This.....IS Jeopardy!

Okay, it's the next day so I'm out of the spoiler zone, even for me.

I love a Super Champion on Jeopardy. I think it's exciting when people get on long winning streaks. I'm impressed by ANYONE who makes it on the show, that test is no joke. But multiple day winners? Super cool. 

I liked James and his BET IT ALL mentality. And how he actually changed the way people play the game. I liked Ken when it seemed like he was always just going to be on. Which he now is and it's not nearly as fun as it was when he was on his win streak so be careful what you wish for, I guess.

This season has given me an embarrassment of riches. There was Matt whose "What is" style drove people bonkers though I totally got it. Answer the same way each time and you won't get tripped up. What is a winning strategy? Thirty eight wins! Just seemed untouchable until Jonathan beat him. 

And then Jonathan went on to win 11 games of his own! Wow!

And that's about where I really start to get excited. Right around 10 is when it starts to feel like something big is happening. And it's only happened like a dozen times. Winning at least 10 games is HARD. So to have three Super Champions in one season SO FAR? Crazy. 

Now, there could be a shift happening that changes that. It could be becoming more common as there are more resources out there for people to utilize to become better Jeopardy players. Websites with every question ever asked. Study guides for most popular categories (you better know your US Presidents). Even clickers that mimic the buzzer. Though Amy used a ballpoint pen to practice and seemed to do just fine with that. 

Ah, Amy. Our girl was on a ROLL. And then...well. Forty games is amazing. And she only had two Final Jeopardy moments where she could lose (barring her making a terrible bet). Her first game and then last night. And during the beginning of her run she went some crazy number of Final Jeopardy questions without missing any! Not last night, of course, but still!

I love a Super Champion. 

But Amy's run was bigger than just that. 

A few years ago (maybe a decade at this point?) a friend on Facebook pointed out that I seemed to celebrate victories by the LGBTQ+ community more than those of straight people. I asked him why he cared. Which is kind of a shitty response from me, but I think it's an odd thing to point out. Because it seems really obvious to me. We all need to celebrate the firsts and the first fews until it's not an issue. Anytime there is a first for any under represented group. 

The first woman to do something is important. Because without the first we don't get to the 100th or 1,000th or the I have no idea how many it's been. 

The first gay man to be mayor.
The first black president.
The first female AND black AND Asian vice president.
The first lesbian woman to be a military commander.
The first bi governor. 
The first trans woman to be a Super Champion on Jeopardy. 

Visibility is important. 

Especially right now. 
Especially for the trans community.

We have state legislators trying their best to outlaw activities for trans kids. And worse than that we have legislators trying to outlaw medical treatment for trans kids. 

The whole my body my choice lobby when it comes to vaccines won't leave trans kids, their parents and their medical professionals alone to decide the best course of treatment. 

And those people have used fear to try and get their way.

They did it with bathroom bills. Oh no! Men who want to rape your daughters and wives have just been waiting for a chance to put on a dress and sneak into the bathroom to do it! 

They are doing it with sports bans. Oh no! Men who aren't good enough for the men's teams will pretend to be women so they can dominate all of the teams! Do you want your daughter to have to compete with a big burly man who will also be sharing a locker room and a SHOWER with her? 

It's what they do.

They try to instill fear of trans people. Trans women especially. Very rarely do they come after trans men with the same fervor. Trans women get a special kind of hate and fear directed at them. 

But for 40 nights Amy won on Jeopardy. Every night on your TV screen you got to watch a trans woman just play Jeopardy. And play well. And smile and tell stories about her cat and her girlfriend and if you followed her on Twitter I guess she gave a recap everyday on what that episode was like to shoot. 

She was there. Visible. And not at all scary. 

Okay, well maybe to the people who had to face her in the competition, because she is pretty darn impressive. 

But not some burly man in a dress just waiting to sneak into a bathroom.

She is just Amy. In love with Genevieve and with Meep. Wearing a very conservative set of pearls. Answering more questions right than wrong. Forty episodes worth of wins. 

I love a Super Champion. 

And I love that we have our first Trans Super Champion and I was there to see it happen. 

Cannot wait for the Tournament of Champions this Fall. 
What is an abundance of riches?