What James Holzhauer’s <em>Jeopardy</em> Streak Meant
I watched the five stages of grief spread across the internet from east to west, like the sunset. James Holzhauer, the Jeopardy phenom and reigning 32-game champion, had finally lost.
“NOOOOO! Please tell me this isn’t true! #JeopardyJames”
“Very obvious he lost on purpose.”
“I am legit depressed right now.”
In an increasingly uncertain world, we get attached to our champions. In 2004, to mark the 20th anniversary of Alex Trebek’s modern syndicated ,the quiz show announced a change to its long-standing contestant policy. Instead of booting returning champions off the show after five wins, it would allow players to keep goingmonths before the new rule was announced, but not getting called up until a few months after it was official. That accident of timing, it turned out, changed my life (and paid for my house).
