Football Trivia: A donnybrook

When 1500 ESPN's Thursday Night football trivia got started at about 6:30, I was thriving in what was then a representative republic. But as the evening progressed, I found myself living under a monarchy. Nevertheless, I was determined to not let that infringe upon my fun at this week's venue, which was Blainbrook Entertainment Center in Blaine.

I aced the opening round written quiz, which earned me a #1 seed and a first round bye in the bracketed tournament.

First up for me in the head-to-head competition was a guy who boldly called himself "Maximum Steel."

As usual, this is a "Family Feud" style tourney where one has to buzz in for an opportunity to answer first. This is a best 2 of 3.

Question one; Which NFL team has scored 50+ points in each of the past two weeks?

Brad (buzzing in first): Green Bay Packers. Correct. 

1-0, Brad.

Question two: We're going to name three active/retired NFL players and you tell us which one does not have an accredited movie role, per the IMDb. 

Dan Marino, Philip Rivers and Jim Brown. 

MS (barely buzzing in ahead of me): Philip Rivers. Correct. 

1-1 tie.

To decide the winner this round, MCs Phil and Judd chose to employ the "closest to the pin" game. The guys ask a question which has a numerical answer and the contestant who answers closest to the actual number wins the point. We had 30 seconds to jot down our respective answers on a piece of paper. 

Question three: In the 1967 NFC Championship game (most famously referred to as the "Ice Bowl") pitting the Dallas Cowboys at the Green Bay Packers, the game was one of the coldest on record. What was the average wind chill temperature throughout that game?

Brad: -35
MS: -21

The correct answer is.......

.......-48. 

Brad wins, 2-1!

I was on to the semifinal round taking on a trio who called themselves "Dumb A**es." However, these guys were good, as they dispatched their first two opponents with relative ease. Well, let me clarify. Two of the three teammates were sharp. The third guy was a 60-something biker dude who appeared to have been drinking since Noon. 

Anyhow, 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. 

Question one: In Minnesota Gophers football history, 6 running backs rushed for at least 3,000 yards in their collegiate careers. Name them. 

Brad (buzzing in first): Laurence Maroney. Correct. 
D.A.s: Darrell Thompson. Correct. 
Brad: Marion Barber III. Correct. 
D.A.s: Bronko Nagurski. Incorrect. 

1-0. Brad

The next game was relatively new, entitled "Give us their nickname." Phil and Judd had a list of 7 Division I college football teams. Upon giving us the name, the first person to buzz in gets a chance to answer. The two opponents then alternate back and forth until someone is wrong or we run the table. 

The University of Arkansas. 

Brad (buzzing in first): Razorbacks. Correct. 


Virginia Tech. 

D.A.s: Hokies. Correct. 


Boise St. 

Brad: Broncos. Correct. 


Temple. 

D.A.s: Owls. Correct. 


Washington St. 

Brad: Cougars. Correct. 


UMass. 

D.A.s: Minutemen. Correct. 


Bowling Green (to decide the point). 

Brad (thinking, thinking, thinking; using all 30 seconds): Eagles? Incorrect. I was in the neighborhood, as it was the Falcons. No credit for merely being in the ornithological kingdom. 

1-1 tie. 

The deciding point would be determined by how well we knew our college football bowl games. Phil and Judd would name a corporate sponsor and we had to answer true or false if they sponsored a bowl game last year. Once again, the guys had a list of 7 in order to be certain a point is awarded if we run the table.

Vizio.

Brad (buzzing in first): True. Correct. 


American Express. 

D.A.s: False. Correct. 


Chick-Fil-A. 

Brad (I know they did in the past. But last year? Seems to me they got out of the CFB bowl biz). False. Incorrect. It used to be the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl but last year it was just the Chick-Fil-A Bowl. 

D.A.s win 2-1. 

The D.A.s would go on to the final round to take on 21-time champion Brendan Byrne. And as has been trend this trivia season, the team/individual that can defeat me goes on to win it all. Yes, the Dumb A**es were football trivia champions this night. 

The venue in two weeks will be at Beer Belly's in my neighboring suburb of Anoka. Perhaps I can take advantage of having "home field?" We'll see. 

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