Jeopardy!
West Potomac English teacher Colin O’Grady competed his way to the 2015 Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament semifinals Wednesday, Feb. 11.
The Teachers Tournament began on Feb. 2. The two-week event highlights 15 of the nation’s “best and brightest K-12 educators.” The winner will take home $100,000 and an automatic berth in the next Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions; the second-place finisher wins $50,000 and third place claims $25,000.
In October, O’Grady received a phone call stating he was chosen to appear in the Teachers Tournament.
“I was really shocked when they said that they wanted to book me for the Teachers Tournament. I was excited about representing West Potomac — it is the only school I've ever taught at, and my wife teaches history there as well —and it was an honor to represent the profession in general,” he said.
The episodes were taped in December.
In preparation for the show, O’Grady stated that he practiced his “buzzer timing a lot” and kept up with his regular viewing of the show in between teaching at West Potomac and caring for his 2-year-old daughter.
“I started watching (by) standing up with a clicky pen in my hand to mimic the conditions of the game. I focused on getting used to the cadences of Alex's voice so that I could buzz in at the right time,” he said.
Applicants go through a number of steps to be on Jeopardy! beginning with an initial 50 question online test the contest makes available every year. This was his fifth or sixth time taking the test. This time he did well enough to go through to the second stage: being invited for an audition.
O’Grady was among 2,000 others who auditioned in D.C. at the end of May. During the auditions, the applicants take another 50 questions test and they participate in a mock Jeopardy! game so that the judges can see how they might act on the show.
If the applicant passes this stage, they are interviewed by the judges to gauge their personality. O’Grady was among 400 applicants chosen for this final stage.
Growing up watching Jeopardy! as a child, this has been a dream come true for him.
“We still watch the show regularly, and like most people we call out answers at home while we watch. It's always been a dream of mine to be on the show and see how I could do as a contestant,” he said.
According to O’Grady, part of the Jeopardy!’s excitement and challenge comes from the game’s fast pace. Since each episode tapes in about the same amount of time it takes to air it, there are not any “significant breaks between rounds” so that “you don’t really have time to the think about the last clue or even what your score is because the next clue comes up immediately.”
“You have to be focused and ready to buzz in,” he said.
O’Grady believes that the amount of information covered and the fast pace sets Jeopardy! apart from other trivia shows. In addition, the show’s iconic host Alex Trebek’s “wit and steadiness” also adds to the show’s appeal.
“Anything could show up, as evidenced by the category asking us to identify hard rock lyrics on my episode this past Monday night,” he said.
The “Hard Rock” category was another highlight of being on the show for O’Grady. Being an avid listener of hard rock bands, he was excited and confident when the category popped up.
“It was hard not to laugh as he read them, and I'm not all that surprised that people are getting a kick out of it,” he said.
He was also featured on the viral clip of Trebek reading the hard rock lyrics.
Being a part of the Teachers Tournament has also given O’Grady the opportunity to meet other educators from around the country who are all as passionate about their craft as he is.
O’Grady was able to get an insider’s view of his favorite trivia show; he learned that it is very difficult for contestants to view their scores during the game because they only have a chance to look at them a little when the game pauses for the Daily Doubles.
O’Grady has taught at West Potomac High School since March of 2005. He lives in Alexandria with his wife, and his 2-year-old daughter.
Originally from Southern California, O’Grady moved to the Alexandria area after graduating college. He has a master’s degree in education from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University.