The reigning NFL MVP looked poised, controlled the flow of the game and had some truly fun and viral moments in his two weeks hosting the classic game show, says Ryan Nagelhout. "With his final of 10 tapings airing on Friday, it’s clear by now that Rodgers would actually be a great pick for the job," he says. "That alone seems worthy of praise given the level of difficulty the role entails, and the fact that he’s extremely interested in the gig full-time means he needs to be considered for the role. If we’ve learned anything about him in the last fortnight, it’s that the initial concerns about putting the Green Bay Packers quarterback behind the podium have been almost universally unfounded. We know by now that hosting Jeopardy! is a lot of work. There are pronunciations to master, category themes to grasp, and banter with contestants to deal with while putting on a highly-competitive game in the process. The host of Jeopardy! matters more than possibly any other game show ever made when you consider they quite literally decide how long contestants get to answer a clue before moving on. The pace of the show is theirs to set, and it took (Alex) Trebek decades to master the gameflow we grew accustomed to watching at home. More than that, the show’s contestants obsess over the cadence a host speaks with, as the signaling device only operates after the host delivers the clue’s final word." He adds: "Football analogies aside, all that prep work has clearly paid off on camera. Rodgers has looked poised, controlled the flow of the game, and had some truly fun moments in his two weeks hosting. Unless you count hundreds of former contestants furious that a 'grifter' like Dr. Oz hosted a show that celebrates facts and science, Rodgers has far and away made the most headlines of the guest hosts. And all for positive reasons."
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TOPICS: Aaron Rodgers, Jeopardy!, LeVar Burton, Game Shows