Game Six Recap... Max Levaren
My recap has to start right after my Quarterfinal game ended. I was
disappointed, but not really surprised. I was hoping to make it to the semis,
but not really expecting it. (But watching my FJ, I was again struck by how
POSITIVE I was about that "lame duck" response.)
By the time we went to lunch after Game 3, the speculation began. What would happen if there weren't four players with money at the end of the "week"? Mark Dawson was practically a shoo-in, but Travis ( my love :) ) was starting to look like a possibility as well. We figured that the highest scores going into FJ was probably the way it would go. I've had my share of zeroes on exams and such, but never have I gotten $5K for a zero. I lived to play another day!
To risk being repetitive, we were competitors, but were into having fun, too.
Those of us who took the van back to Merv's mansion had so much nervous energy, elation, disappointment, and a flurry of other emotions to deal with --- we just got good and rowdy, with the help of Maggie's tales of "game show porn" and Jason's flask.
So I had another day of hope battling with reality. I didn't really expect to go
on to the finals, but brought two extra shirts, just in case. So back to the
Green Room --- coffee, croissants, and then, the bad news . I was playing first, against Brian and Mark Brown (although there was no one who was going to be an easy opponent.)
Starting out with a correct response on Limericks got me going (though headed in the wrong direction). I got a bit too creative, but at least was amusing. I thought that the sheets response was right up there (or down there, according to your point of view) with Kyle's toilet paper response from Friday.
Thank heavens for opera and Danny Kaye - they at least kept me at a respectable level (which was no piece of cake against Brian and Mark --- what awesome competitors and gracious players!) It was a heck of a game. My one regret (besides the money and bragging rights) is that my sons Mike, Stuart, and I won't have matching Jeopardy tattoos!
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