Edmontonian fulfills lifelong dream by competing on Jeopardy
An Edmonton woman appeared on an episode of Jeopardy Friday night, completing a lifelong dream and getting the chance to compete against a 14-day champion.
Sam Papuha, a political science graduate student at the University of Alberta, has watched the famous quiz game show with her family since she was a child.
"We were always a big game show family," Papuha said. "I used to think it was super cool that you'd have people up there watching Jeopardy who knew all of this stuff and were actually able to answer all the questions."
She would even play against her parents and thought someday it could be her playing in Final Jeopardy.
After watching old episodes during the pandemic, Papuha decided to do an online test to audition for the show.
"I didn't have a whole lot else going on," she added.
Not only did she pass, but continued to get called back for further rounds of timed trivia testing, a personality interview and even a mock-up game.
After a year of wading through the audition process, Papuha got the news she would compete on the show at a taping around Canadian Thanksgiving.
"They put us through a couple rounds of rehearsals on the Jeopardy stage which was really surreal just to be actually standing there," Papuha explained.
The most difficult part wasn't the questions but getting the intricacies of using the buzzer just right, Papuha told CTV News Edmonton.
"So they have these blue lights that show up on the side of the screen after a question is read," she said. "It's really about getting it right when the blue lights light up because if you ring in any earlier, they lock you out of the question, and if you ring in late, another contestant has probably buzzed in before you."
"It's really about trying to get your timing while you are quite nervous," Papuha added.
Papuha was the only Canadian contestant on her episode and wasn't able to buzz in on time for a question about the company sponsoring the CFL's Hamilton Tigercats stadium.
"I've had a couple friends make fun of me on social media: Really, Sam? You didn't know Tim Hortons," she said with a laugh. "I had to explain a couple times, yes, I know Tim Hortons. I knew the answer about the Ticats, I just couldn't ring in, in time."
That didn't stop her from making it to Final Jeopardy. She ended up taking home $2,000 in winnings but still feels like a champion for just making it on the show.
"A lot of us as contestants took on the mentality, well, we made it this far, it's already a pretty big dream to actually be on the show," Papuha said. "So whatever the outcome you could at least say you were on Jeopardy."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.