WELCOME

All right, I haven't finished blogging about the TOC Experience. Someday I will

In the meantime, there's lots to read here . . .

As this is a blog, the newest posts are first so it ends up in reverse chronological order.

To save you a lot of scrolling, if you want to read about my experience on the regular Jeopardy! show starting with the oldest post, click HERE ,

Iff you are interested in reading about only the Tournament of Champions experience, click HERE for the first of those posts.

TOC SEMIFINAL - Tuesday, March 17, 2009

TOC SEMIFINAL - Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I still have the plain white sheet of paper that Maggie had given me after the Quarterfinals taping - scrawled in Sharpie it read "Meet in the hotel lobby at 3pm Saturday." It was my Golden Ticket to the Semi-finals.

I woke up early on Saturday, and couldn't go back to sleep. I didn't want to wake up Karen, so I started going over match-up scenarios in my head. E very match-up I constructed in my head that made sense based on how we did in the QF's, how we had done in our regular games, splitting up geography and occupations . . . featured me in the same game as Larissa. I knew everyone was great, but after watching Larissa's dominance in her run, I REALLY would rather not have to play her. Plus, my daughter LOVED Larissa - her divided loyalty if I played Larissa would hurt my feelings.

After everyone was up and we'd had breakfast at the IHOP, I repaired to the second bedroom of our suite for some studying. I went over as many of the e-flashcards as I could, hoping that MAYBE something would come up in my game. I have to admit I was a little testy with the rest of my family, but they were understanding - there'd be a big difference for all of us between $10,000 (which I'd won already) and a quarter million the winner would get. I had to remind myself how blessed I was just to be there at all.

It was finally time to get ready to go. I remember being in the shower and making a big decision. I was going to use the body wash instead of the bar soap. That's probably not the big decision that you're interested in. The other thing I decided was that no matter what the situation, if I got a Daily Double and wasn't in the lead, I would make it a True Daily Double. All 8 of the other players were excellent - I would have to take some chances to have a shot.

I don't have much to report about the pre-game. Another van ride to the Convention Center, another walk through the catacombs. One nice thing was that we were in a smaller room that was much closer to the studio, and we would be able to watch the other games without being sequestered. During practice on the set, Dan and I tried to figure out how we'd be matched up based on how we were called up to practice. I was never called to practice in a group with Larissa - that only solidified my certainty. So did not being called for the first game (and neither was Larissa).

I'm sure you've seen the games. It was sort of surreal being in the audience. I felt great for Dan when he won and secured a place in the finals. I was actually glad not to have played him in that particular game - there was a lot of knowledge overlap.

During Final Jeopardy, the victims - er, contestants - for the next SemiFinal were called - me, Cora, Larissa. It was on.

As you probably saw, I started TERRIBLY. But, Larissa was ON FIRE. At the first break, the scores were Larissa 7800, Cora -800, Dave 600. Was Larissa beating me to the buzzer or did she know more? Yes.

But, here's the funny thing. During the break, Maggie said to me, "You seem so much more relaxed than you did on Thursday." That was a wonderful thing to say, because it caused me to look inward a little bit and realize . . . I was. I answered, "I'm just having fun." And I was.

Things didn't go much better in the rest of the Jeopardy! round. Larissa finished with a HUGE 12000 to my 3400 and Cora's 200. But it was OK. I was still having fun (and I don't mean that sarcastically). If this was going to be the last game of Jeopardy! I was ever going to play, I was going to enjoy it, win or lose.

Of course the highlight (for me) of the Double Jeopardy! round was finding the Daily Double. I had built up 7000 by then, Larissa had missed a 1200 to drop to 10800, and Cora had picked up 1600. I was surprised when I watched the show that it was only the fifth clue of DJ.

I was of course hunting for a DD - it was the only way to get back into the game. When I found it at Crusades for 1200, I immediately remembered my shower promise. But did I have the, uh, guts to keep it? If I did and got it, I'd be in the lead and in great shape. If I missed, I'd probably be out of the game. But a promise in the shower is a promise in the shower. "I promised myself I would do this . . . but it's different here . . . let's make this a True Daily Double." That's what I heard myself say.

Then the reveal: "After this wife of Louis VII took part in the Second Crusade, the Church forbade women to join future crusades." You can see my head drop in response. I had NO idea. This was it - I was toast. Wait . . . woman . . . crusades . . . there was a woman, but she was English . . . didn't she come from France? . . . in that movie with Katherine Hepburn . . . OH, she was a correct response in my first regular game that Sujit got right . . . it couldn't be her again . . . I got nothing else and Alex is about to hit that "time's up" sound effect . . . "Who is . . . Eleanor of Aquitaine?"

That's when Alex went Regis on me. Remember on WWTBAM, Regis used to psych out contestants after they had said "Final Answer," he'd say in a real sad voice, "Sorry, YOU JUST WON XXX DOLLARS!" But Alex never did that. So when he started by saying, "Oh Dave" in a real sympathetic tone, I thought, "I'm done." But then he went on "You picked . . ." Again, usually that's what Alex says when there's a small universe of possibilities and someone chooses the wrong one. I KNEW I was done. But then he went on, "THE RIGHT ONE!"

You can see me stagger on the show. The crowd went as wild as crowds do at Jeopardy! (it ain't the Price is Right). As Mark Wales later posted on the Jeopardy! Message Board, I had "pulled Eleanor out of my Aquitaine!"

The rest of the game was a blur. I didn't do a whole lot until the very end - I think all my adrenaline was spent on that DD. Larissa missed her own DD (which I would NOT have known, BTW - good thing I didn't find that one first!) and the game ended.

Scores at the end of DJ: Larissa 18,000; Dave 14,400; Cora 5400.

What to wager? This is what is called in the Jeopardy! Archive/Message Board world the "Faith Love Scenario." TO BE CONTINUED . . .

OFF DAY

I know folks aren't reading this blog as a travelogue, so I'll be brief about how we spent Friday.

