Contestant Blogs

Matthew G. & Adam C.

POSTED 2-14

I have been a game show nut ever since I can remember. My best friend Adam and I would always watch old episodes of Wheel on GSN when we were around 9 years old. Finally, one night while I was watching Wheel this past spring, I realized I was pretty darn good at solving puzzles. I wondered what it takes to be a real contestant. Wheeloffortune.com makes it so easy to apply to be a contestant. I applied to have them e-mail me whenever an audition was available. Over the summer, sure enough, I got an e-mail saying Wheel was holding an audition for "Teen Best Friends Week." Immediately I thought of my best friend, and fellow game show fiend, Adam. Luckily, Adam was free on the day of the audition, so we decided to go for it. When we got to the audition, the room was filled with probably over 100 teens. The awesome contestant coordinators had us watch an introductory video and then told us what would go on during the audition. First, we played a simulated game for the coordinators to see how energetic we would be for television. Our love of game shows really came out during the simulated game, and I think that was a factor in us advancing to the next round. Next we took a written test of puzzles. I think that was the best part of the audition. Talking to Adam after the test, we each thought we got around 16 of the 20 puzzles correct. Then, it was time for elimination. After about 20 minutes of deliberation and score counting, the coordinators came back out and cut about half the room. Luckily, our names were called to stay for the final round of auditioning. During the last round, we played a more lengthy simulated game, got to talk about ourselves and our friendship, and got our picture taken. Then, the head coordinator told us that if we made it on the show, we would get a call from them some time in the month of October, and just like that, we went home.

October finally rolled along, and every single day I thought about getting the call. Every time the phone rang, I would hope it was "the one." Days and weeks went by, and by Halloween, they never called. I had completely given up hope. Then came November 1st. This was a very remarkable day. My favorite baseball team, the San Francisco Giants, was one game away from winning the World Series for the first time in 56 years. The game was starting at 5pm and Wheel of Fortune was no longer on my mind. When I got home from school that day, I was sitting on the couch watching TV when the phone rang. I saw the caller ID was "Sony Pictures Television", and I thought, "NO WAY!" I answered the phone, and sure enough, it was one of the contestant coordinators telling me that Adam and I were picked to be on Wheel! I couldn't help but jump up and down. Once I got all the info from her, I immediately called Adam, and he started screaming on the phone. I called everyone I knew, and by the time I was done making calls, game 5 of the World Series was just about underway. About three hours later, my lifelong favorite team had won the World Series. Between the Giants, and of course Wheel of Fortune, November 1, 2010 was one of the greatest days of my young life. Be sure to tune in on February 15th to see if the day of the taping could be even better!