What is: a blooper
Millions of viewers cringe whenever ‘Jeopardy!’ contestants fumble basic sports questions. That’s where viral clips are born
In the weeks leading up to the taping of his “Jeopardy!” appearance, Justin Earnshaw focused his show prep on science and math topics.
Sports? Not so much.
He followed the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics closely because of family roots in Boston, and was confident enough in his knowledge of most of the major North American sports. His only real blind spot was football.
So of course when it came time for Canadian host Alex Trebek to introduce the categories, the lone sports topic on that 2018 episode of the long-running show was “Talkin’ Football.”
It didn’t go well. He fumbled on all of them. And that’s where his viral clip was born.
“My mom, who was in the audience for the taping, is obsessed with American football,” Earnshaw says, laughing. “As soon as I stepped off the stage, she gave me a little bit of hell in the most loving way.”
In the video, Earnshaw and his opponents remained silent, refusing to buzz in for any of the five football questions, causing long-time “Jeopardy!” host Trebek, a huge sports fan himself, to grow increasingly exasperated.
Earlier this month, Trebek died at the age of 80 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. An outpouring of tributes from around the world followed, remembering the Sudbury, Ont., native as the heart and soul of a trivia show and a staple in living rooms for 36 “Jeopardy!” seasons.
Of the many clips from the show that circulated on social media following news of his death, many of them highlighted his love of sports. There was a sit-down interview where Trebek named his favourite Los Angeles Lakers players. And a surprise appearance from the host — a University of Ottawa graduate — during the NHL draft in October to help announce the first-round selection of Tim Stuetzle by the Ottawa Senators.
There was also another kind of sports-related Trebek tribute making its way around the web, where “Jeopardy!” contestants, like Earnshaw, fell on their faces while trying to answer sports questions on the show. In one instance, a contestant answered the clue “100-plus assists in an NHL season has been accomplished only 13 times, 11 times by this player,” with Magic Johnson instead of Wayne Gretzky.
The list of sports category failures is so long, Claire