Father Wilson's Bulletin Article

In the spring of 1984, a minor miracle occurred. Our College Bowl club at the University of Minnesota won the Upper Midwest Regional Tournament. We earned a spot in the national tournament against schools like Harvard, Stanford, and North Carolina. College Bowl, a quiz game routinely on national television in the 50s and 60s, was returning to national TV on NBC that year, with the semifinals and finals on live TV in late May. I was a scrub and wasn’t selected for the travel squad which was limited to four players.

 

The Gopher quiz team had barely more success in the early rounds than the football team that lost 84-13 to Nebraska that year. In eight preliminary games, we only won two. We had them where we wanted them. But in the one-and-done playoff rounds, we went on a tear and won four in a row to reach the nationally televised rounds hosted by none other than Pat Sajak of Wheel of Fortune fame. Our well-practiced team took down Princeton and Washington University of St. Louis and won the national championship, much to the surprise and chagrin of coastal elites who thought that the Midwesterners were undereducated country bumpkins.

 

The only one who didn’t seem surprised was Sajak, whom our team described as a kind gentleman who treated everyone with dignity and reverence. Whether it be a stagehand, a champion, or the last player on the worst team, everyone was treated the same.

 

Pat Sajak recently retired after 41 years on Wheel of Fortune. Sticking around anything for that long is a sign of great perseverance. Admittedly, I didn’t watch Wheel of Fortune often. (Jeopardy is more my thing, and I’m way past my prime) I am told it was a calm, family-friendly way to spend a half hour each day, absent the toxic politics and biting sarcasm that often permeates the airwaves. In his closing remarks, Sajak said that was intentional. It was entertainment and not politics.

 

Pat Sajak was also known for his honesty in speaking the truth, his belief in the dignity of every human being, and the ideals of our country as a place of freedom. In the entertainment culture, his worldview is scoffed at, yet he was a pillar in the industry. He was popular because he intentionally kept his platform simple and mostly universally liked by viewers whether they liked his social takes or not. It’s refreshing that someone who could have used his platform as a place of division instead used it as one of unity and simplicity. 

 

I don’t know Pat Sajak, but I think his approach to life and the simplicity of picking letters, words, and phrases on a national TV show that everyone could watch without being offended is a model we can all appreciate.