My preparation regimen was extensive. Among other things, I:
- prepared perhaps 2,000 flash cards for author and title and for world
capitals. And expanded that to include topical people (my weakest area).
- looked up the Academic Teams at both Emory University and Georgia Tech. They were kind enough to allow me to practice along with them. The downside of practicing with them was that a great deal of their material is so esoteric or academic that it would never appear on Jeopardy. On the upside, it was a great way to spar and to practice recall.
- listened to the advice of experienced players and Jeopardy wonks,
including reading up on Jeopardy betting strategies and statistics.
- read through histories and things historical, including the Constitution
and Bill of Rights.
- downloaded questions culled from the Internet and had my sister-in-law
and other friends and family members read them to me.
- had friends save magazines for me. I did my best to at least skim
through them so that I would be aware of topical matters.
- rented lots and lots of movies. I've never read Jane Austen, but I
highly recommend Mansfield Park (Francis O'Connor) and also Sense and
Sensibility (Emma Thompson) and even Clueless (Alicia Silverstone).
What was your Beverly Hilton experience like?
As an alternate from the previous ToC, I knew enough to know that I
couldn't afford to eat or drink there ... But I should tell the story of the
entire trip to LA. Ever since I failed the qualifying exam after driving from
Atlanta to LA, I have a thing about being acclimated and well-rested before
any sort of activity requiring mental ability.
I flew out to LA on the Thursday before the Tuesday taping, staying at the
same Culver City hotel that had hosted me during my regular season run.
This was both to put me in a readily familiar environment and also to remind myself of my previous success. As it turned out, I arrived too early in the day to get a room, so I sat down in the lobby and did a bit of reading.
On the closed circuit television monitor located there, I noticed that, of
all things, Jeopardy! was holding tryouts in my hotel at that very moment.
During the break between exams, I ventured down to the testing room and
found Glenn and Susanne, neither of whom recognized me out of context and with a full beard. Nevertheless, we had a nice chat and my Jeopardy!
experience had begun.
I spent the following days alternately studying, sleeping, studying,
sitting the sun by the pool, studying, getting a bite to eat, studying,
exercising in the hotel gym, studying...... you get the picture. I did take time
out Friday evening, to meet Allison, a friend of a friend, in Santa Monica
for dinner and drinks.
When Sunday arrived, I took the bus (yes the bus, YES, Los Angeles has a
bus system) from Culver City to the Beverly Hilton. A $35 cab ride cost me a
buck. The buses were clean, ran often and on time and only cost me $1!
The cost of food and drink aside, the Beverly Hilton is a Grand Dame of a
hotel, showing her age in a few areas, but pulling it off with grace and
style. I was excited to finally be in my hotel room, in Beverly Hills, ready
to play in the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions! (It pains me to admit that I was all juiced up over simply arriving at my hotel, but, hey, I'd
been waiting a long, long time to get to there. If Jeopardy can be
considered the Major Leagues of Trivia, then the Tournament of Champions is certainly the World Series.)
Once established in my quarters, I touched base with Alan Bailey (a few
days earlier, we had made plans to get together Sunday evening), then headed out for a walk around Beverly Hills. The walk was certainly good exercise and a little bit of sight-seeing, but it was more to acclimate myself, to help my frame of mind. Continuing with another theme, the walk also served as an opportunity to pick up supplies (food and drink) at a local store. Heck the courtesy bar in my hotel room was charging like $7 for a 10-ounce bottle of water. I made sure that I was stocked up with everything I might need.
That evening, over some fine Cuban appetizers, Alan and I got together for
what was intended to be light conversation about the upcoming tournament. As a bit of background, we had both been alternates to the previous Tournament of Champions. Coincidentally, we are both products of Middle Georgia, graduating the very same year, he from Jones County and I from Mount de Sales, about 12 miles apart. We talked at some length over all things Jeopardy, including strategy and tactics. In essence, I practically blurted out everything I knew, thought or wished, while he encouraged me to do so. While I would never characterize the conversation as an interrogation (I'm really teasing Alan here), I will say that in retrospect I was amazed both at how much I blathered on about my planning and how much Alan held back even while making real contributions to the conversation. Next time I'm involved in contract negotiations, I know who to call.
What was the morning of the Quarterfinal like?
Getting together at the lobby that morning was pretty uneventful. It was
nice seeing the other contestants in real life and getting reacquainted with
Maggie and Susanne. There was a certain nervousness and subsurface
excitement among the players and contestant coordinators alike, but otherwise it was a lot like the few minutes before you go into a conference. The only surprises were that Jill was pregnant, Jackie was not, and that there was this Brian Weikle guy, whose record-setting five-day run had yet to air. Isuppose there was some sizing up of the competition, but I'm really not big on that.
I had found my previous experience of sitting around the Green Room as an alternate in 2001 to be very tiring (though enjoyable) and had promised
myself that on this trip I would save some quiet time in the morning to rest
my mind and get ready to hit the stage. What I didn't count on was that this
year television crews came into the sanctum of the Green Room and filmed
us in preparation and that there would also be interviews taped for the
internet. Eric and I were having a nice, relaxed conversation and the next
thing we knew there was a camera and microphone in our faces. If that doesn't ratchet up the adrenaline, nothing will.
When they pulled me from the Green Room for my internet interview, I was
somehow under the mistaken assumption that they were simply checking our wardrobe for compatibility with the new cameras, so I wasn't really prepared to make witty repartee. Nonetheless, they had me repeat a flippant line that I had included in my bio --- something about wanting to be on Jeopardy because "chicks dig it." (I guess I was thinking about that commercial where pitchers Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux bemoan Mark McGuire and the fact that "chicks dig the long ball.") We'll just have to wait to see how big of a jerk I make of myself.
Of course, we all paraded out onstage for a little practice and stuff that
I really don't remember all that well, other than that the practice boards
were the actual game boards from Brian's earlier shows. He was shouting
from the audience the location of the Daily Double, so I dutifully went for
it and, of course, bet it all. I think we all had fun goofin' around on
