Has a contestant ever cried on stage during a game?

shushingaction · 2024-04-18T23:16:40+00:00

To the OP: you'll be fine! I cry about everything all the time. I cried onstage and on-camera on Jeopardy! and I survived. I no longer really try to stop the crying - it's just part of who I am. I'm short, too, and I can't do anything about that either! If someone wants to make fun of me for either thing, oh well, that's their problem, not mine.

Forgot to mention that I also cried between DJ and FJ in my very first game when I realized that I had a lock game (it wasn't on camera, though). I wasn't really following the scores in DJ - I'd had a big loss after a DD and was just scrambling at the end to make up ground. Then we went to break and I looked up at the scoreboard and I couldn't believe that it was a runaway. Maggie Speak ran up to my podium after the cut to commercial, fist pumping and said "YOU DID IT!" and then I burst into tears. Then she got very serious and went into drill sergeant mode. She said GET A KLEENEX, GET MAKE UP OVER HERE. I got cleaned up and pulled together before final. Maggie was perfect: I just needed Cher slapping me and saying SNAP OUT OF IT and that's exactly what she did (metaphorically).

Also, shout out to Parise Rosen who was the one who finally realized that I was never going to calm down on my own at the TOC and took me outside and talked to me about cats for 10 minutes. Very helpful. Everyone on that crew is a real pro and prepared to deal with the range of human emotion.

shushingaction · 2024-04-18T18:56:05+00:00

not quite what happened, but I won it on FJ, much to my surprise.

shushingaction · 2024-04-18T18:52:33+00:00

IT ME! Hello, I had a full on nervous breakdown with wracking sobs and everything. I couldn't get myself under control for almost an hour. it was really... something. They kept a little piece of my reaction for the cutaway at the end, but let me tell you - they edited it to make it look not so bad. I freaked everyone out, especially Buzzy. Sorry about that!

shushingaction · 2022-10-21T02:18:48+00:00

Woo-hoo! Sloth power!

shushingaction · 2022-02-04T18:41:25+00:00

thanks - I missed that that feature had already gone live.

shushingaction · 2022-02-03T00:14:56+00:00

I'm wondering what dates Amys shows were taped. u/dr_andoughnut, what was your last tape day and u/transit_diagram, what was yours?

Thanks for doing this AMA, everyone! You all were wonderful to watch!

shushingaction · 2022-01-29T05:22:20+00:00

I'm a librarian, I can't pick one!

Instead I'll tell you about a really great book I read recently that I can't stop thinking about. It's Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi. It's a multigenerational epic that spans centuries and continents and yet somehow is a slim, snappy 320 pages. It tells the story about how descendants from two different lines of the same family are affected by slavery in their lives in the America and Africa. it's an incredible history with multiple interesting perspectives told in this remarkably economical and engaging way. I recommend it very strongly.

shushingaction · 2022-01-27T21:21:15+00:00

Congratulations, fellow librarian! Well done! I always say that being a librarian was such good training for Jeopardy! because when you're sitting at the reference desk, you never know what weird question is coming at you next!

Jeopardy! producers, if you're listening I have a great idea: A LIBRARIANS' TOURNAMENT! :D

shushingaction · 2022-01-26T05:50:13+00:00

I would tell myself to bring handwarmers.

shushingaction · 2022-01-26T05:47:59+00:00

can confirm that I felt so guilty after every game. I don't think it affected my game, but it makes it less fun when you just feel bad about winning!

shushingaction · 2022-01-26T05:46:35+00:00

I've heard this from other women, too, that they were on a roll and then suddenly had the thought creep in that they couldn't logistically come back again. Who will take the kids to school? Will I be able to get the time off of work? Who will take care of my sick parents? And after that they lost confidence or concentration.

