ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes recently appeared on an episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! where she competed against actor Omar J. Dorsey and comedian Fortune Feimster. Kimes won the episode and advanced to the next round of the series, taking part in the venture to raise money for the SELAH Neighborhood Homeless Coalition in Los Angeles, Calif. During a recent appearance on The Right Time podcast hosted by former ESPN colleague Bomani Jones, Kimes reflected on the episode and admitted that she brought a competitive spirit to the airwaves.
“The dog definitely came out and was visible when I was furiously trying to buzz in and losing my sh*t,” Kimes said. “Here’s the thing about Celebrity Jeopardy! y’all. The questions are easy. It’s like high school level. Obviously anyone who’s watched it knows it’s pretty dumbed down. You know most of the answers. In fact, I’m watching at home, I was losing it because even the ones I didn’t know, at home, I was like, ‘This is very obvious.’”
Kimes explained that there is a small window to buzz in on the show and that if you press the button too early, you get locked out. This continuously happened to her on the show, and she acknowledged that she looked like “a fricking maniac loser” because of her level of competitiveness about the show. While Jones did not have a chance to watch the episode, podcast producer Sean Yoo informed him that Kimes dominated the competition. Although no one got the ‘Final Jeopardy!’ question correct, she did not wager any money and thus garnered the victory.
“If I were to go on Celebrity Jeopardy! and win the whole thing, I don’t feel like I’m going to get that much congratulation,” Jones said. “I think I’m going to get some, but I think that a lot of people, even those close to me, are operating on the expectation that I should, in fact, win this. I recall when I was very young, I watched Celebrity Jeopardy! and the top-two finishers were Cheech Marin and Luke Perry, and I’m just saying, I don’t want to have to come back to regular life if I lose to Cheech.”
Kimes hypothesized that Jones was describing a similar logic as to why certain NBA players hesitate to take part in the Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend. Jones admitted that this was a great analogy and averred that he did not feel that there was much room to benefit in appearing on the gameshow.
“At the same time, I do think that I would greatly enjoy going on a run on Jeopardy! and putting it on all people,” Jones said, “and please don’t put me out there with somebody that, for whatever reason, I come to dislike because I still think Jeopardy don’t have nearly enough sh*t talk.”
Kimes articulated that her opponents were kind and that the game was not super competitive between them, leading Jones to ask if she took it easy at some point. In response, she explained that she had not and that her timing for buzzing in on questions was difficult throughout the game. Jones remembered that his mother never let him win anything when he was young, and he believes that Kimes was raised in a similar manner not to give anyone else free victories.
“My dad never let me win in games,” Kimes said. “I vividly remember, not only did he not let me win, we’re talking from the jump. Some of my earliest memories are being like 6 or 7 and my dad just kicking my ass in board games.”
While Kimes was taking part in Celebrity Jeopardy!, she informed host Ken Jennings of a connection that may have impacted her career. After writing a personal essay about how the Seattle Seahawks brought her and her father closer together, Jennings re-shared the article on social media and gave positive commentary about the piece. Shortly thereafter, ESPN reached out to her, and she ended up joining the company to start working as a columnist and senior writer for its magazine publication in 2014.
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