So with my Wednesday night trivia at Brown’s moved to Monday nights, and my personal boycott of any of the Capital Region Recovery Room trivia competitions still in effect, I heard a rumor that there was a bar trivia game going on at TGI Friday’s at Stuyvesant Plaza. Okay, I thought… let’s give it a try.
Here’s what happened. First off, trivia at TGI Friday’s is limited to the bar area only. Not a problem for me – I understand that certain chain restaurants aren’t that keen on bar trivia, and would rather relegate it to a side area of the facility so as to not disturb others who choose to just eat dinner.
So I went last Wednesday night to Friday’s. Trivia started at 9:00 p.m., and the trivia hostess handed each team a laminated placemat with a six-spoked Trivial Pursuit wedge wheel pattern on the placemat. The hostess would ask you a question gleaned from a deck of Trivial Pursuit cards – if you answered a question correctly, the hostess would go to the bar, ring the attached bell so that everyone knew you got the answer right, then brought you a laminated wedge for your placemat. The first team to get their placemat filled (a correct answer from each of six different categories), they won the night’s prize.
The game started about 20 minutes late, as the hostess was trying to round up enough trivia teams to play. Then, the hostess would go to each team individually – and ask the question – then wait until the team trivia captain answered the question. Right or wrong, you only got one question per turn. After your question was done, the hostess went to the next team.
What did this mean for your man? It meant that it took 10-15 minutes PER QUESTION, as the hostess went around the bar to each team. Granted, I was hitting questions left and right – I knew which member of the Fugees sang “Many Rivers to Cross” at John F. Kennedy, Jr.’s funeral (Wyclef Jean), I knew the name of the test that evolved from an IQ test administered to World War I soldiers (today’s SAT), and I knew which television detective always said on his show, “Just one more thing” (Columbo). By the end of an hour, I had nailed five questions and was about to pick up my sixth wedge – and the prize.
The hostess arrived with the deck of Trivial Pursuit cards. “What goaltender was in the net for the United States in the 1990 and 2006 World Cups?”
Oh geez. Was it Tony Meola or was it Casey Keller? Dang… I can’t remember which one it was.
I guessed Keller.
It was Meola. The hostess walked away. No bell being rung.
I figured no problem, I’ll get it next time she comes around.
She didn’t come around. A team on the other side of the bar, where she originally started, got the question right and filled up their Trivial Pursuit pie. Their prize – a store-bought Yankees jersey. Derek Jeter? Alex Rodriguez? Mark Teixiera? No, they got a Bobby Abreu Yankees jersey. Like Bobby Abreu is doing anything for the Yankees this year.
I asked the hostess if there would be another round of trivia?
“Only if we get some more teams. I can ask around and see if there’s anybody else who wants to play.”
Forget it. I paid for my food and left. I wasn’t going to play for another 90 minutes on the possibility that the next prize would be a Yankees Carl Pavano jersey.
Chuck The Writer 
It sounds like TGI is even slower than the TU website.
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