Ryan Long is a soft-spoken, affable, mountain of a man who is a "rideshare" driver from Philadelphia. You have to love how the producers strip away any mention of which "rideshare" he works for. No commercial names allowed; no free advertising through a contestant's employer.
As is the show's custom, the host asks some canned biographical questions of the contestants. The champion Ryan Long by virtue of his winning streak has been able to tell a lot about himself. One endearing story he told was that his Dad was big into trivia. He was constantly asking his kids questions about current events and historical facts. It got so prevalent that the family started calling Dad "Cliffie" after the Cliff Klaven character in the show Cheers, who liked to quiz his stool mates at he bar.
Wednesday's show was a perfect example of Ryan Long's luck when it comes to continuing his streak. At the outset of the Final Jeopardy question he was in second place. The woman on the right was leading. The Clue of the Day, The Early 19th Century was:
Admiral Pierre Charles Villeneuve signaled "Engage the enemy" around noon & surrendered at 1:45 PM during this battle.
Inside every final Jeopardy clue is a clue as well. If an admiral was involved in being defeated the battle must have been at sea, no?
The woman in the middle, despite her British heritage, answered Waterloo. Yikes! Ryan Long bet a conservative amount and answered Waterloo as well. I guess Dad didn't verse the kids too well on the Napoleonic wars. The woman on the right, leading in money was now sure to overtake Ryan, right? She's got to get the answer, right? She answers Waterloo, bets the full boat, and allows Ryan to live for another day in the pole position.
Okay, perhaps the word "water" in Waterloo threw them, but all three of them? Waterloo was a land battle, and was where Napoleon met defeat, not a French admiral. Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
The answer of course was "What is the Battle of Trafalgar," Lord Nelson's sea victory over the French that lead him to being commemorated with a statue in London...in Trafalgar Square. What were the chances of that happening?
Thursday's show plodded along until the Clue of the Day was: UNESCO World Heritage sites. I will admit I had no idea of the answer to, "Known as the female Lawrence of Arabia, Gertrude Bell called this place a fairy tale city, all pink and wonderful."
Two contestants answered Jaipur, and Ryan answered Bagdad. Ryan retains the championship spot because everyone bombed, and he didn't shoot himself in the foot with his betting. The answer was "What is Petra." Who knew?
Friday's Clue of the Day was Technology, and this time Mr. Long had one of those leads where he couldn't be caught unless he shot himself in the foot with a wild bet and got it wrong.
"Upon the first use of this in 1844, The Baltimore Sun declared that time & space had been annihilated."
The clue within the clue is The Baltimore Sun. You have to use the fact this is a newspaper that benefitted from a 1844 technology. Gee, what could that be?
The middle contestant answered "steamboat," clearly not knowing the value of the imbedded clue. The fellow on the right answered correctly, but couldn't catch Ryan unless Ryan blew the bet and the answer.
He didn't. The answer was "What is the telegraph" and Ryan made the right bet and got the right answer. Still the champ.
So, at the end of the week Ryan retains his championship spot with 16 winning days and $299,400 in winnings. Eventually they all lose, but Ryan has been good as well as lucky, a combination that leads to success.
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