Canadian danger! champion Matea Roach found herself at the center of a property dispute.
The 23-year-old Toronto man – or is he a Haligon man? – The teacher won the eighth longest series in the history of the regular season of television games on Friday with 14 consecutive victories and her Canadian colleagues noted.
“The people of Nova Scotia, and then the people of Toronto – the two places I’m most closely associated with – were very eager to say I belonged more to one than the other,” said Roach, who spent the first six years of her life and part of her adolescence in Halifax.
“They don’t just want to say you’re from Canada if you’re from a particular city or province. It’s like, ‘No, it’s not just from Canada.’ She’s from Nova Scotia or Toronto. “
In fact, it belongs to both. Nova Scotia is home, she said after breaking the Top 10 list this week, but she feels deeply attached to Toronto, the city where she moved to a university degree in political science and sexual diversity research.
Apologies to all Canadian 20-year-olds who have had this happen … if it makes you feel better, my anecdote on tn is about my mother’s car crashing in a parking lot, so I’m also perfectly capable of disappoint my parents! https://t.co/6VRWf6ccGl
– @mattearoach
She has also spent time in Calgary and Moncton, New York
But she understands the “very Canadian” tendency to be proud of “domestic celebrities” and even comments on it in the quiz, referring to the late longtime Jeopardy! hosted by Alex Trebek.
Roach realized that she had achieved national fame when she noticed an article about herself on the satirical website The Beaverton.
“That, even more than the real media interest, was like ‘Oh, I did it,'” she said.
It’s an interesting time to be a Canadian in Jeopardy !, an American show with some undeniable northern connections. The setting of the show is named after Alex Trebeck’s scene in honor of his Sudbury host, Ont.
Roach expressed some disappointment that her stellar participation in the show comes after Trebeck died of pancreatic cancer in 2020.
“It’s a little bitter and sad [this streak] “It’s happening after he’s gone, and he’s not going to celebrate what is now the longest-running Canadian contestant on the show,” Roach said.
Pros, cons of being a Canadian in Jeopardy!
The show also tends to raise some questions about Canada, and one of the main writers, Billy Weiss, grew up in Montreal.
This gives Roach an advantage in some cases, but she said the Americanness of the show can also stumble her at times.
Thursday night’s show, for example, included an entire category for the state of California.
“I remember talking to someone on the Jeopardy team!” for that. And she said, “Yeah, I was really confused why you didn’t call or get any of this evidence. But then I remembered that you were not on this side, “Roach said.
Sudbury, Ont., Alex Trebeck, poses on the set of The Jeopardy! Registration for the Million Dollar Celebrity Tournament on April 17, 2010 in Culver City, California (Amanda Edwards / Getty Images)
Since Friday’s episode, Roach earned $ 320,081 on the show, which put her in 10th place for the highest-grossing season. She also qualified for the Champions Tournament this fall, when she will face some of the most successful players on the show. This includes 40-game winner Amy Schneider, whose series ended in January, just before Roach filmed her first episodes.
“I’m so excited I’m probably losing out on her,” Roach said.
For now, family, friends and fans continue to support her.
Noise-generating historical mileage
The long-time viewer of Jeopardy! Terry Tomlin of Dartmouth, North Carolina, said he was even more excited about getting sick for a local draw.
He has been watching the show for years with his wife and four children, but lately they have been “watching the edges of our seats every night like crazy.”
“There is a deeper level of commitment when you identify more closely with the person,” Tomlin said Friday.
For those who know her personally, her success is no surprise.
“I always say she could have been at Jeopardy! When she was 10,” said Jason Church, Roach’s cousin.
He set out to advertise her performance on a placard in front of Cape Breton’s grocery store, which she owns.
Roach shared a photo of the sign on Twitter, describing it as “Cape Breton’s extraordinary behavior.”
In what I can only call a demonstration of “Cape Breton’s extreme behavior”, my mother’s cousin put this in the grocery store he and my great aunt / uncle run at Marion Bridge – feeling so incredibly supported! !! Two more days ✨ pic.twitter.com/bORqgiOuvp
– @mattearoach
Church, who runs Church’s Valufoods in the Marion Bridge community, said it was easy to do to support his cousin – and sue her.
“She was born in Halifax, but I call her Cape Bretton,” Church said, noting that her grandparents and cousins live on the island.
Since she took office, Roach’s winning streak has been all customers want to talk about when they visit Church’s grocery store.
“It’s the first thing someone says when they walk in the door. They say, “Oh God, your cousin is killing him.” Then they will say, “How is she smarter than you?” Church said, laughing.
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