San Martin
– Even when he was a kid, everyone wanted Aaron Thompson on
their team for Trivial Pursuit.
And tonight, about 100 people
– including Thompson – will gather in his honor at his parents’
home in San Martin to watch the 23-year-old compete on the famed
trivia game show
”
Jeopardy!
”
San Martin – Even when he was a kid, everyone wanted Aaron Thompson on their team for Trivial Pursuit.
And tonight, about 100 people – including Thompson – will gather in his honor at his parents’ home in San Martin to watch the 23-year-old compete on the famed trivia game show “Jeopardy!”
Thompson, born in San Jose, was selected in August to compete on the show after auditioning in April with about 60 other candidates. Before filming in Los Angeles in September, Thompson studied a vast array of random facts, including material from a book called “Secrets of the Jeopardy Champion.”
“I’ve always wanted to be on the show. I watch it pretty much every night,” Thompson said in an interview from Washington D.C. “I’ve always had a knack for obscure facts.”
The audition consisted of 50 questions, a mock game and a few interviews. Thompson received the anticipated phone call while he was in the airport.
“I was pretty excited,” he said. “I called all my friends and family.”
Thompson attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose and then Georgetown University. He now works in science and technology in the U.S. Office of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. Although Thompson couldn’t disclose the results of the show, his father, Mike Thompson, said his son did well.
“He’s a fiend. He is a trivia god,” Mike Thompson said. “When he was in high school, they’d have trivia contests in his honors English class. Aaron did so well that the teacher wouldn’t let him play anymore, so the teacher had him help make up the questions.”
The Thompson family is full of similar quirky stories that relate to Aaron Thompson’s penchant for trivia.
About four years ago, Thompson got pulled over while driving. The cop asked him where he went to high school, and Thompson told him Bellarmine. The cop challenged him to a trivia contest, promising he wouldn’t issue a ticket if Thompson won.
Thompson didn’t get the ticket. His friend had a hat made for him with the words, “Trivia expert, cop tested” written across the front.
“Jeopardy!” featuring Thompson will air at 7pm today, Friday, Monday and Tuesday on KSBW, Channel 8.
