Game Three Recap... Travis Troyer
Actually, I guess I should start by saying that my whole Jeopardy experience taught me about perspective. You see, tonight's show was pre-empted in the Baltimore market for severe weather rolling through the area. So, I can't really say how I felt after watching the show. But considering that a war broke out while we were all in California and that these storms have caused such devastation to people's lives, I'm not all that concerned that I didn't get to watch myself. You learn what's important and what's not so important in life. The things that I do take from my Jeopardy experience don't revolve around winning and losing, but instead revolve around the relationships that I formed and that I strengthened. That's what counts.
That being said, I'll tell you what I do remember from the taping. The Green
Room experience was great. I found the love of my life in Max, I got to work on crosswords with Alan and Jackie, and I got some help from all completing my NCAA basketball pool (needless to say, that was about as successful as my Jeopardy experience tonight). After a while, I suddenly came to the realization that I didn't want to play anyone in the room. Everyone was incredibly smart and gracious. I don't have that killer instinct, and I wish that all sixteen of us in the room could have just walked away and split the money. I had a conversation with Mark L. on the way over to the studio, and I spoke with Jill in the Green Room, and I just genuinely liked both of them.
As for the game itself, obviously there are some painful memories for me, but there are some good ones as well. I felt this great sense of camaraderie with Jill, because we would joke about how hard the questions were during the break. Some of the answers that Mark and Jill came up with just boggled my mind. They are two smart cookies. Then again, some of the answers I came up with boggled my mind because of their ineptitude.
I mean, bread ... the vegetable that starts with "c." Somebody needs to revisit his food groups and alphabet.
Then, there's Krakow. There's an episode of the Simpsons where Lisa spurns Ralph Wiggum on air on the Krusty the Clown show, and Bart keeps on rewinding it and playing it in slo-mo and showing the precise moment where Ralph's heart breaks. That moment for me was Krakow.
By Final Jeopardy, I almost had nothing to lose, and thinking that Wild Card was out of the picture, I bet for the win assuming everybody missed the question. I should have known better going against those competitors that that would not happen.
I'm not going to lie and say I didn't feel dejected immediately after the show,
because I did. However, being around a group as supportive as the other
contestants quickly turned that around. Trevor consoled me in the lunch line, and when Jill expressed how she was going to use her extra winnings to maybe pay off a car, I was quite stoked. I know that everyone else's summaries express this, but it's so true that we were all genuinely happy for each other. The rest of my day and the rest of my time in LA was so enjoyable. I got to hang out with the cool staff and meet some quite extraordinary people. I guess in the end, it's all about the perspective you have.
And no, I'm not using my $5K for a tour of Poland.
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