My son and I had made reservations to play golf at a desert course located on a Native American reservation. I figured it would be a unique experience. It was. Neither of us are great golfers, but we are NOT as bad (make that terrible) as we were in Nevada. There were two big problems. One was the wind, whipping across the desert at about 30 miles per hour with stronger gusts. I grew up on the coast of Florida and have never played in such wind. The wind was blowing so hard the course was handing out "Wind Checks" - no good for us as we would not have the opportunity to return. The second problem was related to the first - because of the wind the easy 18 we had booked was closed (there are 2 18-hole courses), so we were "upgraded" to the championship course. Ha!

That meant playing a course with single-file fairways (ok, a little exaggeration) lined with desert. We spent a lot of time in the desert.

Here's the bottom line on the golf experience - we quit keeping score after 2 holes and quit altogether after 9. But, we agreed we were glad we'd had the experience and got some great pictures and saw a roadrunner and other native animals.

While my son and I were struggling on the golf course, my wife and daughter joined my sisters (who had flown in for the TOC) for a wonderful day of shopping and touring some of the finest Vegas hotels. Good for them!

We met back up in the afternoon, my daughter had a dip in the pool, and we met some friends for dinner. Then it was back to the hotel for an early night because the next day I'd be playing Jeopardy!

(That brief enough for you?)

A SITUATION BEYOND MY CONTROL

After my game, the third of five semifinals, it was dinnertime. Not by the clock - it was after 10 by now - but by union contract, apparently. The nine of us that had played were herded into a large tent set up in the parking lot with a catered spread for the crew. I was too nervous to eat much - all I wanted to know was where my score stood. I found out during dinner that I was second of the non-winners so far. So, as long as no more than two of the four remaining non-winners had more than 13,000, I'd be playing on Saturday.

The dynamics of dinner were interesting. The three winners were quite talkative. The mood of the three second-place players, who still might advance, and the three third-placers, much less likely to advance, was quieter.

Before long, we headed back to the set to watch the last two semi-finals. It was late getting on to early (close to midnight). I really felt bad for the remaining players, especially those from the eastern time zone. I admit there was a part of me that acknowledged that this might be an advantage for me, as more tired players were less likely to top my score.

That brings me to the strange experience of sitting there watching people I had genuinely enjoyed spending time with and hoping that at least two of them in each game didn't do as well as I had done. I wasn't exactly rooting against anyone - it really didn't matter who won. But I was hoping for a dominating game from someone, which meant I was sort of rooting against whoever was trailing. Human nature is a devilish thing.

I'm thankful that this situation only lasted for one game. In that fourth semifinal, Aaron won and as soon as second-place-Donna's incorrect Final Jeopardy response was revealed, I knew that she would score less than I had (as, obviously, had the 3rd place finisher) so I was IN THE FINALS no matter what happened in the last semi. I did a little celebration dance in my chair, then settled back to watch the fifth game.

I had, with some help, achieved my goal for the tournament. I WAS GOING TO PLAY ON SATURDAY!

The rest of the evening was a blur - returning on the little bus to the hotel and finally eating some real food (a turkey sandwich) and downing a celebratory Bass Ale. I had a day off to look forward to and then I'd get to play that game I enjoyed so much at least one more time!

Woo hoo!

To the Next Post - OFF DAY

HOW TO READ THIS BLOG

As this is a blog, the newest posts are first so it ends up in reverse chronological order.

To save a lot of scrolling, if you are interested in reading about only the Tournament of Champions experience, click HERE for the first of those posts.

If you want to read about my experience on regular Jeopardy! show, click HERE for the oldest post.

TOC QUARTERFINAL - Friday, March 13, 2009

Velma and Roxie had teamed up, and Chicago was ending in the Green Room. I was hoping not to get to watch the next movie. There would be one more game before the "dinner" break - it was at least 10 o'clock Las Vegas time, so at home it was 1 a.m. or later. I am usually a night person, but not so much an early-the-next-morning person.

Soon the list of the next three competitors was read - Ben, Lisa, and . . . Dave. I grabbed an peanut butter energy bar and took my place in the makeup chair for the pre-game touch-up. One more trip to the bathroom later, we were miked up and on our way to the set.

Many folks who saw my run on the regular show asked if I was nervous. I could honestly say I was never nervous on the set - I was too happy just to be there and the game was so engrossing there wasn't really time to be nervous.

Why then now, as I took my place at podium #3 for my sixth Jeopardy! game, did I feel so nervous? Partly I guess it was the competition - I had watched these folks play and I knew how good they were. Partly it was because I had never gotten comfortable with the buzzer in practice, while in the practice sessions before my regular games I had pretty much dominated. And partly it was because I had been anticipating this for so long - I had known since June that there was a good chance I'd be in the TOC; I had gotten the call for the regular games about three weeks before the taping. Because it had been over 20 months since the audition, I had pretty much put getting a call to be on the show out of my mind.

Perhaps the primary reason for my nervousness was that everyone I knew expected me to go to Las Vegas and win. There had been no such pressure when I went on the show the first time - everyone, including me, was just happy that I was going to be on. But, after seeing me win four times, I wasn't just the guy who was on Jeopardy!, I was the guy who had won.

As we waited for the game to begin, I adjusted my "stance," trying to rest my right arm comfortably on the podium. It just wasn't happening. I couldn't get the buzzer comfortable in my hand, either. It was like playing golf with unfamiliar clubs (which I would do the next day - more on that in a later post). My physical discomfort was messing with my mind more than anything.

The music started and I heard Johnny Gilbert's introduction. "Smile dummy," I said to myself. Watching last night, that's exactly what I looked like - a smiling dummy. My friend Mike said, "I've known you for 25 years and I've never seen that expression." Thanks for that.

I have to say, though, that my red clergy shirt looked good - or, as one of my students said in class today (I teach Christian Education in the middle school affiliated with my church), the shirt "popped." Why a red shirt? No theological reason - my wife told me to wear it (actually, she said I should wear it, but for me it's the same thing, as I have no taste at all of my own about things like clothes).

And why a clergy shirt? I had waited until my second game to wear one before because I wanted to make sure I embarrassed only myself if my J! experience turned out to be a disaster. But, in the TOC, I wanted to be as up-front as possible about my profession and especially my faith. I hope that in some small way my appearance would say that all Christians aren't the dummies they are portrayed as in the media sometimes (often through the fault not of the media, but of those Christians that speak the loudest, but that's a whole 'nother blog).

