Ken Jennings writes for The Post: Why I’m rooting for James Holzhauer on 'Jeopardy!'
By Ken Jennings May 19 at 6:55 PM Ken Jennings is a 74-time “Jeopardy!” champion and the author, most recently, of “Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture.”
It’s impossible to overstate what a statistical outlier Holzhauer has been during his “Jeopardy!” rampage — even for a fellow “Jeopardy!” outlier like me. Let me put it this way: When I set the one-day “Jeopardy!” earnings record back in 2004, my total that night was $75,000. Over his first 22 games on the show, Holzhauer is averaging $76,864 per game. Nice work, if you can get it.
But I count my blessings that I own at least one “Jeopardy!” distinction that Holzhauer can’t touch: I appeared on the show before the dawn of social media. Holzhauer has been met every night by a barrage of hot takes about his streak: He’s “broken the game.” He’s “ruined the show.” He’s “unfair” to his competitors, or “boring” to watch. This very op-ed page has called him a “menace to ‘Jeopardy!,’” evoking mental images of angry newspaper editor J. Jonah Jameson from the Spider-Man movies.
That’s what we should appreciate about Holzhauer: the insane confidence of even trying to play “Jeopardy!” according to an untested personal strategy. Every contestant who gets on “Jeopardy!” has watched the show for hundreds or thousands of hours. We’ve internalized its rhythms. But when it all rises up and surrounds you, “Jeopardy!” is an overwhelming and stressful experience.
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