Sept. 6 was a particularly dark day for "Jeopardy!" champion Ken Jennings. He only won $10,001. What a loser.
If you've recognized the sarcasm of the preceding paragraph, you already know that Jennings' magical 75-game, $2.5 million run into game-show Valhalla has run out of steam. The quick trigger-finger, slightly bulbous eyes, smug smirk and neatly conservative dress clothes that stole our hearts this summer and fall every evening at 7:30 has simply ceased to be.
When future generations look back at Jennings' unmerciful domination of "Jeopardy!" - and they will - they will be studying an achievement held in the company of Newton's Laws of Motion, Copernicus' heliocentric theory and Handel's "Messiah." There will never be another Jennings, nor should there be. He was a man put on Earth to teach us the ways of trivia, how to appreciate what was once mundane and to celebrate the infinite tomes of crap that one man is capable of knowing. He is truly a giant among men.
But what shall become of this meek software engineer from Murray, Utah? Will he return to the Salt Lake State with his riches, afford his family a lavish life of excess and vanish into the pop culture lexicon forever, only to reappear in a brilliant twist of irony as the answer - or the "question" - in future games of trivia? Will his prize money be donated to charity? Will it go straight up his nose? These are answers that only Jennings can answer.
We know this, though: Jennings' performance on America's favorite game of answers and questions is a triumph. Where there was a record, Jennings shattered it. Where there were adversaries, Jennings bested them. We at The State News would like to extend our warmest congratulations and regards to Jennings for showing us the way of "Jeopardy!" in a way that Alex Trebek - or his old mustache - never could.
