One of my first "adult jobs" was at a radio station in New Jersey where the afternoon news anchor was a huge game show fan, specifically "Match Game." He was a casual fan of J!, and admitted that it took him several years to warm up to Trebek as host after growing up with Art Fleming.
I asked him what issues he had with Trebek. He said he had a hard time taking someone whose previous shows were "High Rollers," "Pitfall" and "Battlestars" seriously. He half-jokingly noted that, during that first Trebek J! season, whenever a contestant found a Daily Double, he expected Trebek to hand the player a pair of dice to roll.
The funny thing is, after appearing on WWTBAM and a few family members and friends telling me I should audition for J!, I heard from other older friends and relatives who said the same thing -- they love J!, but it took them a good 5-6 years to accept Trebek as the emcee. To them, he was no Art Fleming and, at least for the first few years, he was the usurper to the throne.
JD