. no wonder the west is worried. back to you, carl. >> itn's angus walker. thank you very much. new jersey governor chris chris ty won the straw poll on saturday edging out alaska governor sarah palin. ron paul came in a close third. tea party favorite rich iatt is wearing eyebrows after being pictured in a nazi uniform. he's taken part in reenactments for years. he says he means no disrespect to anyone serving in the military or affected by war. and jane lynch was the guest host of "saturday night live." ♪ glee is a show about sue sylvester ♪ ♪ sue is the star of glee ♪ you are the character ♪ but sue is the one you want to see ♪ >> now i realize that sounds conceited but blame my cowriter jose quervo. >> she won an emmy for the role. back to lester, jenna and janice. did you see the line yesterday for "snl" tickets? >> they were camped out. but do they ever stop by the plaza? no. >> went right on by. >> they just keep going. >> they didn't want to lose their place in line. >> janice is here with the check of the weather. >> good morning. it's chilly in the northeast. we have a backdoor cold front from the north. that brings a lot of chilly air. temperatures in the 30s in areas this morning. here in new york city in the 40s. cool, but it will warm up this afternoon. that's what's going on around >> good morning, everyone. i'm tony pann. we have a cool start, but it will turn out to be a mild afternoon. mostly sunny skies expected. high temperatures will climb into the mid to upper 70's. thank you. up next on "today," who's the guy that stole all the attention from this amazing tiger woods shot? we found him. right after this. ♪ who are you ♪ another day shoutin] ♪ another dollar ♪ daylight comes [ dogs barking ] ♪ i'm on my way ♪ another day ♪ another dollar ♪ working my whole life away ♪ another day ♪ another dollar i went to the dentist. he was poking around, he found the spots, and he said, "are those spots sensitive?" he recommended that i use sensodyne. i noticed it was working when i was drinking cold things and i wasn't even thinking about it. i never thought a toothpaste could fix that problem. i never thought a toothpaste ♪ happy birthday to you. ♪ happy birthday, happy birthday... ...happy birthday to you. moh-ohm. -do you have your lunch? 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>> this guy here? >> the guy smoking. >> what about the ball? >> even golfers only have eyes for him. >> the guy with the cigar on the right. >> why does everybody notice that guy first? >> reporter: he obviously wanted attention. some speculate his interesting get-up was a tribute to miguel angel jimanez. but now cigar guy has fans and tributes. who needs a distracting, incredible sports photo? bloggers, even respected newspapers portrayed cigar guy winning titles, ruining baseball games, guarding our freedom, watching history, attending tea party rallies, joining sergeant pepper. this is the action. >> yeah. >> reporter: but this is what everybody is fixated on. >> it's the big cigar. >> reporter: sometimes a cigar is just a cigar is weirdly captivating. >> in a world of things where there is so much to look at, if something stands out, it really starts to spread. if it's a little bit funny, that goes a long way. >> reporter: like where's waldo, look at the great lengths attained by strutting leonardo dicaprio or oh sad keanu, prancing michael farrah being held by sad keanu. a giant leap for cigar guy if not mankind. what do you think it says about humanity? >> we are easily amused. >> reporter: these new viral images even have a name. memes. some call them an art form, all online, immediately accessible by millions. one day you're a face in the crowd. in an instant, you're cigar guy. out of the way, tiger. who is that wigged man? he's been everywhere. where will he turn up next? could be anywhere, right? >> no. >> reporter: london's daily mail tracked him down. he's a 30-year-old investment analyst in south london. he describes himself as embarrassed and overwhelmed by all of this. jenna? >> michelle, thanks. that guy was just going to bring a beer but brought a cigar instead. >> it's funny. you hear all the sightings and stuff. we were going through footage yesterday. can we put it on screen. >> cigar guy. >> there he is. >> we had no idea. we're back after this. >> it really happened. purchase. so we earned an la getaway twice as fast. we get double miles every time we use our card. 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