For any Bostonian who has ever imagined themselves on “Jeopardy!,” Monday’s episode featured an answer that might have been right in their local knowledge base.
The only problem was the actual contestants had no idea that the Boston Bruins were the correct response.
Based in the category “From the Dutch” — worth $800 — the Bruins-related clue emerged in the first round of “Jeopardy!”
Here’s the wording:
“This NHL franchise turning 100 in 2024 gets its name from a Dutch color word.”
After one contestant incorrectly guessed “orange,” neither of his competitors buzzed in to respond.
“That would be the Boston Bruins,” show host Ken Jennings pointed out. The word “Bruin” translates to “Brown” in Dutch.
The Bruins social media weighed in, joking that “we would’ve had that one.”
Part of it might have had to do with the random geographic backgrounds of the trio participating in the episode. None of the contestants were from New England. One is from Rochester, New York, while the other two (including multi-day champion Isaac Hirsch) are both listed from California.
That also wasn’t the only New England (and Boston) reference during the show. “College in New England” was another of the “Jeopardy!” categories.
And in “Double Jeopardy!,” a Boston Harbor clue popped up (which Hirsch correctly answered).
Failing to correctly get a sports question isn’t unheard of on the long-running gameshow, as it’s not the first time “Jeopardy!” contestants have had a little bit of trouble with sports categories. Over the years, the show has generated some memorable misses from clues that average sports fans might have found fairly easy.
One of the more notable sports misses even included Tom Brady, when a 2022 contestant mistook Brady’s longtime rival, Peyton Manning, for the famous Patriots quarterback.
As for the Bruins, the team marked its 100th anniversary in several ways over the past year (the third NHL franchise to hit the centennial, and the first in the United States). The most prominent aspect was the “Historic 100,” in which a panel of experts compiled the 100 most legendary players in team history.