For many people, going on a game show--especially one as iconic as Wheel of Fortune--is a lifelong dream come true.
But probably not when it goes like it did for a recent contestant on the show named Alex. After racking up plenty of cash while building one of the show's word puzzles, Alex excitedly arrived at the solution. Hooray!
But he added a word to the beginning of the phrase, rendering his answer incorrect and turning his triumphant moment into... well, a face-plant--and it has people all over the internet wincing.
Fittingly, given what everyone at home was probably yelling at their televisions, the puzzle's category was "What Are You Doing?"
And after everyone's game play, the puzzle--which was "Declaring Victory"--was basically solved, with Alex well in the lead. Smiling triumphantly at host Pat Sajak as he filled in the final consonant to bring his score to $7,500--thousands ahead of either of his opponents--Alex raised his arms in the air as if running over an Olympic finish line, to celebrate his success.
And then he said:
"I'm declaring victory!"
Surely, he was just having a fun moment of triumph, but the rules of Wheel of Fortune are strict and hallowed.
By adding "I'm" to the beginning of his statement, Alex gave the wrong answer.
As he stood there stunned, Alex's opponent, Amanda, gave the answer to the puzzle without the "I'm" and won the round. Sajak quickly explained the reason for his loss to Alex, who seemed bewildered, saying he didn't even realize he'd said "I'm" before his answer. But, of course, his fate was sealed.
Sajak tried to soften the blow with a joke:
"Take my word. Look at my eyes. Would I lie to you?"
But Alex didn't seem to be in a joking space just yet. Too soon, Pat!
The clip of Alex's mishap went viral on Twitter, where people were definitely cringing on his behalf.
Thankfully, the mishap wasn't enough to lose Alex the game. He was the champion of the night, with more than $32,000 in winnings. Not bad for a face-plant!
@WhiteHouse/X
