Show me the Edwards family! East St. Louis family competes on popular game show
When Janeen Dawson was 12 years old, her grandfather told her she was going to be on television show Family Feud.
Monday, Jan. 30, Dawson, alongside her East St. Louis family members, will watch themselves on the screen competing on the iconic game show.
“Dreams do come true,” Dawson told the Belleville News-Democrat. “If I can say anything about this experience, (it) is never give up on your dreams. And know that Family Feud will make it come true.”
Dawson went on the show along with her brother, Jeffery Patterson, her uncle, David Edwards, his wife Natalie and her cousin, Ladena Crocker.
The East St. Louis family has always been close, and going on Family Feud was just another way to bond.
“When my sister asked me to go on there, I told her, you know, anytime she needed me, I got her back,” Patterson said. “So she knew that if she asked me I was going to have her back.”
Family Feud is a popular game show that first aired in 1976. The game pits two families against each other in a competition where they guess the most popular answers to trivia questions.
Entertainer Steve Harvey, who also hosts the Miss Universe competition, started hosting the game show in 2010.
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East St. Louis family bonds over game show appearance
When the family told their friends about the appearance, they thought it was a joke. It was only when they noticed how the family was practicing that friends realized it was real.
“They didn’t believe us in the beginning, but as time got closer and we started preparing to go, they were like, ‘Oh, you’re going for real?’” Edwards said.
As a faith-based family, they said they spent Sundays going to church together and followed that by pulling out a deck of Family Feud cards to prepare for the game show.
“Church was a good foundation for how we developed our team and a great place where we could meet and kind of come together,” Edwards said.
The experience brought the already close family even closer.
“It brought us closer, it made us laugh. We had dinner after the shows, and we laughed and talked and just [got to] fellowship with one another,” Dawson said.
Natalie Edwards said as an in-law, she enjoyed the experience because it was an opportunity for her to bond with the family more closely.
“You know, I haven’t known them their whole life,” she said. “So it was a really good opportunity to fellowship and really get to know my niece and nephew.”
The episode was filmed in June 2022.
When the cameras started rolling, that’s when the pressure was on.
“I wore heels, you got to be cute, right? You’re on the Family Feud, you gotta dress up,” Dawson said. “I told Natalie, ‘My feet are going numb.’ ... I don’t think I felt my toes for a part of the show.”
But once the family got used to the setting, all of them said it felt more like a game and less like a show.
“My favorite part was Steve,” Crocker said. “When you see him in his full element, you get why he’s on television so much. Just the interaction with the recording and the people is so natural to him.”
The family said they are proud to represent both their family and East St. Louis.
“We’re representing, and we were happy [they] put us there, on national TV, and say yes, we’re proud to be from East St. Louis,” Dawson said.
The whole family thanked Family Feud, saying the hospitality and warmth they felt was unmatched.
How to watch
The Edwards family didn’t say how they fared in the competition, so viewers will have to tune in.
Family Feud airs on the Game Show Network, and the episode featuring the Edwards family is set for Jan. 30.
You can check TV Guide or your local listings for specific times.
