You may be unaware of it, but on college campuses today there are parties geared around airings of Walker Texas Ranger. Students try to top each other coining slogans for the show, and websites share info on the star. Chuck Norris is very much in vogue among the young. The very lack of sophistication in the storylines plays a large part in the show's appeal. Today's jaded young -- at least those who are into Walker Texas Ranger -- are more than a little sick of the navel gazing in Hollywood. A flat out, simple good guy like Walker, with an overabundance of masculine virtue, strikes a chord with them. I think you missed the point of those parties entirely. They have them to make fun of how lame and unintentionally funny Walker Texas Ranger is. That started when Conan started showing clips on his show, and those alone would get a laugh.
Wrong. The parties are not about mocking Walker. The kids who organize them celebrate Walker's prowess and mock the silly plotlines at the same time. Chuck Norris is treated like a demigod by these fans, not a figure of fun.
O'Brien did not start the trend. His writers spotted it on campus and brought it to Late Night.