Fans are going crazy for NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers' new temp gig.
He's the latest in a string of Jeopardy! guest hosts since Alex Trebek's death.
His stint started on Monday, April 5, 2021, and he's already pretty good at it, which
kind of doesn't seem fair.
He's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, he's handsome, he's smart — he went to the
University of California Berkeley after all — and he was the winner of Celebrity Jeopardy!,
beating out former astronaut and current U.S. Senator Mark Kelly and Shark Tank's Kevin
"Mr. Wonderful" O'Leary in 2015.
Plus, Rodgers also recently got engaged to actor Shailene Woodley.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Rodgers has hinted that he'd like to be the full-time
host of Jeopardy!.
And the fans are all here for it after he dropped a winking reference to the popular
Saturday Night Live parody of Celebrity Jeopardy!.
In an interview with The Ringer, Rodgers said he planned to make his brief interviews with
the contestants more fun.
He said:
"The set producer will highlight questions that they've prompted them on.
But a lot of times when I read the fun facts, I thought there was something way more interesting.
And maybe it's just more interesting to me, but that's where I would go.
I'd say, 'Hey [contestant], I'm going to talk about you and Burt Reynolds,' just to give
them a little heads up."
On his second night hosting Jeopardy!, Rodgers dropped a reference to "Turd Ferguson," a
name Saturday Night Live fans will instantly recognize.
During the interview with returning champ Brandon Deutsch on April 6, 2021, Rodgers
said,
"Says here when you were 4 months old Burt Reynolds — or was it Turd Ferguson — was
holding you at some point?"
The "Turd Ferguson" reference dates back to a 1999 episode of Saturday Night Live with
Will Ferrell playing Alex Trebek and Norm Macdonald portraying Burt Reynolds.
In the sketch, Trebek notices that Reynolds changed the name on his podium from his actual
name to Turd Ferguson.
Macdonald, as Reynolds, says,
"Yeah, that's right.
Turd Ferguson.
It's a funny name."
Later, Rodgers took to Twitter to post a video of Macdonald as Reynolds and captioned it,
"It's a funny name."
Macdonald retweeted Rodgers' shout-out and replied with laughter.
And this wasn't even the first time Rodgers used the "Turd Ferguson" reference on Jeopardy!.
When he was in rehearsals for Celebrity Jeopardy! in 2015, Rodgers responded "Who is Turd Ferguson?"
After Rodgers won, he tweeted,
"Had a blast on @Jeopardy checking off another bucket list item.
Should have said turd ferguson on final jeopardy though."
But did Burt Reynolds really hold Deutsch as a baby?
Yep.
It turns out the Jeopardy! champ sat next to Reynolds on a flight when he was an infant.
That funny moment sealed the deal for some Jeopardy! fans, who started calling for Rodgers
to be named the permanent host, according to Yahoo.
And Rodgers wants the job, too.
But what about his current gig as quarterback for the Green Bay Packers?
He couldn't do both, right?
Maybe he could.
During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers explained,
"I would love to be the host of Jeopardy!, yes."
He added,
"I don't think I'd need to give up football to do it.
They film 46 days a year.
I worked 187 this year in Green Bay.
That gives me ...178 days to do Jeopardy!
So I feel like I could fit 46 into that 178 and make it work.
It would be a dream job for sure, and I'm not shy at all about saying I want the job."
Plenty of fans seem to be willing to accept Rodgers as the full-time host of the long-running
quiz show.
One viewer claimed they're suddenly a "HUGE Jeopardy fan" with Rodgers behind the podium.
Another said they'd just picked up watching the show since Trebek's death and thought
Rodgers did a good job.
Yet another fan joked that if Rodgers doesn't take over full time, the show might go down
the toilet — complete with a toilet emoji.
Plenty of other fans simply cheered on Rodgers as he settled into the show.
As of the making of this video, there's no word on who will get the hosting job on a
permanent basis, and there are several more guest hosts scheduled.
Plus, there's a concurrent fan campaign to give Reading Rainbow's Levar Burton, who has
yet to guest host, the gig.
So we'll just have to wait to see what happens.
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