My father and I used to watch Jeopardy together. We would code-name the contestants and mock Alex Trebek; of course, we also played along with the game. "We should be on Jeopardy," we reasoned. "We'd clean up!" It was all fun and games until the Jeopardy van wheeled into town. The show was touring college campuses to recruit contestants for their College Tournament. So how could I not try out for the show?

Bright and early Friday morning, I woke to a bright, sunny day. Then I pressed the snooze button. By eleven o'clock I was ready to take the bus up to North Campus, where the Jeopardy powers-that-be were waiting. Upon arrival at the proper building, I fo llowed little arrows that read "Jeopardy!" -- which made me wonder why this show and Yahoo! add exclamation points at the end of their names. Are they supposed to excite us? I just do not understand marketing tricks.

I walked into a large room where about one hundred students milled around. In the center of the room stood a shoddy Jeopardy set made of cardboard and cheap plastic. Across from the set was a table with three women, and nearby were some laptops hooked u p to Jeopardy Online. I decided to observe for a while before I joined the ranks of prospective contestants, so I chose a perch with an unobstructed view of the set.

Next: Your hosts, Tweedledee and Tweedledum