Lockport family competes on ‘Family Feud’

Lockport Township High School District 205 Board member Michael Travis, who sits on the same board as his father, recently honored him in another way by competing on their favorite show, “Family Feud.”

Michael Travis and his wife, Rebecca, and their children, Brandon, Bryson and Micah, competed on the game show that aired on Tuesday. Brandon Travis said he applied for his family to appear on the show two years ago so his grandfather, Charles E. Travis, who loved the show, could see his family’s name on the Family Feud stage.

Charles E. Travis died on September 24, 2022, Brandon said.

“We watched ‘Family Feud’ all the time,” Brandon said. “We were hoping he would watch the show and see his last name on the board under the lights, but unfortunately he didn’t get a chance to see that.”

Brandon Travis, the family’s team captain, said that he completed the application for his family to compete in February 2021, and that they shot the episode last February after meeting with the producers and participating in trial games.

After watching the show for many years, Brandon Travis, 32, said it was surreal to see the lights, cameras and stage. Although the show lasts about 30 minutes, Brandon said filming could last up to an hour and a half.

She said the highlight of the experience was meeting host Steve Harvey and watching him interact with the contestants and viewers.

“He’s funny both on and off stage. Everything is a joke. “He can turn anything into a joke,” said Brandon. “But he also has serious moments where he likes to invest and inspire. It was great to meet him.”

Rebecca Travis, 56, said she and her family had a great time competing, meeting other contestants and watching Harvey in his own environment. She said being a contestant was a lot of fun, but it was very different compared to watching from home.

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“It’s definitely easy to get the number one answers when you’re at home,” Rebecca said. “But when you’re on stage, it’s frustrating.”

Brandon said the Travis family got about 90 points but they couldn’t win the match. However, he said that the family has prepared their comeback list and therefore they will be invited to the competition again.

“When I come back, I want to do a lot better than we did before,” Michael Travis said. “We will be a lot more comfortable and I know we will be better.”

Brandon Travis laughed, thinking about what his grandfather would say.

“We were asked, ‘Come on, you could have gotten more points than that,’ and ‘What kind of answers were those?'” Brandon said. “He would make speeches like this,” he said. “But in the end he would just laugh and say we did a great job.”

Michael Travis, 61, said his father would be proud.

“I was thinking about him throughout this whole process,” Michael said.