Big Nasty To Be Featured on The Price is Right During Superbowl Weekend
__________________________________________________________________________NFL, Uncategorized |
The following events took place on January 18, 2010 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, CA. The events pertain to a taping of The Price is Right attended by Big Nasty (real name Alfred Konuwa) and an unnamed acquaintance. 
5:08AM- We arrived at CBS Television City looking to attend a taping of The Price is Right. We parked on the street and headed northbound towards the studio. We arrived early as an employee of CBS TV informed us of the ‘first come first-served’ nature of admittance into a Price is Right taping during a previous conversation.
He was right.
The line snaked around Beverly Boulevard, all of its inhabitants eagerly waiting for their chance to ‘come on down’. In a matter of minutes I had already spotted handmade t-shirts, hats, scarves, face paint, jackets, and (I think) a real tattoo all in honor of The Price is Right. Daytime television never felt so Rock-and-roll. Only thing missing were the groupies. Oh wait…
5:12AM- As we stood in line, I noticed a group of young (college-level) individuals all wearing bright yellow t-shirts that read ‘We Want Drew’. Clever. The herd was being lead, in particular, by four girls. One was blond, one was brunette, one was wearing a hat, and one was short. The ‘fab four’ intensely and systematically laid out the ground work for what would be their Price is Right Ascendancy. It was evident, from the jump, that they had a clear cut plan/gimmick as to how they would get on the show. They discussed how to estimate the price of a car depending on what type of engine it had. They went over eye-contact drills. They began to coordinate a song they would sing once we were to be interviewed by the producer (we’re gonna get interviewed?). All of this was very new to us as we were there just to have a good time. Personally, I thought contestants were chosen at random. The girls continued to plot and plan as the line began to move. They just wouldn’t quit. It was quite amusing.
5:39 AM- We continued to stand in line while enduring pouring rain for approximately 20 minutes. People are actually camping outside of the studio. A middle-aged woman informed us that she’s been here since 11:30 at night. She was very nice, but extremely annoying. Had a comment for everything. During an unwanted impromptu conversation, she told me that she had attended a taping of the legendary game show 14 years ago however was not chosen as a contestant due to her impending pregnancy.
Of course that’s why they didn’t choose you.
6:12AM- We were handed our ‘Order of Arrival’ passes and told to come back at 8AM.
6:28AM- Coffee.
7:00AM- Colin Cowherd reminds us (via ESPN Radio) that The Chargers lost a playoff game last night. Apparently Norv Turner is back to being the consummate doormat in NFL Lure and The San Diego Chargers are still the same old Chargers who have been a footnote in NFL History since their inception. When will these guys catch a break?
8:00AM- Back to the studio. We were frisked by the stereotypical, large, African-American bodyguard before being subject to anxiously wait for admittance into the studio. Everybody was excited. And this was before we had in-studio producers working the crowd off-camera.
9:48AM- We received 3×5 cards to write down our information along with a short description as to why we should be selected as contestants. The ‘We Want Drew’ Crew had this process figured to a Tee.
Of course they did.
Almost on cue they each pulled out bright orange pens (they used orange because it stood out from the rest) and frantically jotted down their information. I did not have a pen with me, so I kindly asked for one of theirs knowing full well that there was a chance that they would perceive me as the enemy and tell me to go pound sand.
Of course they didn’t.
I thought about some interesting things that pertained to me and quickly came up with a portion of my life story in about 10 lines.
My name is Alfred Konuwa. I graduated from The University of California at Santa Barbara where I played Rugby and majored in Business Economics, with an emphasis in Accounting, and a minor in Sports Management. I am currently working as a tax auditor, here on location (joking). If I win any money, I will donate some of my prize earnings to loved ones in Haiti. I also plan on using my prize money for a road trip to Arizona.
