Rockford native goes viral for Albert Pujols jab on ‘Jeopardy!’
By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Rockford native Lloyd Sy claimed victory Wednesday on “Jeopardy!,” but it was a brief interaction with host Ken Jennings that has given Sy and Cubs fans a whole new reason to fly the W.
The 2012 Auburn High School valedictorian has gone viral on social media for the moment he let his Chicago Cubs fandom show while correctly answering a “Jeopardy!” question.
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In the Double Jeopardy! round, Sy buzzed in on a $1,200 “Bald is Beautiful” question about a player on the Cubs’ rival St. Louis Cardinals. It asked which St. Louis Cardinals slugger hit his 700th home run in 2022.
“Who is the wretched Albert Pujols,” Sy said.
“The answer is correct,” Jennings responded. “I can’t speak to the adjective.”
To which Sy simply responded, “Go Cubs.”
Sy’s comment generated thousands of interactions on Twitter and Instagram and news stories on Sports Illustrated’s website and dozens of other media outlets. He also recorded a segment for the Fly the W podcast affiliated with 670 The Score.
“It just came out,” Sy said Friday in a phone interview with the Rock River Current. “It was just an honest expression of how I felt toward this really incredible player who has done so much damage to my favorite team over the years.”
Unfortunately for Sy, who went on to win the Champions Wildcard game with more than double the correct answers of the next contestant, the first people to share the clip on social media were Cardinals fans.
“The first reactions were extremely negative. I got called all sorts of names on the internet,” he said. “I knew if the Cardinals fans were reacting this way we were going to get five or six times as much support in the other direction once the Cubs fans found it.”
Cubs fans did eventually find it, and it even inspired a T-shirt that just reads “Who is the wretched Albert Pujols? — Lloyd.”
Sy said he’s been a Cubs fan since he was 9 years old. That was “the Steve Bartman year,” as Sy described it, referring to the controversial moment during a playoff game in 2003 when Bartman, a fan, interferred with left fielder Moisés Alou’s attempt to catch a foul ball. The Cubs imploded after that play and were later eliminated by the Florida Marlins.
What was your first clue that Lloyd was a Cubs fan? pic.twitter.com/EIMO0lklmG
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 25, 2024
He said being a Cubs fan has prepared him for handling defeat, but it’s also given him joy.
“The 2016 World Series win is probably still the best moment of my entire life,” he said.
As for the dig at Pujols, he said it was a totally unscripted expression of the damage the future Hall of Famer has done to his beloved Cubs.
“It’s also a great marker of respect,” Sy said. “He is an incredible player. Someone who we all hate performatively, but I think we also also recognize his greatness.”
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The W flag is flown over Wrigley Field whenever the Cubs win, and flying the W has become a symbol of victory for Cubs fans everywhere.
Sy, a 29-year-old Rockford native, got the W this week by answering 30 questions correctly in his first round Champions Wildcard matchup.
“Jeopardy!” hasn’t announced the official schedule for his next appearance, which was filmed earlier this month. Sy said Friday he expects it to air on Monday.
We’ll see then if he can fly the W again.
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas
