By B.C. Manion
Chris Jordan thought he was pretty good at playing “Family Feud,” after all he did rack up five wins and his family walked away with a brand new car.
Of course, that was when he was playing the Wii version of the game in his Land O’ Lakes home.
When the family played on the actual game show, taped at Universal Studios in Orlando, the outcome was a bit different.
“We did two shows. We won the first game and lost the other,” Jordan said.
“We won $149,” Jordan said. That’s a $1 a point.
“We missed the grand prize by two questions,” said Jordan, who, of course, would have loved to win big, but enjoyed himself just the same.
The game show pits two families against each other in a quest to see which has a better pulse on America’s answers to a series of survey questions. Contestants can win up to $100,000 and a new car, too.
It’s easier to play on Wii than in real life, Jordan said.
For one thing, the game gives players more time to answer than they get on the actual game show, he said.
There’s also a lot more riding on the outome, he said.
“You are kind of nervous. “What can it be? What can it be?” You don’t think about the obvious thing.”
The Jordans’ appearance on “Family Feud” started with an email that Jordan sent in response to an announcement on the show that it was seeking families to audition.
The family was selected to audition and then chosen again for the show.
“We were nervous at the audition,” Jordan said. But the show’s staff put them at ease.
“It was very informal. It was in a hotel conference room,” he said. At that point, it wasn’t about winning or losing, it was more about chemistry. Show personnel was scouting for families that have charisma and are cohesive, said Jordan, team captain.
Members of Team Jordan consisted of Chris, an insurance agent who served in the Air Force; his wife, Marisa, a healthcare administrator; his sister, Chrystal, a customer service manager; his mother, Rosetta, a customer service manager; and his sister-in-law, Tosha.
When the family auditioned for the show, Chris and Marisa were living in Land O’ Lakes, and Marisa was six months pregnant. The rest of the family competing on the team lived in Columbia, S.C.
By the time the show was taped, Marisa was nine months’ pregnant, Jordan said.
Both shows have aired, one as recently as Aug. 9, but the shows didn’t air consecutively or in order, Jordan said. Because of that, family members and friends didn’t know the Jordans won a game on the show.
Jordan said the people at the “Feud” told him they don’t control the television stations’ run dates.
Besides winning their cash prize, the family also had their travel expenses paid by the show, Jordan said.
Perhaps best of all, they got to chat with Steve Harvey, one of the original Kings of Comedy, the “Family Feud’s” host.
That was cool, Jordan said.
By the way, the Jordan Family has a new member, now. William Chancellor Jordan.
Who knows, maybe he’ll be the next generation in the family to give it a go on the game show.
