A lot has been said about Nura's bizarre play during the speed-up round of the Nov. 10, 2015, edition of Wheel of Fortune.
There's plenty of online interest in the story, and a lot of that interest is probably from casual fans who didn't see the show, but read the story and have made up their minds.
First, to the best of my knowledge Nura has not spoken about her bizarre play. I still can't find a story that identifies her by her last name. (Update: I have since found a story that notes she is Nura Fountano.) I haven't looked that hard, but the handful of recaps I've read don't give a lot of biographical information about her. I'm a bit surprised she hasn't appeared on a network morning show yet, and it wouldn't surprise me if she does. We'll see.
Many people seem to think that she was bailing out of the puzzle simply to let one of the other two players win money. Steve had yet to win any cash, Troy had won $4,300. If that was her motivation, that's her right, and bravo to her.
Some people get offended when a contestant steamrolls the competition, but you shouldn't have to apologize for luck or skill, and I assume most people on the show want to do their best, so they're not going to essentially disqualify themselves from a puzzle by doing the weird stuff Nura did. If people want to canonize Nura a saint for allegedly handing the puzzle to another player, they're welcome to do so.
Some people think that Nura was convinced she was automatically going to the bonus round, so she could eliminate herself from the puzzle and return after the commercial break. As she proved, and I detailed extensively, her strategy was nearly suicidal, and highly flawed.
Some people who think that was her strategy think it was brilliant. (This is not as widely held of an opinion, as far as I can tell.) My dissertation would suggest those people lack the critical thinking skills, and likely knowledge of the game, to realize why their belief is wrong. That's not a crime, that's just a fact of life regarding just about every topic of debate in this country. There will always be people with flawed opinions based on limited knowledge of a subject. I'm guilty of formulating opinions on topics I have limited knowledge of. It's only natural.
And WOF is hardly an important subject, so those who don't have the time to formulate a knowledgeable opinion on their perceived strategy Nura was employing might be better off in life than I am. We all geek out about different things.
I won't applaud Nura for bowing out of the final puzzle, but I'm not offended by it. I would have loved to read reactions to her strategy, whatever it was, had Troy been able to solve the puzzle and steal the victory from her. Would the aftermath have been more outrageous than it is now? We'll never know.
Bottom line: We don't know why Nura did what she did, but that hasn't stopped many from drawing their own conclusion as if it is a fact.
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