There was Alex Trebek stepping onto the new set and away we went. Some random thoughts about the game:

• The main thing I remembered about this game was frustration. Frustration at not being able to ring in most of the time thanks to Ben's incredible timing. Frustration at the two negs on high-value clues in the J! round, especially reciting the first lines of "The New Colossus" when I knew good and well that the name of the poem wasn't there. (To make that worse, Ben told me later that he hadn't known what the poem was until he heard my impromptu recitation.)
  
• I should have been much quicker to get "Eiffel" on the J! DD, but completely missed the big old TOM ("Tease out Metric" or the clue within the clue) of "TOWERING." Glad Alex gave me the time to get the right answer back, or I would've really been in the hole.
• I planned to hunt for the DD's in the DJ round, but couldn't get control away from Ben long enough to do any hunting. He found them both very quickly. That could've been very bad or very good for me - I knew the Harlem/Haarlem one, but did not know the other one. His missing both kept me in the game.
• I can remember feeling like I needed to step it up or this was going to be the last time I ever got to play the game. Fortunately, I did find some timing toward the end of DJ and especially due to "13-letter words" I was able to get to a respectable score.
• In that category, Alex made fun of me because I drew out the pronunciation of "contaminnnnnaaaaation." That's because my first thought was "contaminate," and I realized that couldn't possibly have 13 letters.

Now for the question I've been asked about 250 times since Friday evening (I'm writing this on the following Monday). What was up with my wager? Or, as the question is usually phrased, "Why didn't you bet more?"

Here were the scores - Ben 14,000, Me 11,800, and Lisa 4000. The first consideration was making sure I stayed ahead of Lisa. That meant I wasn't going to wager more than 3799 (so as not to fall behind her possible doubled score of 8000). Second, if Ben made the usual shut-out wager (9001), there was no way I could catch him. If this was a regular show, I probably would've wagered 2200 or 2201 to cover a possible 0 bet by Ben and to assure I would still have enough to beat him if he missed.

But, this was not a regular show. Not only was the winner going to advance, but either of the losers could advance as a wildcard if they were in the top four scores of non-winners of the five quarterfinal games. So, I didn't want to wager so much that I would knock myself out of wildcard contention if I lost. I had researched the previous TOC's and found that the average wildcard cutoff was around 10500. So, I didn't want to fall below there.

My 1200 wager seemed to make sense. I'd be left with at least 10600, I could win if I made it or missed it and Ben missed with a usual shut-out bet. AND the game would be shown on Friday the 13th and I'd have 13000 if I got it. Yes, it made sense.

The category was "World Money." (For those of you not familiar with the J! process, you only know the category, NOT the clue, when you make your wager). Not a good category for me - I hadn't studied currencies of the world so if I needed to know what they call money in Burkina-Faso I was going to be out of luck. But as soon as the clue was revealed I knew the correct response - I had traveled to India about 15 years ago and I still had some Rupees in my desk drawer at home. So I knew I was ok - the only question was whether Ben would know it. If he missed, I figured I would win.

I was heartened somewhat when Lisa missed (sorry Lisa). So India wasn't obvious to everyone - maybe not to Ben as well. I was impatient during the revealing of my response and wager - "Let's see what Ben did!" But, Ben was smiling. Ben got it. Ben won.

Congrats Ben. It was a well-deserved victory!

One more note about my wager. Ben only wagered 1004. Even so, if he had missed, I would've won, 13,000 to 12,996.

I don't remember a THING about the post-game conversation with Alex. All I was thinking was, "Is it enough? Is 13,000 going to be enough?"

To the Next Post - A SITUATION BEYOND MY CONTROL

TOC FORMAT

For those who do not follow Jeopardy! regularly, here is how the TOC works:

There are 15 competitors, chosen on the basis of who has won the most games since the last TOC (usually about 18 months). One of the players is usually the College Champion, but not this year.

There are FIVE QUARTERFINAL games. The FIVE WINNERS of those games, plus FOUR WILDCARDS, advance to the next round. Wild cards are the non-winners with the highest scores. So . . . nine of fifteen players advance.

Those nine play in THREE SEMIFINAL games. The THREE WINNERS advance to the finals.

The FINALS are played as two separate games over two days - the WINNER is the player with the highest combined score.

Prize Money is as follows . . .

• Six players eliminated in the Quarterfinals - $5000 each
• Six players eliminated in the Semifinals - $10,000 each
• Third place finalist - $50,000
• Second place finalist - $100,000
• First place finalist - $250,000

To the next installment - TOC QUARTERFINAL

QUARTERFINAL PREGAME

Seeing Maggie again was like seeing an old friend - hugs and hellos. She even remembered my wife and daughter (my son hadn't gone with us to California).

Seeing the other champs was surreal. I'd seen them all on my television set, and had been impressed by every one. Here they were in person. And I would get to play against some of them. Again let me use a golf analogy (as I did in an earlier post). Imagine watching the PGA tour on television, and really admiring the winners of the tournaments. Then, imagine going to a tournament where YOU WERE GOING TO BE PLAYING AGAINST THEM. Yikes. The difference, of course, was that SOMEHOW, I was one of them!

It was great to see Glenn and Robert and Tony again as well. They are such an incredibly professional team, and set a friendly, relaxed tone that really helps when the stakes are so high.

Speaking of friendly . . . one of the fifteen of us contestants were going to win $250,000. Fourteen of us would not. You might expect some cut-throat one-upsmanship. But there was none at all. At least none of which I was aware. What a great group of folks!

We were herded into a little bus for the short drive to the Las Vegas Convention Center. We entered through a back door and were herded into a room that was far from the excitement of the Consumer Electronics Show going on elsewhere in the complex, and, as we would find out, a couple of counties over from the actual Jeopardy! set (ok, that's a slight exaggeration).

