The answer is ... Mr. Wilson Will Be on Jeopardy!

By Bob Castello
SJCS Communications Manager

After all these years, the answer is ... finally ... yes!

SJCS math and science teacher Mr. Thomas Wilson is going to be on Jeopardy!

Technically, he already has been. He took his knowledge of everything from British authors, to European capitals, to the Middle Ages and more to the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California, this past Monday and Tuesday for taping. His appearance will air on Tuesday, April 15.

"It's been a life goal forever," he said upon finding out his dream had been realized. "I'm really, really excited. I'm kind of nervous, but I think the excitement is going to overwhelm the nervousness."

Mr. Wilson received the official word on Monday, December 16. It was a call he had been hoping to receive since he began making attempts to be on the show more than 15 years ago.

He's long been a fan. He watched at home. He watched at his grandmother's house.

He's always been involved in trivia-related activities. At his high school in New Jersey, Mr. Wilson was on the equivalent of a quiz bowl team, and it won the county championship three out of his four years.

He attended Lafayette (Pa.) College, which did not have a team, but he got back into competition as a graduate student at Stanford University, when others in the chemistry department asked him to join.

"That really got me into it, going to quiz bowl practices there," he said. "We were easily the best quiz bowl team on the West Coast. That wasn't my doing. We had some really, really great players."

As for Jeopardy!, Mr. Wilson has been trying to get on the show ever since he first found out about the online test that begins the process. The test consists of 50 questions. A category is presented and a clue, and you type in your answer.

"If you do well enough," he said, "and I don't think it's just that, there may be some element of randomness to it as well, but if you do well enough, they'll email you and say, 'Congrats on your performance on the online test. We want to take you for an audition.' "

"I think it probably takes a certain type of brain where latching onto weird facts is just a thing for you."

When Mr. Wilson first started trying to be on the show, the auditions were held at huge hotels in big cities, and you had a choice of several cities.

Three times previously he had made it to the audition phase. First, he was in high school, and he went to New York for the teen tournament. Next, he was in college, and he went to Washington, D.C., for the college tournament. The third was about eight years ago, his first as a teacher. He was living in Lancaster, Pa., and he went to Boston to audition for the main show.

At the time, the audition phase was in-person. It consisted of another test, followed by a mock round of Jeopardy! with a real set of buzzers against two other people, along with the in-person interview similar to the one the host does after the first commercial break.

After each of those three auditions, Mr. Wilson never heard from anyone again.

Now, the entire process is online.

So Mr. Wilson took the online test. He did well enough to be chosen to take a second online test, but they actually watched him take it over Zoom. That was in September.

He was selected for the next phase, which consisted of a mock Jeopardy! round and mock interview for a group of nine people.

"They took us three at a time," Mr. Wilson said. "They had us play a round. Obviously we couldn't use real buzzers so they had us click a pen. I think the guy running it just randomly picked from the people who were buzzing. I mostly did pretty well. Apparently I did well enough. They basically tell you you're going to be in the pool for the next two years. We might call you, we might not.

"The Friday before midterms week, I got a text from the contestant producer, which basically said something like, 'We want to talk to you a little more about your application.' That alone did seem a little strange because the other times I auditioned, I just never heard from them again. I wasn't ready to get my hopes up, but I definitely thought something might be up."

"It's just one of the coolest feelings. I've been trying for this for so long. I want to do this so bad, and now I get my shot."

He had to wait and wonder all weekend, but the contestant producer called back Monday and asked a series of questions Mr. Wilson had answered previously. No, he's never been on Jeopardy! before. No, he doesn't know anyone who works for Sony. No, he hasn't committed any felonies.

Having handled all the preliminaries, the man said, "This is the call. You're going on Jeopardy!."

He flew to California this past Sunday, was there for taping on Monday and Tuesday and then flew home on Wednesday. (Contestants are sworn to secrecy so we'll find out how he did with the rest of the viewing audience.)

They tape five episodes a day, and they schedule you for two taping days.

"For most people that should be it," Mr. Wilson said.

Not everyone has a Ken Jennings-type run.

But even finishing third would be worth $1,000. For second place the prize is $2,000. A good win or series of wins could be worth thousands of dollars.

"I know how to handle myself in a pressure environment," Mr. Wilson said before his trip. "Now I get to see if I'm actually going to be good at this like I think I should be.

"There are probably five or six major topics I know incredibly well -- math science, history, classical music, geography. I'm pretty decent in sports, especially baseball and football."

Even though he doesn't speak any other languages, he recognizes words in other languages. He just has the proper balance for this kind of task.

"I think it probably takes a certain type of brain where latching onto weird facts is just a thing for you," he said.

And it's been a thing for Mr. Wilson for years and years.

"It's just one of the coolest feelings," he said. "I've been trying for this for so long. I want to do this so bad, and now I get my shot."