Who hasn’t pictured themselves mouthing those words, as millions looked on, anxiety mounting as the theme song tic-tocked out the seconds? The fantasy became reality for the chosen few who stood out above the thousands, yes thousands, that came to try out this morning at Gulfstream Park.The long line of hopefuls slowly snaked up the stairs and hallways of Gulfstream, having attracted young and old, to take the 10-question quiz, and then to try their hand at the actual game.Of course, watching from the comfort of your living room sofa, you’re not only a match for Ken Jennings, you’re amazingly agile on the button as the answers magically flow. When you’re on the set, or even a mini studio replica reproduced on the second floor of the casino, your brain goes into some kind of surreal freeze. At least mine did, as the host, not Alex but Jon, a member of the clues team, called my name and asked me to choose my category. My moment in the sun, and I got to choose my best category, “books and authors” and did I go for $1000: no, cowardly, I went for $200, where the Dickens clue required the response: who, or what, is Scrooge. I barely managed to shout “scrooge” into the microphone, not even certain of what I was saying, or even what question I was supposed to be answering.The next question had me repeatedly pressing the handheld buzzer like mad, to no avail, as another contestant apparently beat me to it. Personally, I think it was a technical malfunction, and I should have had that question. Funny, I can’t even remember what it was, even though this all took place about an hour ago.I think I’ll go back to TV Jeopardy, where I’m first on the buzzer and never have to lose points for wrong answers.
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