The Sandspur

Issue date: 4/8/05 Section: Life & Times

Media Credit: CHRIS WARE/ KRT CAMPUS FORMER QUIZMEISTER: Jennings is no longer the reigning jeopardy champion thanks to Rollins´ Jim Spitzer.

Media Credit: COURTESY OF JIM SPITZER MOCK JEOPARDY: Rollins Senior Network Administrator Jim Spitzer with big-time Jeopardy winner Ken Jennings.

Everyone thought it was impossible. They said it couldn't be done. Then it happened: after 74 consecutive victories, Ken Jennings lost at Jeopardy. America was glued to the television, and millions of people saw him fall. What you may not know is that a few weeks ago, a Rollins staff member accomplished the same feat.

Jim Spitzer, Senior Network Administrator at Rollins, outsmarted the great Ken Jennings. Spitzer was attending the annual Novell conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the theme for the entertainment was game shows. They set up exhibits for Beat the Clock, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the Price is Right, and, of course, Jeopardy.

Spitzer, a Jeopardy fan since the early 1990s and a fan of Ken Jennings during his winning streak, was thrilled to find out that Jennings was actually there for the mock Jeopardy set-up. He decided to get into the line for the Jeopardy game where he was chosen to compete against Jennings and two other competitors.

The categories were Acronym Mania, Karaoke Sing Your Answer, Americana, and Potpourri. Jennings had the honors to choose the first category. He chose Acronym Mania and got the first question correct. However, Spitzer finished out the rest of the category and continued to do well in the rest of the game.

One of the highlights of the game for Spitzer was when Jennings got a question wrong, and he subsequently rang in to get the question correct.

By the time they got to Final Jeopardy, Spitzer was beating Jennings 3100 to 1200, meaning that he had enough that if he bet sensibly he could not lose. The Final Jeopardy category was "Wooden Boy," and the answer was 'This kind of puppet is controlled by strings.' The question was, of course, 'What is a marionette?' but spelling counted. They were making sure that the contestant knew how to spell the word. Everyone got it correct. Spitzer, however, who had enough of a lead that it didn't matter, was considering giving another answer, though he restrained himself.

"I should have answered H&R Block or FedEx, but that would be mean to do." (H&R Block was the correct answer to Final Jeopardy when Jennings lost after his streak of 74 consecutive wins on real Jeopardy, but he mistakenly answered FedEx.)

The final score was 3750 to 2400, in favor of Spitzer. There were four rounds total at the conference, and Spitzer was the only contestant that was able to beat Jennings. In fact, there were 148 people that lost to Jennings on television at the real Jeopardy game show, and another 11 people at the conference that lost to him. Jim Spitzer remains one of two people to ever beat Ken Jennings at Jeopardy.

Spitzer did not have much time to speak to Jennings. However, he was impressed with what contact he did have with him. "He really did impress me as a totally down-to-earth guy."

Jim Spitzer says that his life is complete now that he has beaten the great Ken Jennings. Rollins is proud of his nearly unprecedented accomplishment.

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