Jeff L's Blog Post
"Why don't you just try out for Wheel of Fortune? You'd be really good at it." That's what my parents would always tell me. I never put much stock in the advice. I just thought they were just saying that because, well, they were my parents. Watching Wheel of Fortune was always a LeFors family thing, sometimes becoming a competition to see who could solve the puzzles first. Over the years I grew increasingly efficient at solving puzzles faster than anyone. Earlier this year, before sitting down for another episode of Wheel, my father looked over to me and said jokingly, "So can we actually watch the show, or are you going to just solve all the puzzles before any of us again. Why don't you just go try out?" Right then I grabbed my laptop and filled out an application online. It only took a few minutes and I figured that would be the end of my Wheel of Fortune experience. How wrong I was. About a month later I received an email about a casting/audition in Louisville, KY. Being only a couple hours drive from Indianapolis, I figured hey why not drive down. Even if I don't get on the show, the experience of auditioning would be a story unto itself. In Louisville there were around 60-80 other people there waiting. We were all excited of course, and I was actually a bit nervous. I had no idea what to expect. Once in the room, the contestant coordinators got the energy level WAY up. Rapid-fire Wheel of Fortune followed. Your name would be called, you jumped up, you call out a few letters, and then try to solve the puzzle that was projected on the screen in front of the room. No time to think too muchif you hesitated you were buzzed out. After about an hour of cheering, clapping, and solving puzzles it was time for the written quiz. The quiz consisted of partially solved puzzles. In five minutes I had to complete as many puzzles as I could. This was tough. I was able to solve about half of the puzzles, but I thought my chances of moving on were gone. Following a break after the quiz we were all invited back into the room to find out if we made the cut to the next round. With each passing name my hopes dwindled until finally I heard "Jeff LeFors". Never had my named sounded so sweet. The next round was a closer simulation to the real game, with three contestants going against one another. We introduced ourselves and acted if we were actually playing for real. With the auditions over we were told that if we were chosen to be a contestant we'd receive a letter in the mail in about 2 weeks. Sure enough, that letter was in my mailbox two weeks later. I couldn't believe it! I was going to be a contestant on Wheel of Fortune. What started out as a five minute application process on my laptop was turning into one the most unexpected adventures I had ever been a part of, and the journey was just beginning. Two weeks later I got "the call" with my taping dateI was California bound. Watch me spin on Thursday, October 11th! What a wild ride! I'm so glad to finally get to share my game day experience. I've been known to hit the snooze button from time to time in order to get those few extra minutes of sleep in the morning. Not this day, no way. I set the alarm on my phone and even requested two separate wake up calls from the front desk, as well as a taxi to be waiting for me in the morning. I took every precaution to ensure I'd be at the studio in plenty of time. I may have been a bit too cautious, as I arrived on the lot about an hour ahead of time. But hey, I didn't mind. Eventually all the contestants were led to the green room where I saw the familiar faces of the contestant coordinators from my Louisville audition. Immediately we got a crash course in everything Wheel of Fortune: all the rules, the game tips, everything we needed to know to the get most out of our experience. First stepping on to the set was surreal. Seeing that puzzle board and the big wheel, it looked just like what I saw on TV. And wouldn't you know it, Vanna White came out to greet all of us and wish us good luck. Totally awesome! We got to do a few practice rounds spinning the wheel and calling out the letters. By the way, that wheel was WAY heavier than I thought. Back in the green room we were broken up into groups of 3 and drew balls out of a container to determine show order. My show was going to be #4 for the day. That gave me time to relaxor notI didn't know which way my nerves would go. Getting to watch the other contestants play was an unexpected surprise. All morning we were sitting in a room together, and in that time we all became like a mini game-day family. It was such a thrill to see people solving puzzle after puzzle, winning prize after prize, cheering each and every one of the on. Then it was my turn. Standing in the red position on stage, in front of the audience and all those cameras, I was unexpectedly calm. The producer counted us down, I gave one last smile and said good luck to the other players, and then the game was on. Man, did it fly by. I missed the first two toss ups, no big deal. Then on the first puzzle "Before & After" I solved the puzzle incorrectly, one I was sure I had it right. My first thought was, "My family and friends are going to give me so much trouble when this airs. I won't be able to live this one down." Wheel of Fortune was turning out to be a lot harder to play when not in the comfortable of my own home. That was about to change. The second puzzle came along and I hit my stride. I started guessing all the right letters, landed on a $7,500 wedge, and quickly solved the puzzle. Suddenly I had over $8,500! Things were looking good. Next was the "Prize Puzzle" roundand I had the honor of starting. The wheel nearly gave me a heart attack this round. Every single spin I narrowly avoided the "Bankrupt," literally holding my breath each time that flipper JUST made it over and I'd be in the clear. The puzzle began to take shape, but I still couldn't put my finger on a particular word. Then the light bulb went off. Given my luck with the first puzzle I made sure to read every single word slowly and clearly, this was one puzzle I couldn't mess upand I didn't! I recall pumping my fists, jumping up and down, heck I think I almost knocked Pat over in excitement. When he said I won a trip to Aruba, well I about lost it completely. Pat and I even staged a fake punch so he could calm me down. After solving the last toss up I was already over $20,000 in cash and prizes and headed off to the bonus round. Was this real? It all happened so fast it was hard to process. My final puzzle was "Phrase" and only one letter, "N," was revealed the entire puzzle. I had my work cut out for me. It didn't help that I my letter choices weren't better as only a couple more letters were revealed. I was stumped, had no clue. Not being able to solve the puzzle was a bummer, but that feeling didn't last long. I mean c'mon. I had just won Wheel of Fortune, a show that I've loved since I was a kid. I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity, and being as successful as I was. My cash winnings I will put towards my social media and graphic design business, and who knows, I may get myself a couple" toys" I would otherwise not have. Now I just need to figure out who I'm taking with me to Aruba. Thank you Wheel of Fortune for a truly amazing experience that I will always talk about and never forget.
