See ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Jared Watson’s Amazing Rendition of Show’s Theme Tune (VIDEO)
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Jeopardy‘s Tournament of Champions is only into its second episode, but it’s already provided its first shocking moment, courtesy of quality control specialist Jared Watson.
Watson caused a massive upset on Monday’s (February 26) game when he defeated Season 39 super-champ and TOC front-runner Cris Pannullo. The Greenville, Texas, native ended up winning in a runaway with $32,200, cementing his spot in the semi-finals.
Following Watson’s shock victory, fans rediscovered an incredible video he’d shared on YouTube eight months ago during his original appearance on the show. The video features Watson, a keen multi-instrumentalist, performing a rendition of the iconic Jeopardy! theme tune on guitar and drums.
“Thank you all so much for listening! I’m so thrilled that more people are getting to hear it now! Big thanks to Alex Sharkey for the audio mixing and video editing, and to my son Eric for being a brilliant camera man,” Watson wrote last night in the video’s comment section.
Keep reading to learn more about Watson, the self-described “dorkapotamus from east Texas.”
He Dropped Out of College to Play Rock Music
According to Dallas News, Watson has been inspired by music since he was a teenager, when he would watch his father play the guitar. He was the lead guitarist of his high school jazz band before enrolling at Texas A&M University-Commerce to study music.
However, the Jeopardy! champ dropped out of college in 2006 after a professor told him he doesn’t need a degree to play in a rock band.
“It was a feeling of freedom that I could express myself in a way that was interesting and compelling for other people to hear,” Watson told Dallas News.
He Returned to College and Met His Wife
Watson spent a few years in Austin, where he worked a day job at a tech company and played music gigs at night. However, after realizing he might not have a future in music, he cut his long hair, sold all but one of his guitars, and returned to Texas A&M to study journalism.
While working at the student paper, Watson met his wife, Jasmin, whom he married in 2011. The couple now have four children together.
He Switched Careers From Journalism to Oil & Gas
Looking for more money and better opportunities, Watson chose to leave the world of journalism and found work in the oil and gas industry in Houston. This would eventually lead him to Greenville in 2016 for an even better job opportunity.
“I went to Ocean Corp, and I had a job offer with Mistras about a week before I was set to graduate, and I was off and running. And I’ve been doing NDT (non-destructive testing) in one form or another ever since,” Watson told ASNT.
He’s Been a Jeopardy! Fan All His Life
Watson has been a fan of Jeopardy! since he was a young kid, and it had long been a dream of his to be on the show.
“One of my earliest memories around the show is watching an episode of Jeopardy! at my grandparents’ house and answering a question right, and seeing all the eyes in the room turn and look at me, this four-year-old kid answering a question on this show,” Watson told ASNT. “And that was the first inkling that I had that, ‘Okay, I guess that’s not something everybody can do.’”
He Performed One of Jeopardy’s Best Comebacks
After taking the online Jeopardy! test for years, Watson was finally contacted by producers and made it onto the show. But his first episode didn’t start so well; in fact, he was trailing by several thousand dollars after the first round.
However, the self-proclaimed “dorkapotamus” bounced back and won the episode and his next two games before being defeated by a margin of just $200 in his fourth game.
Clearly, Watson likes making history, and with his win over Pannullo on Monday, he’s set the stage for what could be a tournament of surprises.
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