It was only about 2:30, taping was at 7, so we had LOTS of time to fill out the forms and get to know each other a little bit. There was a spread of coldcuts and fruit but I stayed away from any kind of food after my Grilled Cheese Sandwich Experience in California. I did drink many bottles of water, which necessitated a new rule - any time there's a chance to go to the bathroom, take it. There was no bathroom attached to the Las Vegas Green Room as there is in California, so the Contestant Coordinators had to organize bathroom treks periodically. They were serious about making sure there was no collusion - there were TWO guards posted outside our door and we were reminded "Don't talk to ANYBODY" before we entered the bathrooms.

Maggie went over a greatly abbreviated presentation of the rules - "You have done this before." Most of the time was spent on TOC specific rules - how ties would be broken and such. (Ties for game winners would be broken with a sudden-death clue. Ties for wildcards would be broken by whomever had the most money going into Final Jeopardy). One interesting factoid - you can't win a game with zero or negative money. If all three players in a semifinal were in that situation, there would be an additional wildcard that would advance.

As the afternoon dragged on, we each had a turn in the makeup chair. I asked if they had remembered to pack extra anti-shine for my head, and was glad to hear that they had (I learned during my initial run that not only is the anti-shine packed on during the initial session, but it needs touching up during commercial breaks as well).

Finally, it was time to see the new set. By now you've seen it on TV. My first impression was that it was very . . . blue. My second was some disorientation - it contained all the same elements of the original set, but things were different colors and in different places. Then there was the floor - mostly clear but with these perpendicular black stripes that made judging the steps very tricky. One contestant had a pretty bad fall on one of the steps - this person recovered nicely but for a moment there one had to wonder if the alternate was going to play.

A word about the alternate. What a thankless job. Meredith was the 16th qualifier, and that meant she got to fly to Las Vegas and sit in the Green Room all day and through most of the evening, and never get to play. Then she was flown back the next day (Friday) instead of staying until Sunday like the rest of us.

Back to the set. First up were contestant interviews. We had been given a sheet of about 15 questions in the Green Room and were asked to come up with answers to them. There really wasn't time, and almost as soon as we got onto the set we began to be called up for interviews. They asked random questions from the list - I seemed to get the worst of them. I mean, asking a guy wearing a clerical collar if being in Vegas would make any difference in his wagering strategy? (You can see my interview in all its pathetic-ness at the TOC website HERE).

Then came the fun part - the practice game. We got to try out the new buzzers on the new set. My turn came and I immediately noticed that the podiums (podia?) are several inches shorter than their California cousins. They are also constructed differently, so I couldn't comfortably rest my arm as I had done before. I never really got comfortable before my time was up. I was very concerned about being able to get into a rhythm once the game started.

It was also strange practicing because just beyond the boundary of the makeshift studio, there were CES attendees milling around. It was very loud at times - we could see why they didn't tape until after the show had closed for the day.

After the practice game, it was time to return to the Green Room and . . . wait.

One cool thing that did happen was that Alex Trebek stopped by the Green Room to say "Hi." It was very unexpected - he had been kept far away from contestants during our regular games. He seemed to be excited about the TOC. It was another surreal experience, seeing him away from the set.

No one knew who was playing whom until right before time to start. I looked around the room, trying to determine who I'd like to play. My answer - none of these people!

Then the first three names were called . . . and none of them were mine.

FYI - The pairings are NOT random as they are on the regular shows. In Maggie's words, "The producers and I match you up to give what we think are going to be the best games." Or something like that.

Because it would have given an advantage to those who play later (because of the wild cards), those of us not playing could not watch. We voted on which DVD to watch ("Chicago") - all of the options had been cleared by the producers to make sure they wouldn't show up in any of the clues.

About the time John C. Reilly finished singing "Mr. Cellophane" on the movie, Glenn arrived to call the next three victims. I mean players. It had been a long wait - apparently there had been some technical problems with the set. As you probably know, I was not in that next group of three either.

I would get to finish watching "Chicago." But then, it was SHOWTIME . . .

To the next installment - TOC FORMAT

TO LAS VEGAS

According to the letter, J! would fly me out to Las Vegas and put me up at the Hilton Grand Vacations Resort on the Las Vegas Strip (that's really the name of the place - good thing they have big signs in Vegas). We had decided early on that we'd go as a family, so while J! made my plane reservation, I was able to get my wife and two kids on the same plane.

Things worked out really well - I always take the week after Christmas off to visit my family in Florida, so I'd have extra time to prepare the week prior to the tourney. I had a week of vacation left from 2008 that I was allowed to carry over for the tourney week.

In my occupation, the time before Christmas is the busiest time of year (except maybe Lent). After all the waiting to see if I was going to qualify, time accelerated. I was learning more stuff every day and doing better against Ken Jennings on those GSN reruns, but I had also seen all of the other TOC competitors play. They were GOOD. And most of them had won more than me - I ended up 12th on the list out of 15 qualifiers (15 qualified instead of 14 because the College Champion was unable to compete due to Air Force commitments - which I really think is a lousy decision by the Air Force because what better publicity could they get?).

Besides the letter and the multi-page contract thing you have to sign (one clause waived my rights to my likeness on Jeopardy! "throughout the universe"!), there was also a description of the tournament format, which I'll put in a post of its own because I know there is confusion among non-Jeopardy! obsessives.

Before I was ready, January 6 was here and we were dropping our dogs at the vet for boarding and we were on our way to the airport, also for boarding.

We were on our way to Vegas, baby!

To the next installment - QUARTERFINAL PREGAME

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It's the Monday before Thanksgiving, November 24. I come home in a car that smells like chili (that's what I brought to our staff Thanksgiving luncheon that day). I pull into my driveway, and notice the Fed Ex envelope leaning against the front door. Blue and orange are my new favorite colors.

I run up the walk and, sure enough, the return address on the envelope is Culver City! I rip open the envelope, and read . . .

"Congratulations! You are invited to play in the upcoming Jeopardy Tournament of Champions."

How about that? If you've read the rest of this blog, you know that I had auditioned in May, 2006 (yes, 2006) after taking the online test that February. I had gotten the Call to be on the show in February, 2008, and taped in June. After waiting all that time, I was ecstatic just to get on the show, and just hoped I wouldn't embarrass myself. Maybe I could even win one game.

