‘Just keep clicking.’ Columbus woman never gives up while competing on ‘Jeopardy!’
The iconic Jeopardy! theme song plays as Johnny Gilbert announces the contestants for the July 5th episode.
Columbus resident Suzy Garver smiles as she’s introduced along with her fellow competitors, Jake Marvin and Yungsheng Wang. It’s been a hectic day full of nervous energy and excitement because – even though she’s in California at Sony Pictures Studios – she still can’t believe she’s on Jeopardy!
Garver is wearing a black skirt and jacket with a green top. Her outfit caused more anxiety when she was on set: First she’d left her garment bag at a family member’s home who had to bring it to her, then she was the only one who had to change multiple times before producers were satisfied with the outfit. The first outfit wasn’t the right color, and the second one was a bit too transparent.
But now, she’s here. She’s on stage, and the game is beginning.
“Let’s make a case for another great game today as we feature these categories in the Jeopardy round,” Jeopardy! host and The Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik said.
Jeopardy! Anytime
Garver’s family moved to Columbus after her brother got a job at Columbus State University. She is originally from Eugene, Oregon, but after her parents moved to Columbus to be closer to her brother and his family, Garver was inspired to move as well.
Currently, she is a substitute teacher for the Muscogee County School District. She likes the freedom of being a substitute – she can travel at a moment’s notice or help take care of her sick father.
Watching Jeopardy! and other game shows has always been a family pastime. It’s a nightly ritual to watch the show with her parents, especially since she’s one of her father’s caretakers.
Despite growing up on the show and answering questions from her living room, Garver never expected to be a contestant. The pandemic changed that.
On Feb. 19, 2020, Jeopardy! announced that prospective contestants could take the Jeopardy! Anytime test online rather than going to an in-person audition. When the pandemic began, Garver decided to take the test in October of that year thinking nothing would come of it. Upon completion, she wasn’t told how well she performed.
Eight months later in June 2021, Garver received her first email inviting her to do the test again on a Zoom call “because they can’t do it in person anymore, so they’re not sure if you’re cheating.”
A week later, she was asked to audition, which included a mock game with other prospective contestants. Then she heard nothing for months.
In the time following the audition, she told herself that appearing on the show would still be a long shot because only a fraction of people who even make it to an audition get chosen.
In April 2022, Garver was substitute teaching at Downtown Elementary Magnet Academy. She and the classroom assistant were helping her class wake up from a nap when her phone rang.
She looked down, saw a California number and answered the phone.
“Hi, Lauri Janover from Jeopardy!” a voice said.
She rushed out into the hall, knowing the assistant could watch the kids for a bit. Garver needed to take this call.
“We were wondering if you would be free the weekend of May 5?” Janover asked.
Garver was not free. She had plans…
“Yes!” Garver told the contestant coordinator.
‘Just a fan of the show’
While preparing to go on the show, Garver treated it like any other work day. She would go to the North Columbus Public Library and sit with her laptop, books and a lot of flashcards.
“I don’t have any experience with Quiz Bowl or even bar trivia,” Garver said. “I’m just a fan of the show, and a kid who read a lot as a child.”
When the time came to film, she was a “ball of nerves.” She didn’t sleep much the night before — the anticipation of the day kept her awake.
Garver decided to imagine she was at home beside her dad.
“(We’re) watching the show and playing along,” she told herself. “And that’s all that’s going on. And this is just like any other day.”
Garver wanted to make him proud.
Jeopardy! films five shows a day, so everything moves quickly. After situating her outfit fiasco, leaving her mascara on the Wheel of Fortune set and having lunch at the Sony Pictures commissary, it was time for her game.
“Did Bob Ewell fall on his own knife in this novel?” Bialek reads the clue. “Sheriff Heck Tate is fine with that explanation.”
Marvin clicks first, but incorrectly answers, “What is Where the Red Fern Grows?”
Garver knows she knows this answer. She could picture the book in her mind, but all her brain could think of was “bird book.”
“What is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” Garver answered inexplicably, immediately feeling disappointed because she knew the answer was “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
But the game must continue. Her challenge was not that she didn’t know the answers, Garver finds, but that she wasn’t as fast at clicking in as her fellow contestants.
“I’m like, ‘I’m doing it,’” Garver said. “I thought I was doing it really fast.”
Looking back, she would have spent more time practicing ringing in to answer the questions. Throughout the entire game, Garver thought she would place third, but she never gave up even as the other two contestants widened their leads over her.
“I think that’s something that happens with Jeopardy!,” she said. “You can tell when a contestant gets discouraged, and they just stop clicking or get discombobulated. I was like, ‘We’re not gonna do that.’”
Going into the Final Jeopardy! question, Garver had $4,600. Marvin and Wang both had over $10,000 ($12,000 and $16,000, respectively). Garver had studied wagering strategies to prepare her for this exact moment. She wagered everything except $1, hoping another contestant would bet everything and lose.
Her bet paid off – Marvin wagered it all. Wang was the only contestant to get the answer correct, winning the game. Garver came in second place with her $1, and Marvin came in third.
She made a few mistakes, Garver said, but in the end she feels proud. The experience taught her that sticking to your endeavors can be hard or scary, but people can achieve amazing things if they keep going, she said.
“It’s all fake money until the end, right?” Garver said. “So, just keep clicking, and do your best. Don’t worry too much about how you’ll be perceived.”
This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 5:05 AM.
