The "I Can't Believe I Missed It" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Watching Jeopardy and realized I must have missed the "Battle of the Decades Tournament" that was held recently on the show.  Grabbed my laptop and found out the finals were held while I was on vacation and the place where I stayed couldn't get CBS stations.  I waited months to watch the show and am upset I missed it.  I did manage to catch a YouTube recap of the show, but not the same as watching the entire show live.  It was back in March that Brad Rutter, age 36 and the winner of the "Battle of the Decades" and a resident of Lancaster, PA, returned home to Lancaster to participate in a contest with the current high school quiz bowl team and past members of the team.  

Photo of Brad that I took when he came to Lancaster to
participate against the current members of the
MTHS Quiz Bowl Team.

Brad was a member of the Manheim Township High School quiz bowl team while a student at the school and his return was to help the local community raise enough money to finish restorations on one of the oldest structures in Lancaster County.  The current team won the first competition with the past members and then remarkably beat Brad in a showdown.  I was concerned that he had lost some of his trivia passion and maybe brain power, but I can now rest assured that neither has happened.  

Brad in a pose from his trip to Lancaster.

He still remains the biggest game show winner with winnings of $4,470,102 and a pair of Chevy Camaros.  His nemesis Ken Jennings gave him a battle, but when it came to Final Jeopardy, Brad knew the answer and Ken did not.  Kind of funny that the final question/answer involved one of Lancaster's well known citizens.  Question/answer was: "Serving 160 years apart, these two Secretaries of State are the only ones who never married."  Brad and the third-place finisher, Roger Craig, had the correct question while Jennings missed it.  The question was:  "Who are Condoleezza Rice and James Buchanan.  James Buchanan was not only one of our Presidents, but was a resident of Lancaster, PA. Brad plans to use the $1 million prize to travel and buy a new car.  

Brad and Alex Trebek who is the host of Jeopardy.

I often wonder how many games Brad could have won when he played Jeopardy his first time.  At the time you were only allowed to play so many games before you were retired as champion.  Ken Jennings won 74 games before he was defeated.  That record still stands.  Roger still holds the record for one-day winnings with $77,000.  But Brad, with the almost $4.5 million sum, holds the record for most money ever won. The "Battle of the Decades Tournament" was held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of "Jeopardy."  And, I missed it!!  Probably gonna have to wait 10 more years before another tournament with Brad in it.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.