I'll take "Matt is Awesome" for $400

Well friends, as you probably know by now, Matt was on JEOPARDY! this week :) It was a whirlwind of a trip (totaling all of 43 hours in CA for me), and not without its hiccups (see Amber almost missing the flight, Matt's folks almost missing their flight, my flight with Amber - once she made it - almost getting canceled in the oncoming snowstorm... I bet you can guess how thrilled I was to be sitting on the tarmac in a whiteout). But, in the end, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life!!

Obviously, it will be MUCH more fun for you to know how it all turned out by watching it on TV... so I won't ruin the actual outcome here (sorry!). Trust me, it'll be worth it! However, I can tell you a few things:

• The returning champ from the previous week was named Matt, so our Matt had to sit out of the contestant pool until he lost (they don't allow two people with the same name on the show at one time... that'd be way too confusing for Alex).  Thus, we spent several shows just hoping that the other Matt would lose.
•  Matt did not get on during the first day of taping (they do 5 shows a day for two days straight).  All those nerves/butterflies/knots in the stomach were to be repeated the following day.  
• The second day of taping was quite eventful - we walked by Justin Bieber practicing for the Grammy's (well, the set he was on anyway).  The sounds of pop music and a teenage girl singing clued us in.  It wasn't confirmed until his band came to the Jeopardy taping to watch a show (the one Matt was on actually!).  They asked Alex if he had Bieber Fever.  It was funny.
• Matt did get to finally play on the 2nd day.  His episode will air on MAY 30!  Mark your calendars.  Set your DVRs.  Come to our watch party.  I'll let you know where it is as soon as we plan it.  Don't let your Memorial Day weekend plans get in the way! :)

This may sound incredibly sappy, but I can honestly say that watching Matt stand at his contestant booth/box/stand in front of Alex was one of the most amazing feelings ever. (Maybe 2nd after marrying the awesome guy.) I was SO proud of him.  It was a long process getting there, but he never gave up.  And I was literally watching him live out his dream!  How often does that happen, right?!?  No matter what happened on the game, I knew that the experience was worth more than any cash prize.  Although a cash prize isn't too bad!  :)  (I can tell you that he did win at least $1000... because 3rd place is guaranteed that.  Enough to pay for our trip out there, which was on our own dime unfortunately.)  Anyway, back to the point: it was amazing.  I was beaming with pride and excitement for Matt.  And he did great.  But if you know Matt, he's been thinking about and dwelling on every second of it.  What if??  :)

So, there you have it.  We weren't allowed phones or cameras on the set, so sadly I have no photographic proof that he was on.  But, he did get a picture with Alex Trebec that they'll supposedly be sending to us at some point.  We couldn't even find souvenirs for the show! At least the memories in my mind have been burned in permanently.  I never want to forget how incredible it felt being there. 

Here are a few pics from the trip.  My awesome sister came to cheer him on (thanks for the support Amber!) along with Matt's wonderful parents.  Don't forget to mark your calendars!! Monday, May 30th :)

 

waiting to get in the studios on Day 1: