SFA alumnus Rick Achberger to appear on game show tonight on NBC

NACOGDOCHES — For SFA alum Rick Achberger, winning a million dollars in a game show would be just the ticket to feed his obsession as a hardcore World Wrestling Entertainment fan.

Achberger, known as "Sign Guy" to WWE fans and wrestlers, will take his chances tonight on "Deal or No Deal," a popular NBC game show hosted by Howie Mandel where contestants play and deal for a top prize of $1 million.

NBC courtesy photo (enlarge photo) WWE wrestlers John Cena, left, and Bobby Lashley, right, show support for former SFA Lumberjack basketball player Rick Achberger during last week's taping of 'Deal or No Deal.' NBC courtesy photo (enlarge photo) 'Deal Or No Deal' host Howie Mandel cheers on former SFA Lumberjack basketball player Rick Achberger during last week's taping of the game show.

"I'm still freaking out over this thing," Achberger said. "It all seems like a dream. When we taped the show, it seemed like a blur. I'm anxious to see it on TV now."

Achberger's enthusiasm as a WWE fan could be what got him on the show.

One morning in October Achberger checked www.wwe.com and saw a picture of Howie Mandel.

"I was thinking, 'What's he doing on there? Is he in a cage match or something?'" Achberger said.

The Web announcement was that "Deal or No Deal" would be holding an open audition that night in Los Angeles for the game show. Achberger knew he would not be able to make it to the show that night. But he saw an announcement asking for fans to mail in audition tapes.

Achberger put together a five-minute videotape of his antics ringside at WWE shows. In November, NBC producers called him back and asked for a phone interview. After several more phone interviews, they flew him in to tape the show Feb. 21.

Achberger was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, and moved to San Antonio when he was 15. He played basketball in high school and earned a scholarship at SFA.

Achberger played for the Lumberjacks from 1987-1992 and majored in Radio/TV. After graduation he worked as a photographer/reporter for KLSB in Nacogdoches. He then moved to Tyler and worked for KTEK.

"A lot of my friends told me, 'Hey, you should get into sales,'" Achberger said. "So I moved to Dallas and now work for QDI (Quality Distributors Incorporated) where I go around the Dallas-Fort Worth area and find stores that want to sell T-Mobile services."

It was about five years ago when Achberger's status as "Sign Guy" for WWE began.

Achberger attended a WWE show in Dallas where he had a front row seat.

"At first I was thinking I'd bring a sign," Achberger said. "Then I thought, 'I'll just bring a bunch of signs.'"

Signs are a popular way for wrestling fans to get on TV, much like any big sporting event. If a sign is original and entertaining, there's a good chance it will be shown on TV.

Achberger said he brought 12 to 15 signs to the Dallas event, one poking fun at Silsbee native Mark Henry. Henry saw the sign and ripped it apart on live television.

"Seeing the fans laugh at the signs and seeing me on the big screen was a lot of fun," he said. "But when the WWE superstars began interacting with me and the signs, I was hooked."

Achberger began bringing about a dozen signs to as many WWE events as he could get to. At one show he wore a blue workman's shirt and a red hat. One wrestler grabbed his hat and threw it in the audience. So the next night he decided to wear the same clothes to another show. The same wrestler saw him and jawed with him. Achberger decided to wear the blue shirt and red hat to all WWE events.

The blue shirt and red hat and the signs earned him the reputation of "Sign Guy" to WWE fans and superstars.

Achberger estimates that about 30 hats have been ripped off his head by WWE superstars. Most of the time they spit on it or wipe their sweat on it and stick it back on his head. So Achberger takes the hat home and sticks it in a ziploc bag and keeps it as a souvenir.

Though the wrestlers act like they hate him while in the ring, the opposite is true outside the ring.

"I see these guys in airplanes, bars and restaurants and they are the nicest people I know," he said. "(WWE wrestler) The Big Show one time came up to me and gave me a big hug and told me, 'Hey, we love you and your signs.' That just floored me that someone that I've insulted with my signs said something like that to me."

In 2003, he was featured on the USA show "WWE Confidential" for what he does as "Sign Guy." On the show he described how he creates the signs and how he comes up with the ideas. In the middle of the taping, WWE wrestler John Cena burst in and visited with him.

Achberger says his credit cards are maxed from traveling to about 40 WWE shows per year. He went to 13 shows in January alone. A million bucks from a game show would be one way he could pay off those debts.

Achberger signed several documents saying he would not give away the results of the show or anything about how he played the game.

Last week's "Deal or No Deal" taping was payback time for two WWE "bad guys."

"I'm standing there, going through the game where I hear, 'Boo! You stink, Sign Guy!'" he said. "It's Edge and Randy Orton. I've been heckling them all these years and this is payback."

But help was on the way in the form of WWE "good guys" Bobby Lashley and John Cena, who hold Orton and Edge off and join Archberger's "support team" for the rest of the show.

"Before the show I was sitting in the audience with 300 people and thinking to myself, 'This is a dream. I can't believe I'm actually doing this,'" he said. "I had friends and family there and see the hot models and my brain was in a blender. You'll see (on the show) I'm so overwhelmed. It's the biggest adrenaline rush that I compare to WWE shows. The opportunity of winning a million dollars is really just a backdrop. The whole experience was priceless."

"Deal or No Deal" will be on at 8 tonight on NBC.