‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Responds After His ‘Self-Praise’ Divides Fans
Aaron Craig won a semifinals match in the ongoing Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard tournament, but he didn’t win much favor with the fans who called him out for clapping and cheering for himself. And in a Reddit discussion, the attorney originally from Toronto, Ontario, said he might have gotten “overly excited.”
On Friday’s episode of the syndicated game show, Craig went up against Leah Wiegand, a stay-at-home home from Austin, Texas, and T.J. Tallie, an associate professor of African history from San Diego, California.
Craig eked out a runaway with the last clue in Double Jeopardy, and despite a Final Jeopardy stumper, he won the game. When host Ken Jennings announced him as that day’s champion, Craig clapped with his hands over his head and shouted what sounded like “Let’s go, Chad!”
After Friday’s episode aired, Jeopardy! fans expressed their disapproval in a Reddit thread. “The clapping at the end was unnecessary,” one observed.
Another user wrote, “I turned the TV off after the self-congratulatory behavior. I certainly am not rooting for this guy to win and not even sure if I’ll watch the rest of the tournament. I’ve watched Jeopardy! for decades and don’t recall seeing such rudeness.”
A third user wrote, “That was unsportsmanlike and disrespectful to the other contestants. It was also very cringe. Self-praise is no praise. I liked Aaron and was rooting for him, but after that, I’m not rooting for him anymore.”
And someone else commented, “I get being excited about winning, but I thought his self-applause was a bit much. And based on the facial expressions, so did at least one other person on stage…”
(Tallie responded to that last comment, writing, “I don’t know what you mean…” and adding a winking emoticon.)
Other Reddit users, meanwhile, understood Craig’s excitement. “It seemed pretty genuine on his part,” one person wrote. “I don’t think he was trying to rub it in; I think he just got so excited that he forgot his manners.”
Another person commented, “Heaven forbid a contestant have enough situational awareness to understand the importance of that [final Double Jeopardy] clue and celebrate a little when he beat out two tough competitors to it.”
And someone else wrote, “Well, if [we] are to treat Jeopardy! like a sport, as [executive producer] Mike Davies says, maybe it should be OK to celebrate scoring a runaway in a tense buzzer race. But you sure don’t see it often.”
Craig himself chimed in on Reddit, writing, “TJ and Leah are amazing and lovely and brilliant, and either one would have been a great and deserving winner today. I’m sorry if I got overly excited. I certainly didn’t mean to show anybody up, but my kids were there, and I couldn’t believe that they got to watch me not just play in a semifinal, but win! Anyone who thinks I was over the top, that’s 1000% fair. No argument here.”
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Conversation15 Comments
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Comments are closed on this story.
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J
Why would anyone suggest that Jeopardy be treated like a sport? Are they going to start selling beer and foam fingers to audience members? Allow spectators to 'hoot & holler' for their preferred contestant? It's NOT a sport. Jeopardy has always been played with decorum and rules, and should stay that way. As for the man mentioned in this article... I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt, and think that he simply got carried away with excitement at winning.
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B
It is a normal expression of joy..some winners cry..some others show religious signs..as long there is nothing offensive I agree with this..this is America!!
I agreed with him..🥳🥳🥳🥳
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B
It could’ve been worse.. at least he didn’t do a bat flip or a celebratory dance like athletes do…
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J
Those expressions are appropriate in the context of sports. Jeopardy is not a sports competition, not even close. Jeopardy is a competition between intellects. Sometimes the contestants even applaud each other, e.g. when one happens to land on Double Jeopardy. Respect for each other sets the tone of mutual appreciation. Loudly clapping and gesturing one's SELF-appreciation is not only childish, it makes Jeopardy look like just another zero-sum game between "winners" and "losers".
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O
I'd rather see the winner have a genuine celebration, than fake applause from the other contestants. Obviously there are a bunch of fans that do not understand competition.
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O
I've seen so much worse. I like the guy.
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L
Who was so much worse?🤷🏽♀️
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C
“Let’s go chat” is a common twitch/gamer expression. Pretty sure that’s what he was saying.
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L
I think Craig exploits controversial behavior; note that he had already expressed being called out for an earlier appearance for "seeming" to be trash-talking...now, he owns his "over the top" behavior, without apology. This is so typical of attorneys knowing how to get away with pushing the envelope: In the courts, there may be an "Objection!" and whether it's overruled or sustained, the cause for the objection remains just that, and the damage is done, like it or not. Craig knows what he's doing...and he knows he can get away with it, without apologizing. The jury is going to be hung without a re-trial, just as Craig anticipates.😏🤔☹
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B
I've been watching Jeopardy for many years and he was a complete asshole. ( * ). Never saw anything like that.
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J
He reminded me of frat boys I knew in college: obnoxious and childish. I was sorry he won; sorry that I'd have to see him again.
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J
Jeopardy isn't a sports competition, it's a competition between intellects. Sometimes Jeopardy contestants applaud each other, as when one lands on Double Jeopardy. Respectful behavior towards each other sets a tone of mutual appreciation. Loudly clapping and gesturing one's SELF-appreciation is not only jarring and childish, it makes Jeopardy seem like just another zero-sum game between "winners" and "losers".
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R
His behavior was disgusting. Not a good example, especially with his children in the audience.
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O
I think that's why he did it. I would have too, because they didn't show it, but I bet his kids were jumping for joy. Bunch of jealous, nitpi kers out there. Just STFU. I hate it when people don't show their excitement. I thought it was awesome!
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B
He said he may have overreacted. He did overreact. He was an ASSHOLE
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