Pat Sajak was drunk on occasion in the early years of The Wheel of Fortune which puts him on par with most of his viewing audience. Somehow this has been making the news cycle. I wouldn't expect anything less than drunkenness from a television game show host. Not that I have anything against Pat or his letter-turning drinking partner Vanna White. Isn't being drunk a requisite in life?
But being drunk on a mindlessly tedious game show raises my estimation of the inebriated Mr Sajak? All I need now is for Alex Trebek to admit that he downed a bottle of angry juice before each taping of Jeopardy.
Watching mindless game shows is a family tradition. From Beat the Clock to Let's Make a Deal my childhood touchstones are rife with game show memories and very few of outdoor activities. My son even referred to the Price is Right's Bob Barker as "Uncle Bob" in a newspaper interview. Which begged the question, "What the fuck were you doing home when you should have been in school?"
When my grandfather cared for nothing but his next drink and the Wheel of Fortune I would walk by the TV temporarily blocking his vision, raising his blood pressure, and giving him the answer to the puzzle just to piss him off. I would also tell him that Jim McMahon was a much better quarterback than Bart Starr.
When it comes right down to it The Wheel of Fortune is the Jerry Springer of game shows. A quick trip around YouTube will leave you rolling on the floor with a collection of contestant gaffes and parodies including the infamous "clam digger" clip.
So, I don't blame Pat Sajak for owning up to being sloshed. I just wish that he was pounding back shots of tequila instead of margaritas. Somehow the mental image I have of him is as Senor Sajak sipping a marg with a paper umbrella attached to it. That's an image that's fine for Ms White who is curiously naked and much younger in my mind's eye but for the guy who replaced Adrian Cronauer on the radio in Viet Nam I was expecting more.
SportsCenter is on...get me a beer!
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