Jon Lubin, a College junior double majoring in Economics and Classical Studies, is surely not your typical student. This energetic, redheaded Red and Blue Crew president and Braveheart devotee was also nearly a millionaire.
Tell me about your experiences on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
I honestly don't know where to start. I'll tell you that it was the best day of my life. It was the most exciting, most nerve-wracking, most rewarding experience I've ever enjoyed. I thought I was going to be nervous, but once I got on screen, it was a catharsis of emotions.
What happened?
I pretty much lost it. I was spouting Braveheart quotes left and right. Everything I said when I was up there was a stream of consciousness.
How was Regis?
Regis was the coolest guy .... He thought I was crazy. He legitimately thought: "Where'd we get this guy from?"
Was Regis as sexy as he appears on tv?
Regis is dead sexy. He's actually, if it's possible, even a lot shorter than he appears on TV -- he's no more than 5'4''. What he lacks in height, he makes up for in character. He's so energized and wired, and I think that's why we gelled so well together during my 15 minutes in the hot seat.
So did you win a million dollars?
I won a quarter of a million dollars, and I was two questions away from the million.
What was the question that stumped you?
That's what everybody asks, and I'll never forget it either. I'll pose it to you. It was: which of the following opera composers -- and I'd used all my lifelines, so it was just me and the opera -- was related to Richard Wagner? And the four choices were: Chopin, Leicht, Berlioz and Schumann. Now I don't know anything about opera, mind you, so I ended it there. The big thing about Regis is that he always wants you to say who you would have guessed afterwards. I said I would have guessed Chopin, just a pure, completely random, out-of-nowhere guess, and the answer was Leicht, so it's a good thing I didn't go for it.
I'd say so, but $250,000 certainly is no pittance.
When he cut me that check for $250,000, I lost control. My arms went up in the air, and I swarmed him. I was yelling, "show me the money" into the camera, and I ran into the arms of this 20-something producer off on the side.
Is that a typical reaction?
Well, I thought I owed it to them to give them something. Usually when they have someone step out of the seat, it's a handshake and goodbye. I've seen them use that clip on the promos for their new syndicated program.
Is it strange to watch yourself on TV?
When I watched the episode on tape, it never really clicks that that was an experience that actually happened, because it seems so surreal in memory.
Have you ever been on TV other than Millionaire?
Actually, Rosie O'Donnell was watching the episode that day, and she asked me to come on her show the following week. She thought that I was hilarious .... Maybe she thought I was manic. Either way, she had me on her show, and she gave me a quiz of my own because I claimed that I was able to recite Braveheart from the beginning to the end and that I knew everything about Mel Gibson and William Wallace.
Do you, in fact?
Well she gave me a five question quiz about Braveheart, and I got every one of them right. What was even cooler is that she gave me a Braveheart script that was autographed by Mel Gibson and the 6.5' sword that he used in the film, which is the ultimate collector's item for any fan of the movie. It's also about 35 pounds. Right now, it's sitting in a case in glass on the mantle above my fireplace.
Do you have any ambitions to expand your sword collection?
I think it would pretty cool to have Russell Crowe's sword from Gladiator.
I'll guess you'll have to wait until Jeopardy for that one.
Yeah, I've got to get on Jeopardy, pretend I'm some kind of Gladiator freak, and then Crowe will send me his sword.
Now there's something to aspire to.
Actually, I seem to be the kiss of death for television shows. I go on Millionaire, it's off less than a year later. I go on Rosie, and she's off the air after a little bit. It might not be good for Jeopardy to have me on the show, but I won't put that on the application.
Better not. So how did you first get on Millionaire?
There was a tryout that my friend from Villanova told me about, and it was open to anyone. It was a process of taking quizzes, interviewing, writing out questionnaires. I consider myself a trivia buff, so this was the culmination of every magazine that I've read, or episode of the History Channel that I've seen.
Did you first watch the episode with all your friends and family?
I watched the show with about 100 people. My dorm had a party, people showed up and there was food there. What was great was I wasn't allowed to tell people how I did, so since no one even knew I got on, I was able to watch it from a third person perspective. I wasn't even the first one to get on that day. A girl from Harvard was on before me, and people were booing the screen, hoping that she would mess up so I could get on, and because of, you know, the whole Ivy League rivalry.
Speaking of the Ivy League rivalry, I've heard something about the pep squad work you do for Penn ...
Yeah, I'm also president of the Red and Blue Crew, which is Penn's all-purpose, all-rowdy, all-heckle support group for the basketball team. We go to their games and come up with clever insults and jeers for their opponents.
Like what?
We primarily focus on getting there early and ragging on the opposing team. We have no mercy .... Everything is fair game, except we don't touch the ethnic or racial slurs. Anything else is fine. You can definitely get them to chatter back at you. I've had multiple basketballs thrown at me. It's very cathartic to be there for two hours just yelling your head off.
Do you think the Red and Blue Crew's work has a real impact on the game?
At a volleyball game, there was this one moment when a few of us simultaneously yelled "time-out" as this girl was about to serve. She just stuttered and hit the ball like five feet towards the ground. The referee blew the whistle as if she had faulted, and their coach got so angry that her player wasn't given a do-over. She was dropping f-bombs this way and that way, and she actually ended up getting a foul. It resulted in awarding our team an extra point. That was the most direct influence that I've ever had on a game. It was rewarding to be able to meet the extremely high bar I set for myself as a fan.
Have you ever been threatened by a referee?
I've been threatened to be thrown out of the stadium or arena by countless referees. It's all about toeing the line as much as you possibly can without actually crossing it.
Is there anything else you'd like to speak of before we wrap it up?
I'd like to say ... I recently celebrated my 21st birthday at Smokes and had an excellent time. There was just this one little thing missing: a lady friend to share the evening with. Girls, I'm single, I'm a great guy, and you know where to find me.
