I like Aaron Rogers. He’s a truly great quarterback in the toughest league there is, and he seems like a very decent guy. It’s very clear he’s taking this hosting job seriously and really giving it his all. But I’m sorry, it’s like there was a contest and one lucky viewer got to host JEOPARDY.
For the same reason you don’t just decide you want to play football and they let you be the QB of the Green Bay Packers, you can’t come in off the street and host a major franchise like JEOPARDY. There’s a reason Aaron played football in high school and college before breaking into the NFL.
If you want to host the world’s most popular national game show you need to get in some reps in local markets, hosting… anything. Being on camera, learning how to read the teleprompter, developing a presence, feeling comfortable, being in total control (even when it’s just a facade for chaos). And you need to get your on-the-job training in a less pressurized situation.
That said, I admire his willingness to take on such a challenge. Most former athletes get into broadcasting as analysts, and they may not be very polished but they’re experts in what they’re analyzing. Rogers is a smart guy, but he’s not being asked to read the defense.
This is pretty much the reverse of PAPER LION. PAPER LION was a book by journalist George Plimpton. He worked out a deal with the Detroit Lions to go to training camp in 1966 and become a quarterback. Eventually in a pre-season exhibition game he was allowed to QB for one set of downs. I don’t have to tell you how well it worked out for him. It’s actually a terrific book and later there was a movie version with Alan Alda playing Plimpton. At least Rogers won’t get a concussion hosting JEOPARDY (which wouldn’t be his first).
Next week someone else will run the game. Eventually they’ll find the right person. He or she will know how to move the chat section along, keep the pace up so clues aren’t left on the board, be supportive and helpful to the contestants, have a sense of humor, be able to pronounce obscure foreign words, put the home audience completely at ease, and be ready to handle any technical curveball that is hurled their way.
Six or seven other candidates will get their shot in the next few months, plus I understand some “surprise” guest hosts are also being booked.
But I will say this — the more you see other people trying to host JEOPARDY the more you realize how amazing Alex Trebek was. Of course if he we were asked to quarterback the Green Bay Pakcers he’d be carried out on a stretcher his first play.
from By Ken Levine
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