Today is Top Gun Day, according to the organizers of Top Gun Day. They explain the holiday this way on their website, TopGunDay.com:
"Well it’s like talk like a pirate day, only way cooler because it allows you to quote Top Gun all day long, wear aviator sunglasses (no matter how cheap), pretend you’re a fighter pilot ('it’s time to buzz the fridge'), play volleyball in jeans, and drink Hemlock–wait, wait–I mean ICE water."
For those of you who lived in a cave in 1986, Top Gun is a movie starring Tom Cruise as young Naval aviator Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell...
...one daring young flyer [who] learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.
Hubba, hubba. That scorching-hot quote is from IMDB.com, referring to Mav's romance with one of his instructors.
Maverick is a student at United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program - a.k.a. Top Gun - which at that time was located on MCAS Miramar (then called NAS Miramar).
In fact, quite a few scenes in the movie were shot in San Diego-area locations, including Kansas City Barbeque, and the aptly-named "Top Gun house" in Oceanside.
The movie has been credited with reinvigorating interest in the military. As Yahoo Movies writes:
Acknowledged as the greatest promotional movie for the U.S. Navy, "Top Gun" changed the landscape of Navy recruitment. From recruitment booths to tour buses, there was a steady rise of people interested in Naval aviation. People went crazy over aviator shades and new haircuts inspired by the "Top Gun" stars' hairdos. People were talking about the "need for speed."
All I know is that I was in eighth grade when the movie came out, and every boy within a 50 mile radius of me seemed to be quoting the film ad nauseum, answering every question with, "I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Ah, memories.
What are YOUR memories of watching Top Gun? Have your say in our comments section.
