The Bullpen is a Guelph-based team featured on the first season of Pop Culture Jeopardy!.
The game is an iteration of the popular game show and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.
Team member Tom Minard, who studied at the University of Guelph, said he forced himself to brush up on his knowledge of pop culture.
“We all did plenty of studying in advance. We had specific assigned areas that we were all relatively weak in that each one of us were deemed the new expert in and had to study up and learn all sorts of new stuff,” Minard said.
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Minard lived in Guelph, Ont., up until 2023 and has since relocated to Waterloo. Fellow team members Eric Sipkens and George Hutchinson both reside in the Royal City.
The popular game show features 81 teams from Canada and the United States competing in a tournament-style format. Minard said they are three individual teams on stage as opposed to three individual players. Comedian Colin Jost is the host of the show, as well.
Sipkens and Minard both said they had a positive experience competing on stage in California.
Although it was a really fun experience for Sipkens, he said it had its challenges.
“It’s just kind of a stressful experience being on the stage and knowing that the cameras are on you, and you’re out there trying to win,” Sipkens said.
Minard said all three teams try to answer one question at the same time, which he admitted was intimidating.
He said being a contestant on the show is a lot harder than looks.
“Once you have all the very bright lights on you and however many cameras facing you, and you get that timer ticking down, it’s definitely harder than just lying on the couch,” he said.
The final episode of the knockout round will feature the Bullpen and will stream on Prime Video on Jan 29.
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