In December, Berg answered his cell phone to confirm that he had never committed a felony and did not have family members who worked for Sony Pictures. Some weeks later, he found himself in Los Angeles, competing against college students from across the country.
His road to the classic game show began when Berg and his mother — both avid Jeopardy viewers — learned of open auditions for college students near Davie, Fla, his hometown.
He took a 50-question test of random knowledge at home and then was called back for a second try-out in Philadelphia.
Between Dec. 3 and the start of winter break, Berg studied by talking to as many people as he could and taking online quizzes at Sporcle.com.
Everyone in Berg’s hall in the Quadrangle told him about what they were learning in class. Soon he had volumes of random knowledge ranging from Shakespeare to war history.
Berg’s roommate, College freshman Hamlet Urena, was especially helpful.
“I made him a PowerPoint of a hundred useful, random facts,” Urena said.
Though Berg worked hard in the month leading up to the show, he said most of his answers stemmed from previous knowledge and experience.
“When I was little, I used to memorize things,” Berg said, remembering nights he stayed up late to memorize the Periodic Table of Elements.
His mother Caren Berg recalled similar stories.
“I knew Robbie had a gift for memorizing information,” she said. “When he was at the age of maybe 3 or 4, he knew all the presidents in order.”
Urena also described traits in his roommate that reflect his Jeopardy aspirations.
“I noticed Robbie knew a lot of random facts from the beginning,” he said. “He could name basically every country in the world. I hadn’t even heard of some of them.”
Finally, in December, the time came for Berg to travel west. Though he was not in LA for long, his days were packed.
Since Jeopardy tapes five quarter-final episodes a day, the crew advises adult contestants to bring several pairs of clothes to change into for each supposedly new day. But Berg said changing was not necessary for him and his co-contestants because they each wore their respective college sweatshirts.
“The other contestants were wonderful,” Berg said. “Obviously everyone was competitive, but there was no weird hyper-competitiveness.”
He even mentioned a “Jeo-party,” where the students celebrated together at the end of the long day.
Though Berg came in last place, he is still happy he had the experience. He earned $3 on the show and $5,000 for participating.
“It was really amazing,” Berg said. “And I even made some money.”
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.
