Alex Trebek: A Tribute

Ever since I could remember “Jeopardy” was a staple in my home. Whether it be with my brother and parents in my childhood home, college friends in the dorms or on the couch with my husband Matt in our home, cue the ABC weekday 7:00-8:00 lineup with “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” —we were set! And while I will probably cry just as ugly when Pat Sajak passes on, Alex Trebek was not just a game-show host. He became a part of our families, a running joke on “Saturday Night Live” and the type of person we should aspire to be…a kind one.

I will forever be a little girl/young teen/college student/adult as I recall all the times I cheered nailing the answers in the rounds through mouthfuls of Chinese takeout or over a glass of red wine; even quite a few times getting Final Jeopardy when not even the contestants got the answer. My husband would tell you there were many times he asked me not to blurt out the answer until he viewed the clue and tried first, or the times we tried to beat each other to the answer. I looked forward to eventually watching and playing with my son Max when he was old enough to understand it. Hell, I even applied several times to try and get on the show—newsflash: that test is HARD. But no matter what, I played and loved playing every chance I could!

Onscreen Trebek made you feel like you were invited to play the game with the three lucky contestants. His calm presence kept you grounded during the rounds while your loved ones around you might have whooped and hollered in similar fashion to a football game on television. He knew how to draw out the interesting (and sometimes weird) stories about the contestants that came on to play, even if you just wanted to get right to the game itself.

His little quips were innocent and light-hearted, pronunciation of difficult words as spot-on as could be. Trebek was the whole package and then some on camera—and one amazing husband and father off camera. He got choked up when contestants showed their love for him, genuinely cared about those playing the game and really loved his job the whole way through.

As we watch Trebek’s final episodes, it is going to be difficult not to cry. Only weeks ago, his final episodes wrapped up with the last appearance set to air on Christmas Day. Who will replace him? I am not sure anyone can. How do you replace an icon? Someone who no matter what kind of day I was having would always put a smile on my face and push me to do and learn more. Someone who did not know I even existed, but still brought positivity and love into each of our homes during the week. Someone who brought out the best in people during a competition and still managed to do it with a kind demeanor and sometimes a cute joke. People like Ken Jennings or Levar Burton are viable options, but we will just have to wait and see.

While Trebek is gone, I could not think of a finer departure than days after the death of Sean Connery. With “Saturday Night Live” feeding into this Trebek/Connery feud that they created, I could imagine that Mr. Connery was more than happy to greet Trebek when he arrived and ready to play a round while jokingly chiding him to “Suck it, Trebek!” And I am sure Trebek will give a little chuckle and tell him to select another category.

Rest in Power, Alex Trebek. You shall be missed.