Jeopardy! fans spot ‘bizarre’ outfit detail on new player before Ryan Long stuns with 10th win

JEOPARDY! fans were stunned as rideshare driver Ryan Long won his tenth straight game Thursday.

But a “bizarre” outfit detail on a new player had dozens going wild, quite literally, during his ongoing streak.

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ABC

Mayim, 46, is hosting Jeopardy! for a third week in a row, returning after alum Ken Jennings’ prior three weeks at the helm and announcement he’d be out for “months.”

“I’m handing the keys back to the talented actor-producer-writer-director (!) Mayim Bialik for a few months,” the fan-favorite surprisingly tweeted, adding, “We are lucky to have her! I’ll be back before the end of the season.”

The permanent hosting slot is still on the board and will be decided by the end of Season 38 in July 2022.

But tonight Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native Ryan rang in his tenth straight win with a huge $183K in total earnings – as something else scored fans’ attention.

John Sernoff, a Brooklyn New York “performing arts publicist” stood at the right podium.

The charismatic new contestant explained during his Q&A portion that he was once invited to the Sesame Street TV set as Mayim laughed in surprise.

But more surprising was his shirt.

The bright red, western-style button-up appeared to have Bigfoot, the mythical creature – walking in opposite directions above the pockets.

MONKEY BUSINESS

Fans online went bananas, so to speak, over the wardrobe choice, and exclaimed these mammoth moments are why they loved the show.

“Is … that Sasquatch on his shirt? #Jeopardy” one tweeted in shock.

“Lol this contestant on @Jeopardy has Bigfoot on his shirt,” another wrote.

“This is ridiculous and I’m in awe. I love when contestants bring their personal flair to Jeopardy,” wrote a third.

A fourth interestingly imagined, “In an alternate universe, I hope Bigfoot’s playing #jeopardy and wearing his shirt with two Ryans on it.”

A fifth even discovered Bigfoot, or at least the shirt – online as the game aired.

“Found it if anyone wants one too,” the Twitter user shared, linking to the item which comes in various colors and $69 (before shipping.)

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is a large ape-like creature some people believe inhabits North America – and have claimed to have spotted, specifically in the Pacific Northwest.

RYAN’S REIGN

Fans are loving Ryan’s big personality, big bets, and quietly quirky Q&A stories since arriving last Friday.

During his first Q&A, the contestant pumped out an Arnold Schwarzenegger impression.

Since then, he’s shared he grew up watching the storied show with his mom, who thought “Alex Trebek was so handsome.”

He also shared he once worked on an “Amish farm,” then noting, “People are gonna think I’m weird with all these stories.”

The broad-shouldered bet-maker also sweetly recanted he once fostered “four baby kittens” and “bottle-fed them” before his mom adopted them – he also has an eight-year-old son who made his bead necklace.

Ryan has indeed made some bold bets, he’s bet a huge $8000 on Daily Doubles multiple games last week as one fan on Twitter praised his gameplay, “8k Daily Double again. Nice bet Ryan.”

Although one Twitter fan wrote earlier in tonight’s game, “Uh oh Ryan. Need to shake it off and concentrate” as the first round saw him struggle, but he cruised ahead in Final Jeopardy with $10K.

He’s also interestingly bet small – wagering $0 on Final Jeopardy tonight, as well as Tuesday – perhaps not feeling the categories.

One fan tweeted on this gameplay move, “That was smart to wager zero!”

Sartorially speaking, Ryan also shared on his Twitter that he only brought “two shirts” to Culver City, and added a “huge shout out to the wardrobe department,” hinting there could be more to games to button up for.

He also during his first week, “In case anybody’s wondering why I’m constantly squinting and adjusting during the game…it’s because my glasses are 3000 miles away, where they will do the most good.”

Though thankfully, the specs appear to have been flown into Culver City – even if they’ve unfortunately fogged up a bit, his calm consistency hasn’t.

Ryan is now 13 games shy of Canadian tutor Mattea Roach’s 23-game tear that ended when she lost by $1 earlier this month.

Mattea, Ryan, and Amy Schneider – all from this season – will compete in the Tournament of Champions in November.

KEN VS MAYIM

The shirt shocker was a nice commercial break from the bitter battle between Ken and the Big Bang Theory actress, which has stepped across the fan discourse this year.

The duo began filling in for the legendary Alex after his tragic 2020 passing and a fleet of Season 37 celebrity guest hosts, including now-disgraced Mike Richards.

The show’s ratings nearly doubled to 9.7M viewers when Ken made his first appearance.

When Mayim took over her hosting duties the headcount dropped to 5.9 million viewers during a college championship and dipped that low this week.

Even Mattea stated after her run she wanted Ken to take over.

“As a contestant, there is something really special about being on stage with the greatest player of all time,” she told .

The fact that the hosting slot is still undecided has been a huge point of discussion with ardent Jeopardy! fans, as the late Alex had hosted since 1985.

As one fan tweeted tonight, “I actually like both Ken and Mayim, so that’s that, at least for me,” though another replied that the 74-game and Greatest of All Time winner is still a “better fit for the show.”

Tomorrow night, Ryan could finish the week 11 games strong – but John’s shirt, much like the creature on it, will disappear once more.

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ABC

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