Hi, I'm Marissa Goldsmith from Springfield, Virginia. Watch me on Jeopardy!
[2010-12-24 Winner's Circle interview]
How does it feel to be the new Jeopardy! champion?
Oh, it feels so fantastic, and we had so much fun. [Maggie Speak, whispering: "Being a Jeopardy! champion."] Um... [Maggie Speak, louder: "Being a Jeopardy! champion!"] Um, being a Jeopardy! champion just feels so great, it's one of the things I wanted to do my whole life. I've been trying out since I was in college, um, and it feels really great to be here.
Any secrets to your success?
Um, when I was practicing, I was practicing with my husband, and we really weren't worried about what I knew so much as how I would wager. Um, gambling gives me hives, and so I have no idea how to wager in something like this. So every day that we would watch, any time there was a Daily Double, and every time there was Final Jeopardy!, we would pause, and we'd be: "If I was in first place, I'd do this, if I was in second place, I'd do that, and if I was in third place, I would hope that the people in first and second were gambling against each other", and that's what they did, and so, here I am!
Any messages to the folks back home?
Um, I definitely want to thank my husband, for giving me such great advice. I'd like to thank my dad and my brother-in-law Ben for being here today. Um, hi! And, I hope to see everybody again tomorrow!
[2010-12-27 Winner's Circle interview]
How does it feel to win your second game?
[Enthusiastically jumps into frame] Woo! I'm a 2-time Jeopardy! champion! Uhhuh! Marissa Goldsmith. It feels so good to be here. Um, I had no ide--dea that I would make it twice, especially after yesterday's finish. Um, I was a little nervous, but today I was much more relaxed, um, made it a little bit easier. Um, I had great competitors today. Um, I'd like to say thank-you again to my husband for help in wagering. Um, he can't be here today. He's at home with my ten-month-old baby, who's gonna get a whole lot of presents when we get home!
Did you guess during Final Jeopardy!?
Well, I was actually a, um, language major in school, so I felt pretty good about the, uh... pretty good about the category. When I saw the clue, I wasn't a hundred percent confident I had it right. Um, I had recently seen, um, a show about--a tourism show about Gibralter, and I said, "Gee, I think that's right in between, that might be right." Um, but even until the last moment, I didn't know if I had it right or not, because we didn't know what the right answer was.
Any secrets to your success?
Um, I think listening to my father got me here, and I think reading a lot of books got me here, so listen to your dad--and your mom--and read lots of books.
[2010-12-28 Winner's Circle interview]
How does it feel to win your third game?
Well, it feels really great to be a three-time Jeopardy! champion. Again, another really close game--all came down to Final Jeopardy! It's very exciting. Um, again, I'd like to thank my husband Steve for teaching me how to wager. Um, and I'd like to tell my daughter again, always listen to your dad, because he knows what he's talking about, especially when it comes to gambling!
Do you have any goals as a Jeopardy! champion?
It feels really great to be here on Jeopardy! three times. Hopefully--I guess--fourth's the charm, maybe. Get a little bit more money.
Does your job give you an advantage when playing Jeopardy!?
Um, I work for a--a consulting firm that works exclusively with progressive nonprofits, and one of the things we get to do is we learn everything about every nonprofit we're dealing with, and that goes quite--quite a bit far back. I mean, when you learn everything about things like--everything about the American Lung Association, you learn a lot about lung disease, and--and what-not. And when you learn--y'know, with all these nonprofits, you learn a lot about their history, and a lot of times their history is intertwined with things that will wind up on the board, so... it helps a lot. |
