So I’m sitting at the bar at Elbo Room tonight. My team is just me tonight; Jeremy and Alexis are in Florida, both seeing who can get more suntanned without getting completely roasted.
While I’m waiting for General James to ask the first round of questions, I start thinking about all the teammates I’ve had over the past six years. Without question, Jeremy McNamara and Alexis Curry are the best teammates I could ever want. Even saying that, I still appreciate the other teammates that have come and gone over the years – Jennie and Mark, Marc and Anthony, Dennis and Tracey and Ken and Trivia Rich, God rest his soul – all members of the Street Academy Trivia Team at one time or another. They were all appreciated when they were part of the team, and they were all missed when they left.
Sometimes they’re teammates for a few weeks or for a few months. Sometimes they’re friends of mine who join, sometimes they’re classmates or friends or Ultimate teammates of J-Mac’s and AC’s, but for all intents and purposes they have been welcomed onto the team.
I think back at the first trivia games I played at the Crossgates Mall Hooters, back when the Street Academy trivia team was made up of me, me and only me. Truly there were benefits to operating as a one-man team – you couldn’t argue yourself out of a right answer, and the prizes weren’t split among your non-existent teammates. But I guess the truth was – in total honesty, it wasn’t that I enjoyed playing as a solo act, maybe I was just waiting for the right teammates to join me. And two years ago, while playing at Brown’s, it was J-Mac and AC who joined me at the table.
For everybody else who have received the jeers and boos whenever the Street Academy team name is mentioned, whether you’ve been gone for weeks or months or maybe years, whether you’re on the other side of the Hudson River or the other side of the Continental United States, know that you are always welcome to come back to the Street Academy trivia team whenever you wish. I don’t operate a “I’m pissed off at you, don’t ever sit at my trivia table ever again” mantra.
Competitive team trivia in the Capital region is as much bonding as it is braggadocio. We all talk trash before and during the game, but in the end we all go over and congratulate the winners. We may have our rivalries, but we’re still respectful of each other. That goes for teammates as well as for opponents.
And as much as I can say that tonight, although I wish J-Mac and AC were back here to help Street Academy maintain the #1 seed in the Elbo Room tournament, it’s time for Chuck Miller to roll up his sleeves, crack his knuckles, tighten the neck bolts, uncap the ballpoint, and get ready for another round of 20 questions. Street Academy Version 1.0 is in the house bay bee. Step to the plate and don’t be late.
And to start off the night, things went very well. I knew the number of championships the Chicago Bulls won in the 1990’s (6), the decade when the Cy Young awards were first issued (1950’s), and the country of origin for 1980’s charity record “Tears Are Not Enough” (Canada).
After 19 questions, your man had 102 points and a commanding lead. Get That Poison Out had 82 and Team Schooled had 64. I could realistically bet a small amount and guarantee third place and a playoff point. So I did.
As I brought my betting sheet up, one of the members of Get That Poison Out called to me, “Chuck, did you bet a safe bet? Did you bet a safe bet?”
I smiled. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t, but you’ll see…
The final question was on “Popular Music.” “Singer John Mayer was born in 1977 in what New England state?”
Pfft. I knew this cold. It was Connecticut.
The Poisons had it right as well – but their “safe bet” was less than my “safe bet,” and they finished in third place. Team Schooled bet the farm, got it right, and earned five bonus points. I took second and the three playoff points that come with it.
So all went well, for sure. And now I wait for J-Mac and AC to get back from the Sunshine State – and see which one of them garnered the better suntan.
So here’s the standings after eight 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. Any team with a star in the box marked “Finals” has mathematically qualified for the money round, no matter how they do for the rest of the tournament.
| Trivia Team | Points | Totals | FINALS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Street Academy | 3 | 16 | ★ |
| 2 | Schooled | 5 | 15 | ★ |
| 3 | Skidmarks | 12 | ★ | |
| 4 | Get That Poison Out | 1 | 11 | |
| 5 | Woo Hoo a Go Go | 8 | ||
| T-6 | The Waffledingers | 5 | ||
| T-6 | Stern Fans | 5 |
And only the top eight teams will make it into the final tournament round on May 26, 2011. 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.
Eight weeks down. Five weeks to go.
Chuck The Writer 