But now, almost two years after that online test that started it all, I'd be flying to Las Vegas to compete in the Tournament of Champions! Wow.

I needed to study.

To the next installment - TO LAS VEGAS

THE ALMOST, WELL SORT OF, TOC CALL

Friday, November 14. I checked messages on the downstairs phone. Karen was upstairs. The first message went something like this:

• Hello, Dave, this is Tony Pandolfo of the television game show Jeopardy! Please call me back to talk about the Tournament of Champs. (Phone numbers.)

The very loud sound I made got Karen's attention - "What's wrong?!!!"

"It's Tony from Jeopardy!"

Upstairs, she made a similar sound.

I called back and found out that although it wasn't for sure yet as they had a couple more weeks of shows to tape, the odds were very good that I would be in the TOC. Tony asked me if I could clear my calendar January 6-11. The shows would be taped in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show January 8 and 10, but I'd be flown out on the 6th and fly back on the 10th. I told him no way could I go then, I would just be too busy.

Not really.

I told him of course I could go. AND WHEN WOULD I KNOW FOR SURE?

Tony said I should get a packet in early December if I had indeed made the cut.

I hung up. The TOC was getting closer to being a reality.

I needed to study.

To the next installment - HAPPY THANKSGIVING

PREPARATION J (or, The Big Wait)

When we last left this saga, the viewing parties were over and the world had returned to normal. Well, most of the world.

I knew I was in the running for the Tournament of Champions, but that my standing was tenuous at best. The Tournament would be taped in January, 2009, and the top 14 winners since the last TOC would be invited (plus the College Tournament Champion). At the time my shows were aired in late June, I was #6 on the list. So, I just had to hope there weren't any more than 8 bigger winners than me over the next 7 months.

So, for months I was in a strange kind of purgatory. There was absolutely nothing I could do to improve my situation. All I could do was watch Jeopardy! every night and root for the returning champion to lose. And root even harder for two time returning champions to lose. And so on.

To all those I rooted against, I apologize. It wasn't personal.

When Jeopardy! wasn't on, while I was supposed to be doing other things (like writing a sermon), I did calculations using the J Archive. Like . . . in the average Jeopardy month, going back 10 years (but not including Ken Jenning's run), there were .8 champs who did better than me. In the number of shows between mine and the TOC, the average was 4.6. So . . . I should be ok - in about 11th place.

But . .. back in Season 17 there had been an average of 7.6 bigger winners in that time.

Uh oh.

These calculations were revised every week or so based on how many shows were left and how many bigger winners there had been. YES, it was sort of obsessive, but in a way it gave an illusion of control to something over which I really didn't have any control.

I also studied. Not so much at first, then in every spare moment starting in early November. I made electronic flash cards of every fact listed in the back of Mike Dupee's "How to Get on Jeopardy and Win" book, as well as for world capitals and other lists. I carried a small spiral notebook and tried to jot down any fact I came across that might be J-worthy. Those facts also became flash cards. I also tracked which flash cards I studied, and what percentage I was getting right (the program I use does the figuring for you).

I also TIVO'd the GSN and current Jeopardy! broadcasts each day, and "played" them using the pause button on the remote as my buzzer. I tracked my Coryat score to see my improvement. During that time, GSN re-ran Ken Jennings' streak so I "played" against him. Some days my Coryat was even a little higher than his!

Yes, it was a lot of studying and preparing for something that might not happen (although the likelihood increased as time passed). But, here's what I figured . . .

• If I did make the TOC, I wanted to be as prepared as possible. Not so much to "win" - too many variables (i.e. categories, buzzer speed, etc) for that, but so that if I did not do as well as I hoped then I would not regret having not taken time to prepare. And . .
• It was something to DO besides sit and wait and wonder if i would make the cut.

From the taping schedule on the J! website, I knew that the last shows that would air before the TOC would be taped December 3. So, I was expecting to hear something by December 4.

Or not.

Little did I know that I wouldn't have to wait that long . . .

To the Next Installment - THE ALMOST, WELL SORT OF, TOC CALL

COMING SOON!

In the next couple of weeks, I'll be starting the account of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions experience. For those who do not know, I did qualify for the TOC and went to Las Vegas in early January to tape. The tournament will be broadcast from March 11 through 24; you'll see me on March 13 (and possibly later depending upon the outcome).

END OF THE TOC POSTS

This ends the TOC section of the Blog. If you are interested in the chronicle of my experiences on the regular show, you can begin with the first (oldest) post by clicking HERE.

ODDS AND ENDS, HODGEPODGE, AND POTPOURRI

I have to admit, it was hard to keep quiet for 89 days about the outcome of our trip to California. As difficult as it was for me and my wife, though, I can only imagine how it must have been for my daughter. She even had TEACHERS playfully try to get her to divulge the results. But she stood strong, and the 89 days were finally over and it was time to see it on TV. Ironically, seeing it televised somehow made it all seem more "real" than it had really being there.

Here's a bit about how we watched each episode:

Monday - 200 cheering church-members gathered in our former sanctuary to watch on the big (25 feet by 25 feet) screen. It was an awesome evening - lots of fun to share the experience with members of my "church family." We had snacks in the fellowship hall afterward.

Tuesday - we watched at home with friends in HDTV! Yes, I finally broke down and bought a big-screen ("only" 42") TV with the anticipated Jeopardy! money (no payments or interest for six months!)

Wednesday - had to watch on TIVO because the kids had a swim meet. Life goes on, even for the Jeopardy! champion. As it should.

Thursday - watched in a hotel room at our Synod (church district that includes Maryland and Delaware) Assembly in Gettysburg, PA. Lots of fun watching the reaction as victory was pulled from the jaws of defeat in FJ.

Friday - also watched in a hotel room at the Synod Assembly. The loss took all the air out of the room for a moment - funny, folks were expecting me to win. But then there was much congratulation.

All week, I received e-mails from Lutherans around the country rooting me on. Saying my church name on Monday allowed folks to find the church website, and my e-mail address. It was like I was playing for the "Lutheran Team" or something, but actually very cool.

