Contestant Blogs
This Week's Contestant
David S.
| Theme: | Great Escapes |
|---|---|
| Hometown: | Big Sandy, TX |
| Week of: | 12-19-2011 |
POSTED 12-19
I have been watching Wheel of Fortune for, what seems like, as long as I've been watching TV. It has even inspired me to become a game show host myself, but that blog is for a different time. :) My early memories of Wheel include sitting in my East Texas childhood home (Big Sandy, TX to be specific) with my mom and siblings, talking about what we would have purchased with our winnings instead of the ceramic dog statues that the puzzle-winning contestant chose. I remember playing mock games with my brother, pretending the bricks on the fireplace mantle were the letters that Vanna turned, playing our glorified game of hangman.
Flash forward more years than I care to state, to sitting in my apartment with my son, Hank talking about how much we love game shows. He's the one I have to thank because while I was focused on how to break into the realm of being a game show host, he was focused on getting me on the game. It seems he had just turned 12 when he asked if he could go online and sign me up to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. I told him if he could figure out how to sign me up, that he could do it. He was confident in his abilities; his only question was if I was going to share my winnings with him.
Months went by... many months. I had written off the idea of being a contestant when I got the email from Wheel of Fortune. The email alerted me to the opportunity to audition to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune on October 12th.
The fun of being a contestant on America's game starts with the audition process. You can tell the Contestant Coordinators LOVE Wheel just as much as the rest of us. At the end of the audition, after making it through a couple of cuts (it did feel a little bit like I had survived a round of one of those reality shows where contestants get sent home) we were all told that we'd get a letter in the mail letting us know when we'd need to be back to the studio to be a contestant. That is IF we were going to be chosen. WHAT? After all this I get to leave and not know if I made the cut. This was crazy! At this point you've bonded with some of the other contestants, you're vested in being a contestant.
Flash forward to the end of October and I get the letter... I'm going to be a Wheel Of Fortune contestant!!!!!!!! I can hardly believe it. What to wear? Don't choke! Get there early. Invite my guests. Get excited. Post to Facebook how excited I am. So many things going through my head... all in the name of excitement. The feeling of reading that you are a contestant is a high that rivals anything I've ever felt, aside from the birth of my son. I should mention here that, from what I have heard from my fellow contestants, the fact that I auditioned and became a contestant in a 6-8 week window is the exception, it can take much longer. So if you are reading this as a fan that wants to be a contestant, it can take much longer. Be patient, you've made it that far.
My day to be a contestant is November 11th... 11/11/11 that has to be a good omen for me, right? Some sort of aligning of the stars... but then again, it must be an omen for all of the contestants that day. The only thing left to do is practice, rest and get ready for my big day! Check me out on December 22nd, I'll be on KLTV Your East Texas News Leader if you are around the Big Sandy, TX area. If not, just catch Wheel on your regular channel.