First, let me give you a little background. Since I was a kid, I would watch Jeopardy with my mom and would be fascinated by how much people knew on a variety of subjects. As I grew older, I was learning more and more and retaining a lot of knowledge from watching TV, reading, and learning in school. I would do so well watching the show, friends would tell me that I should try out for it, and see how I did in actual competition. I wasn't ready for that.
In high school, I was a member of my high school college bowl team, and did pretty well. Something about knowing facts and being able to tell others what I knew resonated with me (but I didn't want to become a teacher). In college, I got away from doing trivia for competition, though would play Jeopardy with my friends. When I was at Kansas State, Jeopardy was on twice a day, once at 4:30 PM on the KC station and then again at 6:30 PM on the Topeka station. My friends would watch the 4:30 showing without me, then would watch with me at 6:30, and even though they had the answers, I would still beat them. I know it sounds like bragging, but it is true.
I moved to Pittsburgh in 1997 for grad school, still watching Jeopardy almost every day. In 2000, I found the online test Jeopardy offered every January/February and would take it every year, trying my hardest to get on. I never passed the test. Then in January of 2012, I finally made it past the online test phase.
I was invited to an audition in New York City in June of 2012. Luckily for me, my wife is from Long Island and we were in town already that weekend, so it wasn't much to stay a little longer. I went to the audition (and it was the first time I had ever been in Manhattan), and came out of there thinking that I wasn't going to be selected. The audition was pretty simple:
- Practice round of Jeopardy
- Practice interview (which I hated, and still do)
- Another 50 question test
Fast forward to October of 2012. I'm sitting at home watching TV and get a phone call from California from a number I did not recognize. I'm wary of calls from unknown numbers, so I ignored it. When the same number called my cell phone, I knew I had to answer it. That's when I got the news that I was selected to appear on Jeopardy!.
My wife and I went out to California in the second week of November for the taping to take place on November 14, 2012 (which happens to be my brother's birthday). I was selected to appear in the day's second taping (which would correspond to airing on TV on March 26, 2013). I don't know if anyone couldn't tell, but I was extremely nervous. But once I started playing, I was able to relax, until the dreaded interview section of the show. I still hate that part. I did well, ending in third place after Double Jeopardy when the category of 1990s came up for Final Jeopardy. I was lucky that the answer had to do with spaceflight, and neither of my opponents knew the answer. I won which surprised the heck out of me (and my wife).
The second taping didn't end up as well as my first taping, but looking back, I knew some things I would have changed about my strategy. But the guy to whom I lost was a really sweet guy and deserved to win. I was so happy for him. You might remember Tom Carroll who had a great story about trying to get on Jeopardy for 40 years, and he finally made it and won!
Everyone I met at the taping was really nice including the production staff and the other contestants. I didn't really get to meet Alex except for the above picture and after the show was over. I know we talked about something if you watch over the credits, but I don't remember what it was.
The hardest part for me was keeping it a secret how I did until March. My family, friends, and coworkers who knew I had gone on had tried to get out of me how I did, but I couldn't say anything until the episode aired.
All in all, it was a great experience, and I would love to do it again if given the chance.
No comments:
Post a Comment