I also received e-mails, and a phone call, from folks I hadn't seen in a very long time. The reconnection was a nice fringe-benefit of the experience.

I've been recognized in the grocery store, at a swim meet, at two hospitals (making pastoral visits) and at a minor league baseball game (Go Aberdeen Ironbirds!). "Aren't you Pastor Dave, the guy on Jeopardy!?" That's been pretty cool, and I think it's great that folks remember I'm a pastor - I do admit feeling good about how I did and it is sort of a rush to be recognized, but hopefully I have glorified God in this experience.

There have also been four articles in the Aegis, Harford County's paper. One was about the upcoming appearance, then one on Wednesday of the run (Pastor Wins Two on Jeopardy), one on Friday (Pastor Wins Fourth - the subhead was something about "more luck than skill" - thanks a lot - what about the skillful wager?) and one that will be in tomorrow's paper as of this writing.

I was also interviewed on the Baltimore Christian radio station (WRBS). It was a hoot being a guest on their morning show, then hearing people call in to talk about what gameshow they'd like to be on.

As for THE MONEY - it takes 3-4 months after the airdate for J! to pay. Once the winnings do arrive, the first check we will write will be 10% to the church. Now, we have already purchased the Plasma TV I promised to buy in the Philadelphia audition, but there's no interest or payments for 4 months. I'm also going to buy my wife the ring I wanted to buy her when we were engaged 13 years ago. I apparently promised my son an X-Box 360 if I won more than $50,000 (of course thinking that was highly unlikely), so there's that too. Speaking of my son, he'll be starting college next year and is starting to drive this summer. My daughter will be attending a national Youth Drama competition next year. All in all, the money will be quite a blessing for us and allow us also a nice cushion for emergencies - and perhaps downpayment on a car since both of ours have 150K+ miles.

Finally, the exhortation. If you've ever thought about trying out for a gameshow, DO IT. You don't have anything to lose by going for it. Remember, I auditioned four times for Millionaire before I got on and twice for Jeopardy. If I had given up, I wouldn't have the experiences (or the $200K+).

In fact, that applies to any dream you might have - GO FOR IT! Take a chance, risk a little, and it may just be that the journey leads to your dream. If not, at least you will have journeyed.

Corny? Yep, but I mean it.

God's blessings on your journey, and God's peace in your life.

GOING HOME

The taping day was over. We walked out of the studio and into the sunlight. Just ahead, leaning against a wall talking about whatever Jeopardy Superstars talk about, were Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and Bob Harris. I decided I didn't mind being the ultimate Jeopardy nerd - I strolled over and asked for their autographs. They obliged, and even complimented me on my gameplay.

They also signed autographs for my daughter - Rutter signed, "To a future Jeopardy! Champion."

A few steps away, a group of folks who had been in the audience stopped me. They wanted MY autograph. Pretty cool, I thought.

Of course it would've been nice to win that last game, but it worked out nicely. We were able to spend the next day playing Southern California Tourist, with a stroll along Venice Beach (including the famous Muscle Beach) to dip our toes in the Pacific Ocean, a walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a drive through Beverly Hills, and dinner at famous Pink's Hotdog Stand.

Before we knew it, the day, and our adventure, was over, and we were on the overnight flight back east.

Only 89 days til the airdate!


To the Next Installment - ODDS AND ENDS, etc.

GAME FIVE - Friday, June 20

You can find the clues, correct responses, and results of the game HERE.

I have very little recollection of the pre-game for this game. There's nothing in my admittedly sketchy notes from the time. I do remember that the grilled-cheese sandwich issue had resolved itself. But, I was feeling quite drained. It was the fifth game of the day, and if you remember way back to my post about going to the studio I hadn't slept a whole lot the night before. All the adrenaline of the first games had been spent.

Watching last night, I was surprised the game was as close as it was for as long as it was. I had been worried about Friday because my recollection was that Doris had blown me out. But if I hadn't made that silly Jack London/Ernest Hemmingway error (boy, I must have been tired - Nick Adams = Jack London????), the 4000 swing (no -2000 for missing, +2000 for getting it), would've left me in another 2/3 situation at the end of the game. Of course, if Doris still made the shut-out wager, I still would've lost.

I went all-in on the Final thinking if was going out, I was going to go out with a bang. Also, I had a glimmer of hope that Doris, having seen me wager small in the previous game, might have wagered small herself. That of course would have been more likely in a 2/3 game. But Doris played it perfectly and got the win she deserved.

Whether I was tired or not, Doris certainly earned the win. She was a fantastic player and will be, I think, tough to beat after a good night's sleep (next week's shows were taped on the next day, Wed. 3/19). She was on fire with the buzzer and displayed a tremendous range of knowledge. My wife and daughter - as well as the family that went with us - still talk about how amazed they were that Doris knew so much about Sumo wrestling.

Which reminds me, near the top of my "times I'm glad I didn't buzz in list" is the clue about the part of the body that's out of bounds for sumo wrestlers means forbidden this. America - especially my church - didn't want to hear what I was thinking "this" was.

That is an example of the way my brain was (not) working in this game. I CANNOT believe I missed Iota - I had to learn New Testament (Koine) Greek in seminary - but I remember trying to think of a four-letter word with one VOWEL, not one CONSONANT as the clue specified. Yeah, I was tired.

I now have have even more respect now for Ken Jennings and anyone else who has played Monday-Friday on Jeopardy. And I have especially more respect for folks like Mike Dupee who began their run on Monday and won all 5 in a week - it is, I would guess, an advantage in some ways to get started mid-week. I know that helped me on Millionaire - I was the very last contestant on a taping day, only answered four questions before time ran out, but slept much better that night and came back more refreshed the next day both from the rest AND knowing what to expect.

I want to emphasize - none of that is an excuse for losing to Doris. She is one heck of a player.

After the post-game chat with Alex, I went back to the Green Room to collect my garment bag. I made sure to thank all the Contestant Coordinators I could find - they are really awesome folks who are great at what they do.

I couldn't resist asking one of the coordinators - Robert - about the TOC. "Maggie said that if we win more than 3 games we're eligible for the TOC. Should I be thinking about that?"

"Stay in touch," Robert replied.

