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What is … a yellow-hued defeat?
(Its Bangladesh, by the way.)
Talsma walked away from the lectern with an even $29,600 compared to Schneiders $19,600.
The secret is out.I cant imagine how Amy and otherJeopardy!champions deal with this attention.
Were regular people and not used to being in the limelight.
Were a bunch of nervous and self-conscious nerds.
Its really intense, but Im so grateful.
I do feel like they got me there, on some level.
Its a nice way to stand out.
I love that Buzzy Cohen ischallenging youasJeopardy!s official dandy.That could never happen.
He was wearing these custom-tailored suits and stuff like that, and I was there in head-to-toe Uniqlo.
No contest, hes the winner.
Tell me about your history with the show.
Was it a longtime goal of yours to be a contestant?Absolutely.
Ive been watchingJeopardy!my entire life.
My first memory of the show wasKens winning streak when I was a kid.
My uncle was a hugeJeopardy!fan.
I have great memories watching it with him.
I realized when I was getting older that I was getting a lot of the clues right.
I started taking the online test once a year for the past five years.
2021 was the first year I got invited to audition, and I made it to the stage.
She was the first person in the greenroom who I saw and introduced myself to.
Before we were even briefed, Joanne got Amy to tell me she won 38 times.
Were you like,Oh, shit?Pretty much that.
It was a kaleidoscope of emotions.
I couldnt settle on one.
Part of me went into this thinking that its such a huge accomplishment to begin with.
I thought,This is really cool.
Thats all I wanted to do.
I wanted to let go of any attachment I had to winning or doing super well.
I mean, I think those were the two most dominant performances in her run.
She destroyed them all.
I was shocked by how good she was.
So I was watching her and thought,Shes beatable.Random chance plays a huge role in the game.
Inevitably, something will happen and shes not going to make it.
In what ways?She tends to play from the top of the board to the bottom.
She runs those categories, and shes really good on the buzzer.
I realized during rehearsal that I wasnt half bad at the buzzer myself.
And thats exactly what happened.
The Final Jeopardy category was Countries of the World, and I couldve written the clue.
It was so in my wheelhouse that it felt like destiny or fate.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but it was my knowledge base.
I had 30 seconds to celebrate at the end of the episode.
I think it really helped that I let go of winning.
I was so Zen-like and happy.
I ate a nice lunch beforehand.
I was maybe projecting confidence more than I realized.
I thought I was destined to lose, so I just did my best.
I didnt jump in and guess; I only buzzed in when I knew the answers.
I stayed calm as much as possible.
I was biting her heels like a little dog the whole time.
I had very limited time to debrief with Amy before I played my next game.
I was like,Amy, youre so amazing, and Im so humbled.
Youre a legend.It was hard to read her reaction to losing.
I would love to know how she felt.
On some level, there could be a sense of relief, but also disappointment.
That was validating.Weve since connected on Instagram.
Shes a lot less active on social media than I am.
Very good-humored and kind but a lot more reserved.
We exchanged a few messages there.
Did you freak out seeing Ken after all these years?It was like meeting Barack Obama.
I was beside myself.
It was that level for me in terms of celebrity.
Seeing him be so successful while also being so humble, funny, and himself is so wonderful.
If Amy is Ken, Im now slottedinto that Nancy Zerg role.
But also, was Ken reliving his own trauma of his run ending while hosting?
But he was so nice to me.
He complimented my glasses!
I tried to soak up as much as I could.
His knowledge of the game gives him so much credibility.
Theres nobody better suited for the job.
What is it about the profession that helps you excel atJeopardy!
?Not only that, but were both from Chicago and the same age.
The parallels between us are crazy.
Librarians have a little bit of a reputation in theJeopardy!fandom.
The reason were so good on the show is that were generalists by trade.
Were able to make connections and recognize patterns.
We see names and dates come up a lot and can commit them to memory.Jeopardy!is the same.
A broad range of topics come up, and often its hitting the surface.
Its not about deep or technical knowledge on a topic but about memorization and recall of the important stuff.
Every single day at work, I learn something new.
Thats helped me a lot in getting ready for the show, and it certainly paid off.
