Me and You and Alex Trebek Too

Do you know what you were doing six years ago this week?

I do. I was watching myself on TV.

My name is Jack Bauer.

No, I’m way cooler -- I was on Jeopardy! Here’s a little something I wrote about the experience back in the day.

So what do I think of now when I remember it? Probably not what you’d expect. It’s the people I shared it with, in one way or another, who provide the best memories.

Jeopardy! is a rather solitary experience. When you’re up there, it’s just you. And the random facts involuntarily amassed through all those years of being a trivia trap. And that buzzer, baby.

I did keep it to myself, at first. I didn’t tell anyone beyond my immediate family and a few friends in L.A. that I was even going to be on the show. I didn’t have a boss at the time, so no one knew when I flew out there for the taping.  Or when I flew out there again a few weeks later.

And the mystery continued all through the holidays, as I made the round of Christmas parties. ‘What’ve you been up to, Tom?’ ‘Oh, nothing much.’ It’s not easy to keep good news to yourself.

Then, finally, a few days before it aired, just a quick email to absolutely everyone I knew.  Tune in January 5, see how I do.

Mind you, this was in the pre-Facebook era, so it was good old-fashioned country emailing. I had a blog too (this was 2004, before everyone was legally required to blog). Each day I’d post something, occasionally foreshadowing that night’s show in some small way-- but never giving away how it would end. Starting with that first night, what everyone wanted to know was “Are you going to win?” But the only way to find out was to watch.

Being on TV is a good way to unleash hysteria, the fun kind, in your small corner of the world. My friend Gayle, with a great TV by the primitive standards of that benighted age, offered to host the party on the big night. Several dozen folks converged there to experience it with play-by-play from the guy at the podium on the right (but only during the commercials). I knew how it was going to end, but it was stressful to watch myself anyway.

I cringed my way through, and then it was over, and Gayle asked, again tomorrow? And that’s how we did it until it was done, a nightly party held with 23 ½ hours notice and an ever-shifting crowd, only one member of which knew how each night would end. It was fun to play the game, but to share the experience was even better.

Meanwhile, my rather far-flung crowd of friends was completely losing it. After a game, I got a voicemail from my college friend Jeff saying something like, ‘You’re like… Pete Rose… this is like… the most amazing streak… in the history of streaks!’ (Note to non-baseball fans:  Pete Rose hit in 44 straight games. At this point I’d won two games. Definitely comparable. And I didn’t bet on mine, either.)

As the days continued, the long-lost friends began to track me down (which I’d made easy through my blog). Suddenly I was back in touch with most of my high school class, a group for which nerdiness had, fortunately, never gone out of style.

An email from a friend I’d lost touch with after college, reprinted without permission (sorry Chris):  “It was strange to see you up there on the TV. As the Friday show was airing, I found myself at the local mall with my older daughter buying her a backpack for school. We passed the Foot Locker store on our way out, and there were three ref-suited employees, watching you on the big ceiling-mounted TV. I stopped to check out your progress, and they started talking about your amazing run. Yeah, I said. I once ate Meatless Baked Ziti with him.”

It wasn’t just my peers; their kids were excited too. Even if they’d never met me, and whether they were old enough to understand why their parents cared about that one particular guy or not, I loved knowing they were on my team.

But even more excited were my friends’ parents, and my parents’ friends, and seemingly everyone who knew either of the above. It won’t surprise you to know that the Jeopardy! demographic skews, um, older. The following year I walked into a party before my friend Owen’s wedding; his grandmother Lily, 90 years young, gasped and asked, “What is Tom Walsh doing here?” When asked how she remembered me, she explained, “Those eyes! Nobody has eyes like Tom Walsh.”

Our elders have much to teach us.

As the shows aired, I had a growing awareness of sharing the experience with total strangers. Something like 10 million of them. That’s about how many Americans watch Jeopardy! each night. Even if 8 million of them were rooting against me, that’s still a lot of people who were briefly aware of me and at least mildly entertained and challenged.

One friend reported that his co-worker disdained my exploits, noting that on ‘reality’ shows, people got way more money for eating bugs. Fair enough; but Jeopardy! is one of those small things that elevate our culture just a tiny bit. I was proud to perform for the people who get that. And who appreciate good eyes.

A question I got after being on Jeopardy! was ‘How did you get this way?’ That brings to mind the people I got to share the experience with who meant the most to me. I was blessed to grow up in a family that valued knowledge and curiosity about our world. I grew up listening to stories from my dad. Stories about the election of 1876, and the Yanomamo people of the Amazon, and every single person who appeared in any movie since 1930, and (a specialty) every facet of life in New York City from the Depression on.  

I just am this way, and it’s mainly thanks to Dad. He actually passed the Jeopardy! test a time or two himself but never got the call, but he and the rest of my family got to come out for a few tapings. Probably my favorite moment of the whole experience was getting to acknowledge him during one of the interview segments, as the cameras turned to show his beaming face.

So if you’re the Jeopardy! type (and if you’re not, be thankful that your mind isn’t cluttered like ours), go ahead, take the test. Trust me, if you make it onto that stage, you won’t be alone up there.

Next week:  Part Deux: a little A&Q with the Jeopardy! Guy.