As we approach the halfway point of this tournament, several teams can punch their ticket to the “money round” – the final trivia round in February – with a win or two.
But that doesn’t mean trivia teams stop playing. See, there are points still up for grabs, and if, for example, you’re four below the “cut line,” you can’t let other teams snag the 5-point victories.
And for me, I was already in a foul mood.
See, at about 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning, my alarm clock started buzzing. This is important. I needed to get up early.
By 4:30 a.m., it was time to hit the highway. Let’s go, Cardachrome – Next stop, New York City, and my fourth attempt to try to get on – well, I can’t say the show’s name, let’s just say I tried again for “The Chance.”
I got to New York City at about 8:00 a.m., but it wasn’t until at least 9:30 a.m. that I could actually get to the location of the studio and park my car – dang NYC traffic. At one point, I was on Madison Avenue and there was nothing on the road but NYC taxicabs and my Cardachrome. Great, I thought to myself. I’m surrounded by the place where Ford Crown Victorias go to die.
I got to the studio in plenty of time, and filled out yet another application for the show. I and about 300 other potential contestants then took a test – 30 questions in 10 minutes. But unlike in the past, where the test answers were given a few minutes later, we had a special treat in store for us.
We got to watch a taping of the show.
Actually, we watched 3 tapings of the show.
And after the third taping, someone came out and read six names. Those six people – none of whom were named Chuck Miller – were chosen from the test-takers for future consideration as contestants. So for the fourth time, The Chance has passed me by.
I was angry and I was hurt. And I drove back to Albany looking for something to make me feel better.
That, of course, turned out to be trivia at Elbo Room.
My Street Academy team nailed a bunch of questions, including the college football team whose mascot is an ibis (University of Miami), the show that spun off the flop TV series Time of Your Life (Party of Five), and the actress who stole Lou Diamond Phillips’ wife (Melissa Etheridge). It was our team and the Stern Fans – both of whom are lustily booed by other trivia teams at Elbo Room – running neck and neck all night.
Question 19, however, threw us for a loop. We had to identify the Oscar-winning actor whose directorial debut was in the film Antoine Fisher. We said Morgan Freeman. Actually, I said Morgan Freeman. I was wrong. It was on me. The correct answer was Denzel Washington.
Now what did that do for us?
Well, Street Academy finished the 19th question with 112 points – a good score, but Stern Fans held the lead with 130 points. Two other teams, Just the Tips and the Sneaky Petes, had 60 points apiece. The Skidmarks were never a factor this week; they went into the final question with a paltry 44 points. At least they finished with points – Woo Hoo a Go Go had negative points, as did a new team, McMillan Demands a Recount. Actually, McMillan Demands a Recount finished the game about as well as Jimmy McMillan finished his gubernatorial run. Why? Because the scores are TOO DAMN LOW.
But my Street Academy team had a difficult wager to consider. If both Just the Tips and the Sneaky Petes bet the farm and got the answer right – along with Street Academy missing the final question – we could have finished in fourth place and received no playoff points.
The final question was “Before They Were Stars.”
We bet 9 points and hoped for the best.
“Actress Anne Heche played a pair of 18-year-old twins on what soap opera?”
We wrote down “Passions” and handed in the slip. It was wrong.
Just the Tips wrote down General Hospital. They were wrong.
Stern Fans wrote down Days of Our Lives. They were wrong.
The Sneaky Petes wrote down As the World Turns. They were wrong.
The Skidmarks wrote down Another World. They were right – but since they only bet one measly point, and nearly everyone else went with safe bets, the Skids were essentially locked out.
Finishing the night, Just the Tips took third place and a single playoff point, while Street Academy grabbed second place and three playoff points. Not only did Stern Fans win for the second week in a row and receive the resultant five playoff points, they are now the first team to mathematically lock themselves into the final money round. So congratulations to them.
So yeah, I didn’t get to be on the game show. But that doesn’t mean I won’t stop trying. And I’m not going to feel sorry for myself any more. I’m going to keep on trying until I get on that dang show, and even if I flame out on the first question (which I saw happen, at least twice), at least I can say I’ve gotten The Chance.
It’s just going to take a while for that chance to occur.
So here’s the standings after nine weeks. The top eight teams are listed above the “CUT LINE”; if the tournament ended today, those would be the eight teams that can play in the championship round. It’s also been confirmed that last week’s team, the “Flabby Tabby Babbies” or whatever they were, were a rebranded “Kramer’s Flames,” so the points for those two teams are combined.
And any team with a star in the box marked “Finals” is mathematically qualified for the money round, no matter how they do for the rest of the tournament.
| Trivia Team | Points | Totals | FINALS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stern Fans | 5 | 17 | ★ |
| T-2 | Street Academy | 3 | 12 | |
| T-2 | Sneaky Pete’s | 12 | ||
| 4 | Schooled | 10 | ||
| 5 | Skidmarks | 9 | ||
| 6 | Da Bears | 8 | ||
| 7 | Kramer’s Flames | 7 | ||
| 8 | Just the Tips | 1 | 5 | |
| THE CUT LINE | ||||
| 9 | Woo Hoo a Go Go | 1 | ||
And only the top eight teams will make it into the final tournament round. Any team in ninth place or below will not make the cut. So teams now have to keep playing and avoid the dreaded cut line.
Nine weeks down. Eleven more weeks to go.
Chuck The Writer 