A sports fail on "Jeopardy" is trending this week because a contestant mistook Magic Johnson for a hockey player and because host Alex Trebek reacted like any proud Canadian would.
"Oh no," Trebek said after the contestant named Joe said, "Who is Magic Johnson?" to the answer, "100+ assists in an NHL season has been accomplished only 13 times, 11 times by this player."
After Joe flubbed and contestant Diane buzzed in to name the one hockey player everyone should know — "Who is Wayne Gretzky?" — Trebek looked back at Joe and said, "We're talking about hockey, not the NBA." Watch the video on YouTube.
Joe, who ended up winning, posted a video link in an Ask Me Anything chat on Reddit and fell on his sports-knowledge sword by admitting his response had gone "mildly viral." But he said, "I refuse to be ashamed" and explained that he "totally missed the NHL part and focused on the assists. Just a terribly embarrassing answer all around."
Redditors were quick to mangle a few other sports analogies to help Joe cope:
- Do you think Peyton Manning's team will win the World Series this year?
- No way, the guy can barely hit a three.
- If it makes you feel any better, right after you said that I thought "Magic Johnson doesn't even play football," so apparently we're both idiots.
Joe was also asked on Reddit whether Trebek comes across as dismissive in person as he sometimes seems on TV. The longtime host is "a bit prickly perhaps, but he was fine," Joe said. "I think he's crafted that persona on purpose."