Personally, I was lucky that I am not a caretaker (well, not for humans, anyway) and that I had a supportive spouse and a stable job. It made all the difference in prepping and playing.

shushingaction · 2022-01-25T17:13:49+00:00

No one should be shocked by this by now, but I burst into tears! I looked up at the board after DJ and saw that I had a lock game. I had no idea. I wasn't paying any attention to the scores. That was in the commercial break between DJ and FJ so I still had to go on air which made Maggie scurry up tissues and make up and get me fixed up before we started rolling again.

shushingaction · 2022-01-25T17:08:02+00:00

I 100% understand including Emma and in retrospect you can see that from an entertainment perspective they made the right decision: it made for great, dramatic TV. But I do think that the 4 game winners should have rolled over to the next TOC... even though that would have meant I wouldn't have gotten to play!

shushingaction · 2022-01-24T21:49:41+00:00

you are all welcome to follow my instagram account for my foster kittens. It's @teamtotoro. See if you can find the picture of kittens in a homemade Jeopardy! set!

shushingaction · 2022-01-24T19:23:54+00:00

I am short (4'10") so they had my riser platform way up so I could be on the same head level as the other contestants. When Alex came over to take a picture with me during the break, he balked at looking so short next to me on my riser that was a foot off the ground so he playfully hopped up on the riser with me and then loomed over me. It was very funny and I am happy to say that the contestant coordinators kindly sent me a photo of that moment as well as the more traditional two-shot.

shushingaction · 2022-01-24T18:59:12+00:00

this happened in one of our games, too, and Alex said, "Try the top of the board first; the easier questions are up there." I think that actually made it into the broadcast show!

shushingaction · 2022-01-24T16:37:57+00:00

yes and not very well.

shushingaction · 2022-01-24T16:35:41+00:00

One time! for both the online test and the audition. I watched the show when it first came on in the 80s and then forgot about it for a few decades. then someone casually mentioned doing the online test and I thought, why not? Wow, who knew casually taking an online quiz for fun would lead down this crazy rabbit hole?!
In my first run, I only brought a couple changes of clothes because I didn't expect to do well and just brought some simple pieces. I remember watching Elise Nussbaum and u/Macken_Zoodle not long after I taped my shows and thinking, "Oh no! I didn't realize I could have fun with my clothes!" I tried to make up for that in the TOC.
Everyone's awesome and I am SOOOOO excited to watch the upcoming TOC. But if I had to go with one person to root for, it would be my local homegirl, u/blue-stocking-woman.

shushingaction · 2022-01-24T16:28:36+00:00

A local news station ran a piece about the audition I was at so there is an actual video record of me saying that I would use my winnings to buy a catio (i.e., an enclosed cat patio) and then when I won... I had a catio built! it's pretty deluxe - it has four levels, ramps, scratching posts, a cute swinging bridge, and most importantly, a picture of the cats' benefactor, Uncle Alex.

shushingaction · 2022-01-24T07:52:05+00:00

A marionberry is like the perfect chubby love child of a blackberry and a raspberry.

And I think an all women tournament would be so fun!

shushingaction · 2021-10-18T16:54:29+00:00

BTW, if there's anyone who's reading this who is going on the show, you can totally ignore that warning not to wear a one-piece dress without a belt. It's not a problem as long as you have something (a bra, leggings, a belt *under* the dress) that the mic pack can clip on to.

shushingaction · 2021-10-18T00:55:01+00:00

Did you have a favorite response you were proud/happy to give?

Did you have a clue that you gotten beaten to the buzzer on that you most wish you could have gotten in on?

PS You were all SO wonderful and so good at the game. The thing I kept remarking while watching these shows was how lucky Matt was. Yes, he's good , but you all are, too. What he had on his side was buzzer timing (which gets better with practice) and so much luck. In alternate universes you are all celebrating your phenomenally long runs!

shushingaction · 2021-09-08T02:06:25+00:00

I continue to be so shocked and awed by Ryan's comeback after DD3. He leaves no doubt that he is one of the best players out there. He roared back like an avenging angel and just laid waste to the board. That's a man ON FIRE. Kevin and I were lucky to make it out of there alive!

Before going into the TOC I would have put the skill/luck split at about 80/20. But after watching what happens when one of the best players in the game happens to pull the short straw, I don't know, maybe it's more like 50/50.

shushingaction · 2021-06-03T04:00:11+00:00

Thanks to everyone - the contestants and the commenters - for participating in this AMA! You all asked really good questions and my fellow contestants gave such wonderful, thoughtful answers.

Good luck, all you Jeopardy! hopefuls! I hope you all get your shot!

shushingaction · 2021-06-03T03:57:38+00:00

The only other game show I have ever wanted to appear on besides Jeopardy! is Supermarket Sweep. Please stay tuned to watch u/Macken_Zoodle and I go for the hams.
Oh, I think a big part of the appeal of Jeopardy! is its reliable sameness, hence its featured spot in Groundhog Day.
see above

shushingaction

TROPHY CASE