Did You See Shreveport Get Disrespected on Jeopardy?
Ya know, all in all it was turning out to be a pretty good week here in Shreveport. Last Saturday's Krewe of Centaur parade turned out to be a huge success, with perfect weather and record crowds. Then, just a couple of days later, the Bakowski Bridge of Lights ceremony on the Texas Street Bridge brought another evening of celebration.
But then, in an instant, it was all gone. Shreveport was disrespected on TV's number one game show, Jeopardy. And it's gonna take a lot of Mardi Gras beads and colored lights to make up for that.
Here's what happened.
Three contestants: Christine, Lucian and Anne. Look, if you're a contestant on Jeopardy, you're pretty smart. The test to even be considered for the show is a two-parter of the hardest of the hard Final Jeopardy questions. Want an example?
"This North Carolina born author's best known work is "Look Homeward, Angel."
And that's one of the easy ones. But back to our story.
So, Christine, the reigning champ, had a big lead. Like $5,000 big. And as they say in Jeopardy speak, it's her board. And up pops the question. Sorry - it's Jeopardy. Up pops the answer.
"The seat of Caddo Parish, this "port" city got very popular after the nearby discovery of oil in 1906."
Silence. Crickets. C'mon Christine! You're at $5,200! Lucian! Where are you? Anne! Anne?
Still nothing. The triple beep, signaling the contestants collective ignorance, cut the quiet. And host Ken Jennings (he would have known, right?) filled them in:
"Shreveport."
Christine, Lucian and Anne's expressions were blank. Jennings may have well have said, "Tralfamadore." Not only didn't they know the correct answer, they'd never even heard of us. And the week had been going so well.
By the way, Jeopardy geeks, if you got the "Tralfamadore" reference, you really might be ready for the show.