April 5, 2003: The Janss steps on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles, among my minimal photographic evidence of being there.
The Jeopardy All-Star Games are re-airing this week and next. The novelty tournament brought back 15 talented, fan-friendly contestants for what may end up remembered as the last big event before a gambler broke the game.
The 2003 NAQT Intercollegiate Championship Tournament was held at UCLA. Jeopardy All-Star (and team captain) Colby Burnett was there. Jeopardy All-Star (and winning team member) Larissa Kelly was there. Jeopardy All-Star Roger Craig was there.
And a random schmuck from Iowa State who three years later faceplanted at a Jeopardy audition final was there.
(It was my second and most recent visit to California and the last time I used my Discman, since lost to battery corrosion. It also involved walking through the Bel-Air neighborhood after midnight Pacific Time. Uber was not an option in April 2003.)
*Or, for Burnett, times, because about a year later at the Carleton Undergrad Tournament, it was Iowa State Hall Effect 225, Northwestern Burnett 95.
**That game was me and one other person vs. Burnett playing by himself. I was a senior, Burnett a junior. According to my notes and a recap sent to ISU Quiz Bowl record keeper and future Jeopardy Tournament of Champions winner Michael Falk, that day I “drew upon [my] childhood, four years at ISU, tournament/practice knowledge, current events, and the television show ‘Wishbone’ .” The “power” tossups (extra points for early answers) against Burnett were for questions about Howard Dean, ALF, and polygamy.
***But back to the 2003 ICT. Those future All-Stars were playing in Division I, and I was playing in Division II. Same questions, different groups. A tiebreaker loss on the first day resulted in my ISU team being in the third group. That meant the next day we played easier competition and went undefeated. We had the third-most wins in D-II, but because of the pod we were in, it only counted as 17th place.
In the tournament, individual rankings are done by “points per 20 tossups heard.” That accounts for “powers”, regular answers, and “negs”.
I was 16th in D-II with 29.33 PP20TH, or roughly three tossups per match. My two power answers were for Steve Wozniak and Marty McFly, because of course they were.
Burnett was 44th in D-I with 22.98 PP20TH.
Kelly was 57th in D-I with 19.09 PP20TH.
So strictly by overall average score, against differing levels of competition, as individuals in a team setting, I once held my own in comparison with two people who later would win big on Jeopardy. It’s the flimsiest hat rack you’ve ever seen, but it’s something.