2010-B College Championship quarterfinalist: $5,000 + a Nintendo Wii + the Wii Jeopardy! game.
Jeopardy! Message Board user name: amandaj
Amanda J. Ray
University of Virginia
November 12, 2010
After a fantastically absurd day of travel (delayed flights, missed connections, tandem bicycling through the streets of Los Angeles… wait, what?), I finally arrived at the hotel where I would be staying. I had Sunday free to explore LA, and went out to lunch and to check out downtown with my mom. I went to bed pretty early on Sunday though, because I knew I would have to be ready to go at 7:30 the next morning (and I’m aware that’s 10:30 Virginia time, but look. I am not a morning person).
I tried my best not to be nervous as I got ready, packing my bag (hairbrush, mints, and a book, "in case the other kids aren’t friendly” – something I definitely didn’t have to worry about) and doing my best to rep UVA (crewneck sweatshirt, khaki skirt, boat shoes and, of course, pearl earrings). I was one of the last people to assemble in the lobby and was startled by how, well, normal the rest of the contestants looked. Everyone was friendly, engaging, bright – this all made me less nervous until I realized I would be facing off against two of them in just a few hours.
As soon as we arrived at the soundstage, we were thrown into makeup and interviews. I was, of course, asked the one question I had been hoping not to hear – "what do you see yourself doing in ten years?” I gave what has become my standard response until I figure out what I actually want to do, which is "something that makes me happy.” Yeah, yeah, I know. It sickens me too.
After interviews came "Hometown Howdies” and other shots of us being utterly ridiculous in an attempt to promote the show. This is probably the only time you’ll see a pack (a herd? a murder? a parliament?) of nerds being instructed to unleash their inner Pauly D. Oh yeah. There was T-shirt time.
Lastly, we played sample games to get a handle on the signaling device and how it worked with the game board. This is when I started to get nervous, because I was having a lot of difficulty a). coming up with answers to the practice questions, and b). buzzing in in time when I actually knew the answer!
We were finally herded back (yeah, definitely a herd of nerds. Has a certain ring to it). where we played word-memory games (if we ever start a wildly successful music group, look out for Phantom Narwhal) and popped in a movie – the highly intellectual Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I felt a strange mixture of relief when my name was not one of the first three called, but I had no idea what was going on, as I was sequestered back in the green room. And so the anticipation built.
Random groups of three were called out to tape their episode. Needless to say, I was relieved when I was not in the very first group to play – second or third, I felt, would be ideal. However, the second group of contestants was called and I was still left in the waiting room, watching Monty Python for the umpteenth time, self-medicating with Diet Coke, and trying to ignore my fellow contestants rapidly clicking pens in their attempts to emulate the signaling device.
The third group of three was called, and my name was, again, not among it. At this point, there were six contestants left in the green room (which is, in fact, sort of a taupe shade – though I suppose the Taupe Room doesn’t sound quite as prestigious as the Green Room). By this time we were watching Old School, eating pizza, and trying not to be nervous. After lunch we were taken back out onto the set to practice with the buzzers again. I felt a little better during this round, but when the audience started filing in and I realized my parents were watching me practice (again, not with a great degree of success), my heart flew up into my chest. We were escorted back into the Green/Taupe Room to await the announcement of our destinies.
The fourth group was called and again, my name was not announced. This meant I was in the last game of the day and my competitors were two other sophomores – Sam from Yale and Katie from Northwestern… Insert audible-nervous-gulping noise here. As we put in our last movie of the day (Talladega Nights) the three of us were silent. When they finally touched up our makeup and called us out onto the stage to sign our names and buzz in, my adrenaline was racing.
I was in the position closest to Alex Trebek, meaning I would get to pick a category first. Luckily this helped assuage my worries some, as one of the first categories was "French Anatomy Quiz.” As someone who has studied French for seven years, I was able to get quite a few of these terms (though Katie did beat me to a few). I was utterly astounded by Sam’s quickness with the buzzer. Oftentimes, if I knew an answer, he was simply far too quick, though there were quite a few times I simply didn’t know the answer. I was constantly reminded of how astonishingly bright my competitors were.
After the first commercial break, Alex introduced us and did our personal anecdotes. Sam was asked about a unicycle accident, Katie was asked about medical volunteering in India, and I was asked about… being a pickle. Yep, that’s right folks – when I was in fifth grade, I was in an Oscar Mayer Weiner commercial. As a singing, dancing pickle. If it’s not already painfully obvious, I have zero shame.
The game flew by to me – my other personal highlight was the category "California Girls,” which enabled me to display my knowledge of – woo hoo! – pop culture. At the end of the second round, if I’m not mistaken, Katie and I were tied at $7200 and Sam was in a distant lead with $15000. Even if Katie or I bet it all, as long as Sam bet reasonably, he would win. Having been sequestered in the Taupe Room all day, I had no idea how much money I needed to win in order to secure a wild card spot, so I bet everything except one dollar in the category "Documents” and hoped for the best.
