‘Jeopardy!’ Contestants’ Ignorance of Sports Trivia Will Have You in Tears

Jeopardy! contestants are some of the smartest people around, but they have frequently dropped the ball when the show includes sports questions. That happened again on Thursday night, as contestants struggled mightily with a sports-related category on the show.

Contestants had to respond to clues from a category called “Hall of Famers By Position,” in which contestants were given the names of three Hall of Fame athletes who played the same position and asked to name the position—in the form of a question, of course. The contestants saved the category for last, as it didn’t seem that any of them wanted anything to do with a sports category.

Although one contestant got the first clue correct, successfully saying that Joe Montana and Joe Namath were quarterbacks, the other four clues stumped the panel.

Most sports fans will be able to get the first four clues, as superstars such as Bill Russell, Bob Gibson, Randy Moss and Jerry Rice were all used as clues. The final clue, however, will be difficult for anyone without at least a bit of knowledge about the NHL.

There is a reason why Jeopardy! only features sports categories occasionally, and this was yet another example.