Scott Riccardi likes to compare himself to a Nintendo “Mii” avatar before a player sets its features, because he sees himself as a pretty generic guy. But his run on the latest season of Jeopardy was anything but average.
Since his first episode, which aired on July 3, Riccardi has been featured in local newspapers, celebrated by his alma mater and been the focus of a trending “Today” show article. He said he didn’t know he would generate so much attention for being on the show.
“When I was up there I had to just really focus on winning the game,” Riccardi said. “I wasn't really sure how people would feel about me as a champion.”
Raised in South Plainfield, Riccardi moved to Somerville, New Jersey two years ago after receiving an engineering degree from Rutgers University.
Riccardi made his "Jeopardy" debut at the start of this month (but began taping in spring) and quickly established himself as a competitor willing to take risks.
He joined WNYC's Michael Hill to talk about quiz show fame.