I am thrilled to even have a chance of being in the TOC. That would just exceed my already surpassed expectations. And it'll give me more to add to this blog.

So stay in touch.

It's been a great ride so far. Thanks for sharing it with me.

To the Next Installment - GOING HOME

GAME FOUR - Thursday, June 19

You can find the clues, correct responses, and results of the game HERE. (Another big THANKS to the J-Archive folks. Let me know how I can help and I'll let you know if I can do it.)

If I looked sort of green during the Jeopardy round, it wasn't your TV set or cable provider. That grilled cheese sandwich I wrote about yesterday was working on my belly bigtime.

Of course the first order of business was a new Hometown Howdy; I got out something about "You've seen me threepeat, watch to see if I can do . . . whatever you call winning four times."

It was really difficult to get focused, and my play showed it. I fell way behind in the Jeopardy round, and for the first time had the privilege(?) of choosing first in Double Jeopardy.

I must be careful to say that it wasn't just or even mostly the grilled cheese sandwich that put me behind - both Kew and Kara are excellent players. On another day with a different FJ (obviously), things would've been much different.

Kew really got on my nerves, though. Not him personally, but his style with the signalling device. He sort of swung it every time he rang in, and seeing the motion out of the corner of my eye when I was having so much trouble with my timing made me growl inwardly a little bit. (Note that I am not saying he was doing the swing-thing to be distracting. It was what worked for him.)

Between J and DJ, I - how can I put this delicately - took an unscheduled grilled-cheese related trip back to the green room. The contestant coordinators were great about it, as was the sound guy who had to unmike and mike me all over again. (I'm only including this detail for the information of any future contestants who may become sick during a game - they will escort you and the game will wait for you. I was told at least one other contestant had recently become sick during a game or between games.)

I felt better in DJ, and was fortunately able to get back into second place. For the second game in a row, I was shut out in DD's in DJ (and in J this game). There were several triple stumpers I can't believe we left on the table, but the one that is the most embarrasing was a striped animal called - of all rare things - a zebra. I don't know about the other two, but I thought zebra was way too obvious for a 1200 clue. You can hear me saying, "Not zebra" right before Alex says it.

A word about video clues - I HATED them. I am a verbal, not a visual, person, and I found it very hard to figure out what they wanted on many of the video clues. They also threw off my rhythm of reading the clue and deciding whether to ring in before Alex was done reading - I had to wait until whatever Clue Crew member was done. I do think the Clue Crew is good for the show, just not for my playing of the game.

Finally, a note about Final Jeopardy. FJ wagering strategy was the primary element of my preparation for actually playing the game. Thanks to the J-Archive, the Jeopardy Message Board, playing VJ, and consulting with wagering gurus like "Slam," I was ready for this situation. I was within 2/3 (actually 3/4) of the leader, Kew, so I could win if we both missed. Also, the third place player (Kara) was far enough behind (thanks to her unfortunate "Iwo Jima" response on a DD) that I didn't have to worry about her score. At 16300 to 14200, I wagered 2001 to cover a possible zero bet by Kew if I did get FJ right, but it was small enough to beat him if he made the usual lockout wager.

Since most FJ's are gettable by a good player like Kew, the great likelihood was that I would lose. I spent most of the time during the commercial break before FJ looking around the set, saying to myself, "You're about to leave. Remember this - it's been a great ride!"

I was quite hopeful when I saw the FJ clue. I had no idea - maybe Kew wouldn't either. I struggled to think of some company with its logo in script - Hallmark was all I could come up with. I wasn't surprised to be wrong. When Kew's response of "Adding Machines" was revealed I knew he was wrong. But had he wagered enough for me to win?

I think my surprise at winning this game was evident on TV. These are the thoughts I reemember: Wow! I 'm going to play again. Four-time champ. Maybe TOC? Thank you God for this opportunity! I hope Kew's ok.

Folks have asked if I felt sorry for the people who lost the games I won. Well, I think the idea of competition is for everyone to do their best to win - that's sort of the bargain we made with the Jeopardy! folks when we agreed to be on the show, to give them a good show. While I empathized with those who didn't win, the only person I really felt bad for was Kew. He played a great game, and then lost on the only really hard FJ in my games so far.

During the chat with Alex after the game, he pointed to the audience and asked, "Is that your wife?" I looked up and there she was, sort of slumped down in the seat, breathing funny. It turned out that she had started hyperventilating when I won - I think there's a brief shot of her on the show as televised. She was just incredibly surprised as I was. She had told our daughter during that last break to pack up, we were done.

Thankfully, she recovered. And she was wrong.

There would be at least one more game!

To the Next Installment - GAME FIVE

GAME THREE - Wednesday, June 18

You can find the clues, correct responses, and results of the game HERE. (Thanks again to the folks who maintain the J! Archive.)

After a quick (and this time uneventful) change of clothes it was back into the studio for Game 3. After another Hometown Howdy (something lame about watching to see if I could "Three-peat"), it was time to play.

My attitude was different going into this game. I was much more relaxed. I had achieved my three big goals:

1. Don't finish the first game in the negative and miss out on FJ and the conversation with Alex.
2. Win one game.
3. Win a second to prove that it wasn't a fluke.

Remember, these were goals, NOT expectations. I was so happy to have won two games I was just having fun in this game. Was I as focused? No. Did I play as well? No. But I did enjoy this game more - in the first two games I never would have said, "I couldn't have been more wrong" after fumbling the "Waterboy" clue (I responded "Drowning" instead of "Dehydration" as the way The Waterboy's father died in the movie). It was cool to hear what sounded like canned laughter added to the broadcast after my comment. Being relaxed also didn't help me to be judicious in ringing in - I gave a whopping FOUR incorrect responses.

Jules and Lucyanne were both excellent players. It was apparent that Lucyanne was quite nervous, but she played great. Her getting both DD's in DJ totally neutralized the way I had won the first games with big DD wagers. It also hurt that I got the J round DD so early - and that I had gone in and out of the negative prior to that so I didn't have much to wager.

