Inside Alex Trebek’s Relationship With Ken Jennings

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Ken Jennings is the greatest Jeopardy champion of all time. The quiz show GOAT even became an ambassador for the show, which means he appears on-air to present special clues and categories and offers his input on new contestant searches, per Jeopardy’s official site. Jenning’s road to game show success began all the way back in 2004, when he first appeared behind a podium and met iconic host Alex Trebek, according to USA Today. 

Funny enough, the Jeopardy genius wasn’t certain Trebek was even a fan. “Despite all the quality time Alex and I have been spending together lately, he still seems a little chilly, as if he’s rooting against me,” Jennings wrote in his 2007 book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs (via CheatSheet). “Does he think I’m bad for the show? Does he dislike sharing the spotlight with a sidekick? … I feel like passing a junior-high mash note up to his podium. ‘Dear Alex. Do you like me? Check one. Yes/No.’” Luckily, Jennings soon found out that America’s favorite game show host would have likely checked yes.

Funny enough, the Jeopardy genius wasn’t certain Trebek was even a fan. “Despite all the quality time Alex and I have been spending together lately, he still seems a little chilly, as if he’s rooting against me,” Jennings wrote in his 2007 book, Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs (via CheatSheet). “Does he think I’m bad for the show? Does he dislike sharing the spotlight with a sidekick? … I feel like passing a junior-high mash note up to his podium. ‘Dear Alex. Do you like me? Check one. Yes/No.’”

Luckily, Jennings soon found out that America’s favorite game show host would have likely checked yes.

Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings shared a special bond

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