Luckily the document in question was written by the father of the University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson – the Declaration of Independence. Everyone got the question correct. Sam won easily, but my all-but-one bet earned me a second-place finish in my game. I was delighted when I saw my new friends announced as semi-finalists as winners of their respective games or as wild-cards, but my name was not called. My Jeopardy! journey was over.
Perhaps this seems odd, but I wasn’t upset in the slightest. We filmed a few more promos for the show, took a few group shots, got gift bags with Jeopardy! hats and certificates for free Wiis (frii Wii?) We all piled on the bus together and agreed to meet up later that night to hang out before Tuesday – the moment of truth where one of my newest friend would become $100,000 richer.
We were invited back to the studio for the second day of filming, even if we hadn’t advanced. I of course wanted to go cheer on my friends and find out the outcome.
After lunch, all of the eliminated contestants were allowed to sit together in a specific part of the audience to watch the finals, which constituted an hour of the most intense, exhilarating competition I’ve seen.
As contestants, we were frequently reminded by the producers that this was simply a game. That we weren’t playing against each other so much as we were playing against the game board, and that we should cheer for everyone’s successes. It’s a testament to the outstanding character of the eliminated contestants (and even those competing in the finals) that everyone took this to heart. When you see the hugs, hear the cheers and chants – those are all genuine.
The highlight of the second day of taping - except, of course, for finding out who won – was something that wasn’t captured by the cameras. During commercial breaks, Alex interacts with the audience and answers any questions they may have. Twelve eliminated contestants and our wonderful alternate, Leo, were all seated together and became a powerful questioning force. You simply can’t ignore thirteen bright-eyed, bushy-tailed college students with eagerly raised hands.
Before the Final Jeopardy! question in the second game of Finals, we decided to come up with a Final Jeopardy! question for Alex. We wrote it on a card to make it look legit, ran it through the fact checkers (a whole panel of judges with reference books and official-looking telephones that you don’t see on TV). When he finally called on us, I said, "Alex, you’ve asked us a lot of questions over the past two days – so we have a Final Jeopardy! question for you. Category: Blind us with science! Clue: This element of the periodic table is the only one to be named for a person, while that person was still alive. Your thirty seconds starts now.” And at this point, thirteen (kinda obnoxious) whippersnappers start singing the Final Jeopardy! music. At. Alex. Trebek. His guess (Einsteinium) is a good one, but now what we were looking for (Seaborgium). For this, we all put on our best Canadian accents for Alex’s trademark "Oooooh, sorry.” I may not have won Jeopardy!, but at least I got to sass Alex Trebek, eh?
So I didn’t win Jeopardy. I didn’t even make it past quarterfinals. But you know what? That’s okay. I’ve fulfilled a life-long dream, didn’t do anything too embarrassing (but I may be speaking too soon – I haven’t seen the show yet) and made fifteen new friends who I suspect I’ll be close with for a long, long time. And yeah, look for that upcoming hit record. I think it’ll be called T-Shirt Time by (who else?) Phantom Narwhal.
November 5, 2010
My name is Amanda J. Ray and I’m a second-year (also known as a sophomore pretty much anywhere else) at the University of Virginia, studying Biomedical Engineering and French. I’m a member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society and Sigma Sigma Sigma, and I’m involved with the planning of an endowment for the Rodman Scholars program in UVA’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Right now I’m still undecided about my future career plans, but I’m interested in the intersection of science and government.
I grew up being a huge fan of Jeopardy!, but only took the online test after my grandma suggested it. I felt like I knew answers to a lot of the questions, but I didn’t really know what to expect afterwards. One day after coming back from dinner with my first-year suite, I got an e-mail inviting me to drive down to Raleigh in May to audition for the show.
On a Saturday in late May, my parents drove down to Charlottesville to pick me up and head down to Raleigh for an afternoon audition. We took another test, this time on paper, and I was similarly confident about my knowledge of the answers. We played a mock round of Jeopardy! At the end of the day we were told that we would remain in the contestant pool for a year and that we would only hear from them if we were selected to be on the show.
A few months passed and I hadn’t heard anything, so I sort of assumed that was it for my run on Jeopardy! On evening in September, though, I got out of class and had a voice mail from Maggie from Jeopardy! I remembered being told we would only hear from them if we were picked, but I was still racked with nervous excitement as I called back. After being asked a few questions about my eligibility, Maggie asked me if I wanted to be on the College Championship in just a few weeks. Uh, yeah!
After jumping around and shrieking with my roommate for a few minutes (our neighbors love us after that little incident) I called my parents first and then, of course, my grandma. The next few weeks were a blur of telling my friends, preparing for the show, and getting ready for my first trip west of the Mississippi River.
Now comes the ultimate question: how do you prepare for a show that tests your knowledge of, well, everything? Trivia! I was already an avid Sporcle-quiz-taker, and my friends and I go to a trivia night at a local restaurant most Wednesday nights. I continued both of these habits, and tried to absorb information about things I knew I didn’t know as much about, like the Bible or Shakespeare’s plays.
Hopefully some of my preparation worked, but more than anything I’m excited for the opportunity of a lifetime, and for a long-standing dream of mine to come true! |
