(Note from editor: You can watch Arthur Chu in the semifinal round of Jeopardy Tournament of Champions tonight, November 18. Check your local TV guide for listings). Rarely is a Jeopardy contestant the focus of play by play.
But that’s the kind of passion Arthur Chu generates.
The bad ass Jeopardy champion advanced to the semi-finals of Jeopardy’s Tournament of Champions last night, handily defeating two other past champions, reports Cleveland.com.
His return sparked a good amount of buzz on social media.
DYK: nothing outlasts the energizer Arthur Chu…? he keeps going and going and going…
— slanted view (@theslantedview) November 12, 2014
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YESSS RT @radbcc: @jennyyangtv @arthur_affect chu chu the train is rolling…. — Jenny Yang (@jennyyangtv) November 12, 2014
.@arthur_affect is kind of killing it right now on #jeopardy. But I guess we have come to expect NOTHING LESS #ChuCrew #SorryAndrewandRani
— Angry + 1 (@angryplus1) November 12, 2014
How does a game show contestant ignite the kind of enthusiasm that’s normally reserved for sport teams? And is it a coincidence that much of this passion is coming from fellow Asian Americans?
Fans love his in your face, take no prisoners attitude. It’s not the type of karma normally associated with Asian Americans. The fact that he’s so un-Asian to non-Asians is perhaps what makes him so appealing to his Asian American brothers and sisters. He’s not quiet. He’s not unassuming. He’s Arthur Chu and he’s himself. He’s no stereotype. He’s far from it and he doesn’t give a hoot what others think of his all over the board strategy.
What he did with his fame after his 11 game win streak ended on Jeopardy earlier this season also endears him to Asian Americans. He used his recognition to become a megaphone to sound off on various Asian American issues. Issues that normally wouldn’t get covered on main stream media or even the bloggersphere were suddenly under the spotlight because of Arthur.
He moves on to the semi-finals which will be televised sometime early next week. The winner of the tournament will take home $250,000. Here’s one fan hoping he kicks some more butt.
For a look at what happened in last night’s game, you can read Cleveland.com.