Contestant Blogs
This Week's Contestant
Tangee B.
| Theme: | Great American Cities |
|---|---|
| Hometown: | Bottineau, ND |
| Week of: | 02-28-2011 |
POSTED 2-28
I've always loved game shows but Wheel of Fortune was my favorite! Growing up I watched every night and continued the tradition with my own family (my son, Chase, was hard to beat). One year for my birthday, my husband, Fred, made me a WOF cake that I could actually spin! It was always a dream to be on Wheel. When I heard my name called to come on stage at the Wheelmobile auditions, I was in shock. In my interview, I said I was a 55-year-old Grandma that rides her own Harley, owns a red sports car, and plays bass in a band with my husband and son. That's when they put on "Cat Scratch Fever" by Ted Nugent and I played air bass guitar! I tried my hardest to get picked and the crowd clapped and cheered me on.
The rest is history. Receiving the email to come to the second audition (75 of us were chosen out of about 7,000), paring us down to 23 to stay for the afternoon session. After interviewing us again, we pretended to spin the Wheel and solve puzzles and the written puzzle test. Getting the official letter inviting me to be a contestant, and the call to come to a taping in California on December 9th at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, I realized my dream was finally coming true!
I had to be at the studio by 7:45 a.m. and they said to plan on staying all day. As all of us contestants were filling out our paperwork, Vanna came in with her hair in a ponytail and no makeup to wish us all well and she even answered a few questions. She is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. We got to practice spinning the wheel (it's smaller than it looks but it weighs 1,000 pounds!) calling out letters loud and clear and solving a few puzzles. We had our makeup done by professionals and the contestant coordinators were awesome in helping us do our best. I was excited and nervous at the same time, like all the others.
I was elected to draw the numbered golf ball for our team of three so we would know what show we would be on. They tape six shows a day, taping three or four days a month. I was fifth to draw and I drew number six! The first five shows were to be aired January 17th 21st and the sixth one on March 3rd. I was worried about the show not being aired because March is the big tournament month in North Dakota and I was right. Tune-in and set your DVR to record Wheel of Fortune on Thursday, March 3rd to see how I did. More of my story will follow after my show airs so check back to read about how I did!