Contestant Blogs
This Week's Contestant
Ryan J.
| Theme: | College Week New Orleans |
|---|---|
| Hometown: | New Orleans, LA |
| Week of: | 05-09-2011 |
POSTED 5-9
My family has been Wheel of Fortune fans for my entire life! I have grown up shouting answers to puzzles at the TV screen, trying to be the first of my family to guess the correct answer. I always was envious of my parents who got a chance to be on show! To give you an idea of how long ago that was, there was no such thing as a Toss-Up or Prize Puzzles, only spins, bankrupts and the Bonus Round. My dad filmed out in Los Angeles first, won his episode with $18,000 and went to the Bonus Round, but missed his Bonus Puzzle. About a year later, my mom went to LA to film her episode, and this time the whole family got to go along as well. She won her episode as well, and my dad, sister and I all got to anxiously wait onstage to see if she would win the Bonus Round puzzle. She missed her Bonus Puzzle, but walked away with $18,250. It's a family joke that she beat my dad by a vowel!
I have always dreamt of having the opportunity to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune myself, and show my parents who the real champion in the family truly is! My chance came in November of 2010 when the Wheelmobile came to Tulane University. I waited for 4 hours to get a chance to play a simulated game. I went in and was the most energetic person you can imagine! I clapped and cheered every time someone solved a puzzle, and tried to be as outgoing and fun as possible! I guess my plan worked!
I got an email a couple of weeks later for a callback for "College Week" in New Orleans! This audition was even tougher than the first one, but I made it to the final cut of potential contestants. On March 16th, I received a voicemail from the contestant department informing me that I was chosen to be a contestant on College Week! The best part was that it was filming in my hometown of New Orleans, LA!
Tune in to Wheel of Fortune on May 11th, to watch me try to outshine my parents and live my dream as a contestant on College Week of Wheel of Fortune!