That ‘Haiti’ line was true, by the way, as I had planned on giving up at least $1,000 of any prize money I could potentially win to a reputable Haitian Relief fund. This is what we, in the business, refer to as ‘A Convenient Truth.’ Convenient, because a hot-button word (‘Haiti’) was to be screaming at some producer in bright orange letters - Right underneath the name Alfred B. Konuwa. The road trip to Arizona, by the way, was in reference to the next stop on The Big Nasty World Tour: Wrestlemania 26, which will be held in Glendale.
10:51AM- The interviews were set to begin. The four schemers in front of us were rehearsing.
Of course they were rehearsing.
At this point I had come up with nicknames for each of them, out of boredom, to help me remember them better: The loud one (the blond, who seemed to be the ringleader), the louder one (the brunette, who was equally as loud if not louder, however didn’t seem to have the stroke that the blond had), the chatterbox (the one in the hat who was constantly quoting movie lines and making pop culture references that had no context to anything anybody was saying), and the quiet one (the short one who just followed everybody’s lead). The girls were going to sing the producer a song. They stood in a specific order, timed their answers to a series of practice questions, however they backed out of a practice run of the song at the last minute as they didn’t want to give away any of the gimmicky tricks they had up their bright yellow sleeves.
11:35AM- A slightly undersized, yet persistently energetic, man called us up in groups of 12. He quickly went down the line of individuals asking them who they were and what they did (as if he cared, dude was just looking for someone with enough energy to be on the show).
The conversation started to pick up when he began questioning the first of the four gloryhounds young women whose fruits of labor were seemingly set to pay dividends.
The chatterbox was asked what she did for a living. She was a special-ed teacher from Texas. She squeezed a healthy conversation out of the A.D.D. Producer before he seamlessly moved on to the next person.
It was the loud one, also a teacher. Naturally, he seemed less impressed.
The brunette was a special-ed teacher as well, and so was the quiet one. The loud one re-asserted herself into an anemic conversation between the quiet one and the producer and insisted that they sing their song.
“Save it for Drew (Carey)”, he said in a borderline condescending tone.
The guy moved on to me and asked me if I felt smarter standing next to a teacher (I guess he didn’t think I looked like a teacher).
Showtime.
With just the right amount of self-depreciating charm to make me seem likable, I responded by saying that standing next to a teacher actually made me feel dumb because of how much they know (which is true). He then asked me what I did for a living. I told him I was a tax auditor. I got an animated response from The Producer as he reacted with the same ‘feigned fear reaction’ that I have grown to become all-too familiar with. The conversation flowed like crack-cocaine at a Courtney Love birthday party. He even asked if I like sports.
Are you shitting me?
That’s not what I actually said, but that’s the look I gave him and he seemed to fully understand. I told him about how I loved Trojan athletics due to my ties to USC (where my father graduated), and he was pleased to hear this as he too was a USC graduate.
**End of Conversation.**
After a sweeping, half-hearted discussion with the above-mentioned formerly pregnant, one-time contestant of 14 years ago, the producer asked us to retire to the benches located just outside of the CBS TV Studio entrance.
12:41PM- After 7 long, yet memorable, hours of waiting we were admitted into the studio. The studio was smaller than it looked on television, yet it looked exactly the same as it does on television with all the lights and bright colors. As dance music blasted over the PA we were told to stand up and dance and act all crazy, which we did.
Price is Right announcer Rich Fields took the stage and asked if we (by ‘we’ he meant a select few of you) were ready to win some money.
Of course we were ready to win some money.
Fields then introduced, Bob Barker big shoe filler, Drew Carey. Carey came out in an old-school football helmet escorted by two beautiful models. He quickly addressed the crowd and then four arbitrary (to me) names were called to play.
12:59PM- “R****** G****, COME ON DOWN!”. R.G. was one of the four girls from The ‘We Want Drew’ Crew. The quiet one. This seemed to be a shot by the producer. He was acknowledging the girls’ passion for the show, but wasn’t about to take any of the louder, more obnoxious members of The Crew as it may have sent the wrong message.
1:01PM- Some guy lost out on an opportunity for a new car, then the next name was flashed on a cue card and pronounced by Rich Fields.
