'Jeopardy's!' Ken Jennings Forgot He Applied to Be a Contestant
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Ken Jennings revealed a surprising fact about his Jeopardy! journey.
On the latest episode of the game show, a contestant asked the Jeopardy! champ-turned-host how long it took for him to be selected to appear on the show. Jennings responded, "I had never tried out, but like, it was like the full season, like a full year went by and I thought my eligibility had expired."
He elaborated further, noting, "I tried out once and about a year later, I finally got the call. And I had totally…it was enough time that I'd totally forgotten about it, and so suddenly I just panicked. I was like, 'Oh!'"
Jennings then shared he only had "three weeks to get good at Jeopardy!" before going on the show.
The contestant joked that the host "succeeded," to which Jennings quipped, "Oh yeah, I overachieved a little bit." But the champ wanted to make sure to note that it's a huge accomplishment for any trivia afficionado to be selected. "We're all Jeopardy! contestants. I feel like just getting on the show is the real win."
Jennings first appeared on Jeopardy! in 2004, with a history-making 74-game winning streak worth over $2 million. He returned to the show for the Greatest of All Time tournament in January 2020, where he beat fellow Jeopardy! champs James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter.
Despite his success in the 2020 tournament, Jennings admitted to Vulture that he didn't think he could win—and even went as far as trying to drop out.
"I'm 15 years older than from where I once was, a young, cocky Jeopardy! phenom, and I've started to slow down a little. I've been beaten by Brad on the show multiple times, and I've been watching James and seeing how unstoppable he looked. I told the show, 'I don't want to do this tournament, I'm out.' But they talked me back into it."
Jennings not only is the biggest Jeopardy! champ of all time, he also now gets to make contestants squirm with tough clues and is up for an Emmy. What is living the dream?
Next: Ken Jennings Reveals if He's Really Retired From Competing on 'Jeopardy
