Football trivia: Lord, have mercy

Lord Fletcher's in Spring Park was the site of the latest installment of 1500 ESPN's football trivia.

Fresh off my first ever championship last week, I was poised for a repeat. It was a beautiful evening on the wharf, but I was focused on the task at hand.

After scoring 18 out of 20 on the written portion, I earned a #2 seed and a first round bye for the bracketed tournament.

In the quarterfinal round, I took on a gentleman named Ross. This round is Family Feud style where the first person to buzz in obviously gets first crack at answering. It was best 2 out of 3.

Question one: What is RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis's nickname?

Brad (buzzing in first): The Law Firm. Correct. 

1-0, Brad

Question two: Fact or Crap -  There is a College Football bowl game entitled the Crown Royal Sunflower Bowl. 

Ross (buzzing in first): That is "crap." Correct. 

1-1 tie

Question three: Four U of M Gophers QBs have thrown for at least 6,000 yards in their career. Name them. 

Brad (buzzing in first): Mike Hohensee. Incorrect. 

Nate (for the win): Tony Dungy. Incorrect.

Brad (for the win): Ricky Foggie. Incorrect

Nate (for the win): Billy Cockerham. Incorrect.

Brad (for the win): Adam Weber. Correct!

Brad wins, 2-1!

The final four is also a best 2 of 3, but the questions are in category format, meaning there are multiple answers. This year has an interesting twist. The rule now is if each player gets one correct answer, it moves to sudden death. That means the first person to give a wrong answer loses the point. 

In this the semifinal round, I faced a guy named Andy.

Question one: Before Mike Zimmer, the Vikings have had eight other head coaches....

Brad (quick with the trigger finger): Norm Van Brocklin. ....in franchise history. Name them. Van Brocklin is correct. 

Andy: Bud Grant. Correct

Brad: Les Steckel. Correct

Andy: Jerry Burns. Correct

Brad: Dennis Green. Correct

Andy: Leslie Frazier. Correct

Brad: Mike Tice. Correct

Andy (takes all 15 seconds; can't come up with it). 

Brad Childress was the one not named. 

1-0, Brad.

Question two: Ten different franchises have made at least 5 Super Bowl appearances. Name them.

Brad (buzzing in first): 49ers. Correct. 

Andy: Steelers. Correct.

Brad: Patriots. Correct. 

Andy: Packers. Correct.

Brad: Cowboys. Correct. 

Andy: Broncos. Correct.

Brad: Dolphins. Correct. 

Andy: Giants. Correct.

Brad: Redskins. Correct. 

Andy (takes all 15 seconds; can't come up with it). 

The Raiders were the only team not named. 

Brad wins, 2-0! On to the finals!!

Once again I faced off against Brendan Byrne, who won a whopping 16 times between the 2011 and 2012 seasons (including defeating me on 5 or 6 occasions). But since I broke through and defeated Brendan in the finals last week, I was rarin' to go this time around. 

The finals are the same categorical, sudden-death format for each question, though it's now a best 3 out of 5. 

Question one: Other than Drew Brees, name a New Orleans Saints QB who has led the team in passing yardage in a given season. 

Brad (buzzing in first): Aaron Brooks. Correct.

Brendan: Jeff Blake. Correct. 

Brad: Archie Manning. Correct.

Brendan: Bobby Hebert. Correct
Brad: (knowing one of the Billy Joes led in 1998; taking a guess): Billy Joe Hobert. Incorrect (GAH! It was Billy Joe Tolliver).

1-0, Brendan. 

Question two: Between college and the NFL, Mike Zimmer has been a coach on seven different teams. Name them. 

Brendan (buzzing in first): Cincinnati Bengals. Correct. 

Brad: Dallas Cowboys. Correct.

Brendan: Vikings. Correct. 

Brad (totally guessing): Eastern Illinois?. Incorrect.

2-0. Brendan.

Question three: Vikings coach Leslie Frazier coached the Vikings to the playoffs in 2012 but was fired after the 2013 season. Name the coaches of five teams on the Vikings' 2012 schedule....

Brad (quick with the trigger finger, trying to anticipate the question): Mike Munchak? .........who are still with that same team this season. Munchak is incorrect (I anticipated the question being which coaches were also fired after 2013). 

Brendan (for the win): Mike McCarthy. Correct. 

Brendan wins, 3-0. 

Oh, well. Last week was the luck of the draw, as I was intimately familiar with the questions asked in final round. This week? Not so much. 

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