Wow. So much to say.
By now you know our family officially has a showcase showdown winner.
If you have known my husband for any length of time, you may not be that surprised he won. He kind of has this golden horseshoe following him around. But in all honesty there is no way to start this story without saying thank you.
THANK YOU. Thanks to my mom for watching our children while we went to California. Thanks to my friend Mary for suggesting the slogan for Matthew’s shirt and my mom for making the shirt in the final hours before we left for the trip. Thank you to my Aunt Sandi, Nancy, and Mckinsey for assisting my mom with our kids. Thank you to the family and friends who were rooting for us.
Thank you Price is Right for having an awesome show. Thanks for choosing our family. Thank you to Barbara (who stood right by us in line) and the other nice people we chatted with during the 6 hours we waited to get on the show.
Thanks to the people in the crowd who were so kind to us after we won. Thanks for congratulating us and being so nice. It really made the experience great. Thanks to the guy in front of me wearing the blue shirt. I started to tell Matthew $1100 for the Kate Spade bags. When he said $1200, I thought, “yeah you’re probably right.”
1. Some background info!!!
We got there early and decided to grab lunch. As we were walking to subway, a few of Matthew’s letters began to peel off of his shirt. Uh oh. My mom had told me to pack fabric glue but I didn’t. I was slightly panicked. Matthew folded his shirt up to try and hold them on. We grabbed a quick lunch, and got into a strange conversation with the only other customer in the place. She could tell by our shirt sthat we were heading to the show. She chatted with us a while and told us she knew Drew personally and that he watched her dog when she goes on vacation. When she left, Matthew asked me if I thought the girl really knew Drew or just made it up. (As it turned out, Matthew got the chance to ask Drew. He did know her. ) After lunch, we hauled our butts as fast as we could walk to a Kmart. I bought superglue and did a quick repair on the shirt. Unfortunately we ripped one of the letters because it got glued to our finger. (can you tell which letter?!?!) It would have to do. We rushed back to get in the line. We didn’t want anything to go wrong.
2. 6 HOURS!!!
We totally weren’t expecting that. We got in line at 11:30am and had guaranteed tickets. What we didn’t know was that people from the earlier show got bumped because the Price is Right was doing a special survivor episode.
We waited outside the gate for about an hour and then got shuffled onto some metal bleachers (with the rest of the 300 people) inside the gate but outside the studio. It was freezing for LA temperatures, and just about all of us were not prepared to be in the cold outside. We sat on the bleachers while someone came around with some papers for us to sign saying we didn’t know anyone from CBS and some other random liability stuff. There wasn’t really anything to do except sit there and chat with the people around you. I can’t remember how long we waiting, but it was a while. Luckily, we were right by a wonderful lady named Barbara who was great conversation. When the lady came by and wrote out my nametag I really started getting excited.
We were also given a numerical label to wear until we entered the game room. While we were waiting, I took time to observe the group. A girl in the first set of bleachers with two braids was VERY energetic. I figured she had a good chance of getting picked. We finally started moving along and had a picture taken in front of a green screen. Then we got to walk around the corner and sit on more bleachers to wait for our interview. At least we were moving.
3. The interviews happened in groups of about 25 people.
We were able to see the groups getting interviewed, but we were too cold to really pay attention. Mainly it was just more sitting, waiting, and talking to Barbara. Finally they took our group. Matthew was the first person in the line. We both had a jolt of excitement and tried to put our best foot forward. The lady basically asked your name, where you were from and what your job was. She seemed very nice. Another lady sat behind her taking notes. As they went down the line, they looked back towards Matthew and me twice. When the interview ended I was confident he was getting picked.
4. More waiting.
We ended up going around another corner and by this point we basically had to just stand there. Someone finally came around with a sad little food cart that we bought crappy food from because we were starving. We choked down the food and shivered in the cold. I told Matthew that I was glad we were doing this, but I wouldn’t want to do it again.
We started moving again. We went through a metal detector and turned in our phones. One more bathroom break and then it seemed as if we would actually make it into the game room! By this point people had begun regaining their excitement. And as we were snaking along the line, more and more people started to notice Matthew’s shirt and comment about it. I could feel it. They were going to call his name.
5. We made it!
At long last we were inside a building and no longer freezing to death. We moved slowly but eventually we made it to the door of the game room. They seated people so that all of the rows were filled and so that you were with your group. They sat us next to another couple. The girl with the braids! We sat there a few minutes and then they moved us to another row. When that happened I knew without a doubt! I turned to Matthew and said, “they are going to pick her and they are going to pick you.” I think he thought he had a good chance at getting picked, but I don’t think he was as confident as I was.
The room and the stage were much smaller than I had expected and there were a million cameras and lights. This was going to be interesting.
