Here is a Q&A with Wednesday night Jeopardy contestant, Sally Hatfield.
Although Sally Hatfield, an Ohio University English lecturer, ended up in third place on Wednesday night's Jeopardy!, she had a "fantastic" time.
Hatfield faced Matt Jackson, the fourth most-winningest contestant in Jeopardy! history, but that did not scare her one bit. Michael Baker was the third contestant on the game show, and he cost Jackson his winning streak.
"I've been a Jeopardy! fan for years," Hatfield said. "I played quiz bowl in high school and college."
At the end of the night, Hatfield finished at third place after going all-in for the Final Jeopardy question and missing it. Even though she ended the game with no money, third place is awarded $1,000 no matter the outcome, so Hatfield said she still went home a winner.
The Final Jeopardy was in the category "U.S. Landmarks" and the clue was "For its 50th anniversary in 2012, the roof of this landmark was temporarily repainted its original color, Galaxy Gold" with the answer being "the Space Needle."
The Post talked with Hatfield after her debut on the show as she looked back on her experience.
The Post: If you could describe the experience in one word, what would that word be?
Sally Hatfield: Fantastic … and nerve-racking, I’ll give you two. Everybody was really nice. I love trivia and I was able to play at one of the highest levels there is. I was pleased with some of the questions I got. I got a question right about Billy Graham, which is my husband’s dissertation topic, so that was a lot of fun. I also liked the fact that going into Final Jeopardy I still had a chance to win.
P: How confident were you when "U.S. Landmarks' appeared as the category for Final Jeopardy?
SH: Much more confident than when I actually saw the question. I decided at that point I knew Matt and Michael had a chance of cutting themselves out. I was going to bet everything because I had nothing to lose and I was playing with the house’s money.
P: Did you even think about the Space Needle as an option (for the answer to the question)?
SH: It never even crossed my mind. I knew it had to be something with a space connection so I went with Cape Canaveral. Funny thing is, my friend recently had been to Seattle, and the night before we were looking at pictures from her trip that had included a picture of the Space Needle. At least I had the space connection and I was pleased with that.
P: After the first round, what was going through your mind knowing that you had to come back from a deficit?
SH: "I’m gonna do my best to come back." I mean my numbers were low, but at the same point things can change very rapidly. ... It was just, "What can I do in Final Jeopardy," and I was very excited to see a literature category.
P: Was one of the rounds more favorable to your trivia knowledge, or was it pretty similar?
SH: I think they were both fairly similar. "Religious Leaders" was the one I was most confident in, even though Matt beat me on a couple of them. ... I think things like the "DC Ten" and "Songs with the Word Run" were both the categories when I was like "No, please not that."
P: What was it like knowing you would be going against a 13-time champ?
SH: (Matt's) very good. I had watched him play in Monday’s game where he won $50,000, and I knew Final Jeopardy and he didn’t. I knew it sitting in the audience and he got it wrong. ... That was a big boost to my general feeling because I realized this was doable. ... He was very professional, he’s very intense in what he does, and he’s very good and I was impressed at the fact that he called himself out in a wrong answer. He has respect for the game and it shows his overall quality as a person.
P: What does Alex talk to the contestants about in the panorama at the end of the show?
SH: It was mostly about the fact that Matt had lost and Michael had won. I just kind of nodded during what was being said. It was just a lot of fun.
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