ALFRED KONUWD
ALFRED KONUWD (real name Alfred Konuwa), COME ON DOWN!
I jumped out of my chair, more out of unadulterated shock than necessity, as we celebrated in the crowd. I ran to the aisle and motioned for the crowd to make more noise before hugging a random person and making my way to bidders row wearing a UCSB Sweatshirt and jeans. No gimmick. No scheme. No song.
1:30PM- After going 0-2 on the first two bids, I was to go last for this particular set of bids. An obvious advantage on this show. A his and hers Reebok Athletic Set was the bidding item. The guy before me bid $701 (or something like that).
Showtime.
Drew Carey: Alfred, what is your bid?
Alfred Konuwd: $702?
The Price Was Right.
As I eagerly sprinted up to the stage, I spontaneously performed every gesture I thought would look cool on television, from stick shooters to a modified version of The Charleston Shuffle, then I gave Drew Carey a bearhug.
Drew Carey asked me what I did for a living and I told him that I was a tax auditor. Upon learning of my universally unpopular profession, Carey responded by saying, and I quote, “I hope you lose.”
I did. It was one of those games where you had to press the red button when you felt the retail price was within $150 of the prize package. The price was wrong. I lost out on a tailgaiting package that included a brand new trailer. A sports fan’s dream come true.
Shit.
1:37PM- Drew Carey would perform mini stand-up routines, and talk to contestants, during breaks. He took this particular break to apologize to me for saying that he hoped I lost and then he made fun of me for being a tax auditor.
1:49PM- We were called up by the producer to spin the wheel. I went first.
Alfred Konuwd: 65 cents
Contestant #2: Over
R.G. (The quiet one): Under, 45 cents
The Price was Right (again). It was on to The Showcase Showdown. If I was to go home a big winner, the price would have to be Nasty.
1:55PM- I was considered the runner-up, meaning the champion had the opportunity to pass the first bid to me. Hall of fame Runningback Eric Dickerson presented the first showcase. The champion surprisingly did not pass on his showcase which included a trip to London, Hawaii, and somewhere else (I didn’t care as it wasn’t my showcase).
My Showcase (presented by Jim Nantz and Phil Simms) included the following:
- A trip to South Florida
- 2 Tickets to Superbowl XLIV
- A Brand New Car
We locked in our bids.
2:02PM- As I impatiently waited for a possible redemption song, the show returns from commercial.
His bid was around $4,000 off. My bid was around $11,000 off. The price was wrong. I lost out on 2 tickets to the Superbowl, a trip to South Florida and a brand new car. A sports fan’s dream come true.
Shit!
2:08PM- I meet Eric Dickerson. I’m 6’2 and he towered over me. There’s something to be said for somebody so tall to play the position of runningback so well.
2:15PM- I was instructed to stand outside of the producer’s office and wait to sign a waiver and receive tax information on the Reebok athletic set I won on bidder’s row. While holding a large cue card with a misspelled version of my name in capital letters, members of the audience form a single-file line to give me their condolences. If this isn’t the picture of a tragic hero, I don’t know what is. Now I (kind of) know how Othello felt.
But Othello has nothing on me, may God rest his soul. I am not a tragic hero. I was featured on six segments on The Price is Right and I made the most out every last one of them. I won $978 worth of Reebok athletic gear, I met the record holder for single-season rushing yards in The NFL, and I even hugged Drew Carey. At one point, Carey told me that I was eligible to come back in 10 years when I’m 33. That’s something that I just may consider.
If The Price is Right.
To see Big Nasty’s national television debut, tune into The Price is Right on Friday, February 5th, at 10AM Pacific time (1PM ET, check your local listings).
Related Stories
Tags: Big Nasty on The Price is Right, NFL Superbowl XLIV, The Big Nasty World Tour, The Price is Right
Comments (2)
diziizle…
There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also….
16 nisan ehliyet sonuçları…
16 nisan ehliyet sınav sonuçları…