6. Let the games begin!
The guy who calls the names came out and gave everyone a run down- cheer for people, lots of applause, silence when they call the name… Then it happened. They called the first name. It happened so fast that the guy they called didn’t even know it. I don’t think anyone was prepared for how quickly it started. He finally realized it. Name number 2. Then it happened …. Matthew Souders come on down! I knew it! I knew it! At least I certainly hoped it! Weeks ago, when we knew we had tickets to the show Matthew had asked me if I would be upset if he got called and I didn’t it. My response: “Not only would I not be upset if you got picked, I wouldn’t even be surprised.” (remember, I have seen his golden horsehoe.)
7. The 4 contestants were up there and it was time to bid.
The biggest shocker was how hard it was to hear. I could barely see what they were bidding on and I couldn’t really hear what the thing was or how much the 4 contestants were bidding. It looked like some kind of a blender or something. Matthew didn’t win, but I suddenly realized this was not like watching at home. The first game started and I hadn’t realized that either. Man, I needed to pay attention. He won! Geez that was fast. New name. Next time for contestant row to guess. Another winner. Another crazy fast game. I didn’t even really yell a guess at the lady bidding on the trip because I wasn’t sure how much it should cost, and I didn’t want to yell the wrong thing. This was insane!
Another item to bid! A car stereo! It was hard to tell what people were bidding, but I think they were too low. I tried to get Matthews attention, but it was too loud and he didn’t look back! He bid too low and didn’t get it. He looked back at me, and I tried to tell him to watch me. Of course, the next item came up and I told him the wrong thing. During all this, a wheel spinning had already occurred and I was in shock at how fast the game was going. A small part of me was starting to panic. All that time in line and this game show was going to end in the blink of an eye! But then it happened. The items to bid on were Kate Spade bags. You just can’t make this stuff up. He looked at me. I gave him a number, and he got it. It took me a second to realize he won because it was so hard to hear what the other people had bid. His game (Do The Math) was super easy, and I was confident (and so was he) of the answer. It was cool to win!
8. Time to spin the wheel.
They sat the three contestants near me before putting them on stage. Matthew looked at me and we were both so excited and so filled with adrenaline. I tried to yell to him (even though he was near, it was still crazy loud!) I told him to say hello to our kids and to thank my mother for making his shirt. I figured she deserved that. When he was talking in the microphone, I couldn’t even see him or hear him. By this time a camera man came over and sat on the floor right in front of me because he knew I was with Matthew. He wanted to get my reaction I guess. Matthew was the middle person to spin. He ended up with a 65. He looked at me for what to do and I had absolutely no clue. He made the right decision to stay. When I realized he got in the showcase showdown I was about to go nuts. Adrenaline had totally taken over.
9. The showcase.
They moved me up front next to the friend of the lady in the other showcase. They told us to run on stage if our person won. Me and that lady were both very excited and talking and cheering. The first showcase was rattled off. I saw a diamond ring. I tried to look excited, but I didn’t need the ring and I certainly didn’t want the sailboat. I couldn’t even figure out if that was Matthew’s showcase or if it was the other lady’s. I was thrilled when I figured out the other lady was bidding on it- mostly because I figured the other showcase would have a car.
10. Matthew’s showcase.
A trip, a car, and a tv. Holy crap! He looked at me for a bid. I heard someone yell $22000! I was thinking somewhere around there so I yelled it out… $22000. And to my surprise he said that exact number…. $22000. Uh oh! What if I am way off?!?!? Again, it was so loud that I couldn’t tell what was going on. Then I realized it. He won. He actually won the showcase showdown! What am I supposed to do?!?!? Think Natalie! What do they do on TV?!?!? Oh yeah. They told me to run on stage, so I did. Someone grabbed me though and sent me over to the car to meet him, which was fine by me. (Besides the shirtless male model was there.) I remember running and jumping into Matthew’s arms. I remember hugging the models and thanking them. I remember Matthew sitting in the car and touching his beard. I remember telling Drew Carey that I loved
“whose line is it anyway.” And then I don’t remember another dang thing.
At some point I left the stage but I don’t remember that happening. When I was back in the crowd people kept coming over and congratulating me which was so very very nice.
11. Somehow I ended up outside.
It was much warmer than I had remembered. (all that adrenaline.) People were still congratulating me and I vaguely remember talking to the friend of the lady who was in the other showcase. I couldn’t believe it was over and I couldn’t believe we were winners.
I grabbed our picture and phones and went to the car. When I got out there, I turned on my facebook, and imagine my surprise when this message was waiting for me from Nancy: I am just going to assume since u have not posted anything about tpir that you have obviously won big and you are tied up filling out all kind of forms to collect your winnings . I hope u won a trip to somewhere u haven’t been ! **Little did she know, our full haul included a car, TV, 5 Kate Spade items, cash, computer and printer, washer and dryer, blue ray player, trip to Chicago, and some DVDs.
12. So that’s all folks.
That’s our story, our 15 minutes of fame, our crazy experience. And while that was one of the coolest things either of us has ever been a part of, it still doesn’t come close to being one of the best days of my life.
Things involving my children and husband that come with no monetary gain take those places. But it was still a cool story that I am thankful to have been a part of. So if you are ever in California, you should try to get tickets to the show. You might be the next winner on the Price is Right! Thanks for reading.
Check out our podcast discussion: