CHICAGO _ When Frank Robb swooped into Chicago and swiftly caught the Humboldt Park alligator, he instantly became a local celebrity. It looks like some of that fame has carried back to his native Florida.
After Robb reeled in Chance the Snapper on his fishing rod, he took a victory lap around the city, throwing out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game and turning on Buckingham Fountain.
Back in Florida, local media latched onto the story: Chicago's amazement with a professional gator catcher was amusing to them, it seems. The saga of Robb and Chance was chronicled in The Tampa Bay Times, The Miami Herald and TV stations across the state, among other places.
He also got a chance to try his hand at a weather forecast on Jacksonville's WJXT-TV, mixing in some gator-related weather tips.
Robb told several Florida media outlets he plans to visit Chance the Snapper in his new home at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park this week, and expects Chance will recognize him.
"He will be a rock star in St. Augustine," Robb told The Tampa Bay Times. "And I'm looking forward to seeing my buddy. That alligator and me are bonded for life."
