A Fall River family won $20K on 'Family Feud.' How they did it, and how they'll spend it.
A Fall River family that appeared on the iconic TV game show “Family Feud” this month has a nice chunk of change to show for it — and they’ll spend their winnings keeping the family together.
The Burgo family — Adriana, Kevin, Chantel, Adriano and Natasha — appeared on “Family Feud" twice. On the first night, they won $20,000 for their quick, clever answers to quirky survey questions. The second night, they weren’t so lucky, but were sent home with their jackpot winnings and memories they’ll keep forever.
“We had a great time,” Adriana Burgo Lopez said on Thursday. “It was a great experience.”
In an interview just before their shows aired, Burgo Lopez wasn’t allowed to discuss how she and her siblings fared on the show. Since the episodes aired Feb. 5 and 6, now the full story can be told:
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How did the Burgo family do on 'Family Feud'?
The show, hosted by comedian Steve Harvey, pits real-life families against each other to find the most popular answers to survey questions.
The Burgos put in a commanding performance throughout the game on their first night, stealing round after round from their opponents. It was enough to take their team to the Fast Money round, where two players try to rack up 200 points with $20,000 on the line.
Adriana and Kevin, the team captain, were chosen as the two players. In her half of the Fast Money game, Adriana’s answers racked up an amazing 149-point haul.
“It was exhilarating, very nerve-wracking, all those different emotions all at once," she said.
Despite being on stage before an audience of millions playing for big money and getting five bizarre questions thrown at you in 20 seconds, Adriana made it look easy. She attributed it to a pep talk Harvey gave her and her brother before they played.
“He said, ‘Breathe, listen to the questions fully, think about your answer before you give it.’ He definitely calmed us down,” she said.
“She’s a beast,” Kevin said during the show, when he discovered he had to notch just 51 more points to win the jackpot. His answers were more than enough to clinch the win and send all five siblings onto the stage for a group celebration — and bring them back for another night.
Burgo family stumped by a heart-breaker survey question
The next night wasn’t as lucky. The Burgos faced the Rivers family, which was a tougher match. Though the Burgos came up with great answers, the Rivers were able to steal multiple rounds.
It wouldn’t be an episode of “Family Feud” without at least one bonkers survey question, and this one caught the Burgos off-guard.
The question? “Name a sport that married men love as much as their wives.”
With football, basketball and baseball already answered and one answer left, the Burgos had a chance to steal the round and win the game with one good answer.
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"When Kevin gave the answer ‘Golf,’ [Steve] was like, ‘Yep, that’s up there. You guys got this.’ He looked over to the screen, he pointed — and his face was just shocked. The audience was shocked. We were all shocked.”
Survey said: volleyball.
Volleyball? Really?
Burgo Lopez said a producer commiserated with them after the show and told them that volleyball is apparently a popular sport. “We’re like, ‘We’re from New England!’" Burgo Lopez said. “No one watches volleyball in New England!”
Though it “broke our heart," she said, they still had a great time and went home thrilled.
What will the Burgo family do with their money?
The episodes were taped last year. The Burgos held a viewing party at their father’s house this week when they were finally shown. They have family in the Boston area, too, where the episode was shown an hour later — so they watched it again, texting their relatives throughout.
It'd been so long since the episodes were taped, she said, that she and her sibs forgot some of the questions — she said periodically they’d cringe, saying, "Oh, I could’ve said something different!”
They haven’t received the $20,000 prize money yet, since it's only paid after the episodes air. She said the show automatically splits it five ways, $4,000 for each family member.
True to the “Family Feud” spirit, they’re spending their winnings on each other.
“We’re actually planning on taking a trip somewhere,” she said. “We haven’t planned it exactly, but a nice family trip. We try to do that once a year — try to go somewhere as a family."
Dan Medeiros can be reached at [email protected]. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: 'Family Feud' winners from Fall River have plans for $20K jackpot