Watching the game last night, as the clues dwindled and I fell behind Lucyanne, I said to my wife, "I don't know how I won this game." I was seriously surprised that I took the lead and held it with the last category - "We Have Met the Anime." What do I know about Anime? Thanks to my son, I knew the Pokemon and Transformers clues cold (Lucyanne beating me to the buzzer and responding "Bee Movie" instead of Transformers was really the clincher - a 2400 swing). I ALMOST knew the Akira clue (I responded "Akiro" and was negged 800) not from the Anime but from the part of the clue about Kirosawa's name. Where I knew "Sailor Moon" from I have no idea. God has just designed my brain to be "sticky," I guess, and pick up things when I don't even realize it.

On FJ, I wrote down "Henry Fonda" immediately then spent about 25 seconds trying to think who else it could be. When Jules got it right I knew I was right and knew I had won (the math was easier in this game). I had wagered to beat second-place Lucyanne by a dollar, but she missed anyway. I had won a third game!

I can't say enough how gracious both Lucyanne and Jules were. I hope I was as gracious a winner.

Now it was time for lunch. After being selected to play the first game of the day, I was quite pleasantly surprised to still be around. The remaining players were escorted to the studio commissary. The walk was quite cool - "Over there is where they filmed the Wizard of Oz . . . on that street they were just filming Men in Black II. "

Here's some inside info for tonight's game: If I look a little green, here's why - for lunch we could order pretty much whatever we wanted on J!'s dime. I was looking for something bland, so I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. It was really good, but it was really good because it was fried in a lot of butter. The grease of the sandwich and the cheese did not do well on my hyped-up stomach. I'll have more about the effects of lunch in tomorrow's entry (isn't that something to look forward to!)

For now, advice for future contestants - stay away from anything greasy.

To the Next Installment - GAME FOUR

GAME TWO - Tuesday, June 17

You can find the clues, correct responses, and results of the game HERE. (Thanks again to the folks who maintain the J! Archive.)

After winning the first game, I returned to the Green Room (still not really green) to change clothes. I had planned to wear my clerics (pastor clothes) for the second game - I didn't want to embarrass anyone but myself if I made a fool of myself in my first appearance.

I got my clergy shirt on, then went to grab the plastic white tab (that fits into the collar) from my garment bag. The problem was . . . it wasn't there. I fished around in the pockets of the garment bag, but there was no tab.

It was DIY time - I asked CC Tony if there was any white cardboard around. He and CC Corinna went on a search, and located a sheet of cardboard. And some scissors. Then I spent my last moments in the Green Room cutting out a strip of the cardboard that fit into my collar. They said it was the first time they'd ever dealt with that problem! If you watched the show on HD, you might have noticed that the tab was a little frayed around the edges from my inexpert cutting.

Oh well - it was back out onto the set. I stepped up to the champion's podium. Then came another problem - I had to come up with a new Hometown Howdy.

Hometown Howdies are recorded by the contestants just before the game begins. You introduce yourself and say where you're from and ask folks to watch you. It's distributed to your local station for show promotion, but apparently they are very rarely actually aired. With the help of my wife and daughter, I'd come up with a semi-creative howdy for my first game: "Hey Maryland, I'm Dave Simpson from Harford County. Grab a bushel of crabs and something cold to drink and watch me on Jeopardy!." You can view it here.

No one told me I needed to come up with a NEW Howdy for each game. I'm not sure what I said - it was something about defending my title - but I got through it.

Then it was time to play. Until I watched last night, I really didn't remember much about this game. Of course I knew the final score, but I even got who I played mixed up between tonight and last night. I knew at some point I had wagered a True Daily Double in the Jeopardy round, but was surprised when it was in this game and that is was for 4800 (my memory was that it was less).

The keys to this game were hitting the DD's and wagering big. That was my plan going in - using shows I watched and the J! Archive, I was able to determine that I knew around 80% of past DD's in the Jeopardy Round that were in the first four rows (not in the 1000 row in other words). I planned to go TDD figuring that the odds were good I'd know it, and if I didn't I'd have the DJ round to make it up. I just hoped I'd have the guts to make that wager. The strange thing is that it didn't really take guts - being so focused on the game I wasn't phased. But watching last night, I said out loud, "What are you doing?"

The only way I got Philippines out of that clue was the one word "Bataan" in the midst of everything else. I'd never heard of those universities.

The same basic thinking went into my 5000 wager in DJ. I love "Before and After" as a category - if you can't get one part often the other part will give it to you - and this was an 800 clue, so might as well go for something that would give me some space in the game. Especially after Brian had just run the Spanish American War Category (I knew I was in trouble when that came up him being a history teacher and all), I need to make a move.

People have been asking me today why I looked so nervous when my answer was revealed in Final Jeopardy. After all, they said, you knew you got it right after the other two players' answers were revealed, and you knew you had wagered enough. Well, not exactly. I knew I had the right answer. But math is NOT my strong point - I'm a verbal guy. You don't get a calculator, just a piece of white paper and a felt-tipped marker. You have to lock in your wager before the Final Jeopardy clue is revealed. I doubled Brian's score, subtracted mine from it, then added a dollar. Then I did it again. I knew that at least one person had lost on Jeopardy! because of a math error, so did it a couple more times. So the sighing and nervousness wasn't acting - I wasn't absolutely sure I'd won until I saw my final score displayed.

I was thrilled to win a second time. Folks have also asked me about pointing up and saying "Thank you" after I win. It's not thanking God that I won, it's thanking him for the opportunity to be there and the gifts that He endowed me with that allow me to have a chance to be on Jeopardy!. Kicker Matt Stover of the Ravens has talked about that a lot - he points up after every kick, whether he makes it or not.

One more thing - I was interviewed on the radio this morning, which was kind of cool. The local Contemporary Christian radio station, WRBS, thought it was noteworthy that a pastor was winning on Jeopardy. On the morning show, I had the chance to talk about the process of getting there and to tell the story about my cardboard collar. Most importantly, I was able to name my church - Trinity Lutheran in Joppa Maryland.

It's been a fun ride. Just remember, I have to lose sometime. What's happened so far has already exceeded my expectations if not my hopes. We'll see what happens tonight.

To the Next Installment - GAME THREE