What is…. long long dream? A teacher who is a major Jeopardy! fan got to visit the set of the game show. He opened up about the connection he shared with the late host Alex Trebek and why he wanted to see the set.
Jim Birge, from Long Beach, California, grabbed the attention of Jeopardy! when he started Classroom Jeopardy! with his middle school students, according to ABC7.
“It’s absolutely wonderful… We watched [Jeopardy!] since I was a kid and, of course, it’s evolved like we have. This is really terrific,” Birge told the outlet as he stood behind host Ken Jennings‘ podium.
The superfan’s love of the show began when his sister-in-law was a contestant on it. His brother also played the trumpet in the theme song.
After watching the show “made him feel dumb,” Birge wanted to be smarter, so he created something that would not only help him but students as well.
He loved the show so much that he decided to create the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions for his middle school Long Beach students. He shared that he took the idea to the principal of the school in 2001, and they “ran with it.”
But the one thing that really solidified his connection to the show was Alex Trebek. He felt inspired when he watched the host continue the show through his battle with pancreatic cancer. He died from the disease at the age of 80 on November 8, 2020.
Birge was diagnosed with the same disease in October 2025 and continued to work with his students despite going through treatments. This is his 25th year hosting the tournament. “It would have been easier to just stop, but Alex inspired me,” the 78-year-old said.
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“Don’t know if I would have done that if Alex had not continued to work. Definitely an inspiration,” he told the outlet. Birge will host his last TOC in June. Until then, he is trying to host as many games as possible. “They need to work a little to get to our level,” Birge said.
He hopes that the magic that is created on the Jeopardy! stage is felt when he plays with his students. Through these tournaments, Birge wants to create a love of learning. “Even when they’re sitting in the audience, and they’re watching, they can see, ‘Oh, wait a minute, I know that clue because I was just in that classroom.’ It’s just easy to make that transition from ho-hum to ‘I’m a pretty smart kid,’” he said.
Birge thanked his crew and family, who helped him to keep the tournaments going. His wish is that the students’ tournament could go statewide or even national, but his biggest wish is to find a good replacement as host.
Birge got to meet Jennings, and he told him that his original Jeopardy! board was envelopes stuck to a board, which caused the host to laugh.
Jennings chimed in on Birge’s commitment, saying, “I love to hear about classroom Jeopardy! What Jim’s been doing, we’re honored. That’s the next generation of Jeopardy! contestants. That’s where our next players are going to come from, programs like that.”
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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