Thursday Update

Hey gang, just a quick update. As of now, we are still on for the Bards and Birra tonight. We are canceling the Pop a Shot Tourney on Sunday. We are postponing Bowlizzo until things become a bit more stable. There are no cancellations of quizzo for next week as of yet but I won’t be surprised if that changes. I think social distancing is going to be pretty big (and pretty important) over the next week.

I know this is scary for many of you. It is for me too. It is new and bizarre to have so many things shutting down at once. But keep in mind that it’s a good thing. By not having huge numbers of people congregate in small spaces, we are slowing the transmission of the virus. We are buying time for our health system to prepare for this. We are buying time for the extremely smart people working TIRELESSLY to get out ahead of this thing. Keep in mind also that those of us who are lucky enough to not have pre-exiting conditions or who are not elderly are almost certainly going to be fine, even if we catch it. This ain’t the Spanish flu, so even if you get it, don’t panic. But let’s also do our best to convince our older friends and relatives to stay home, no matter what.

After a really bad breakup, I had a buddy say to me: “You just gotta accept that things are going to suck for awhile. Don’t try to pretend that they’re better than they are, don’t try to trick yourself into thinking you’re having a great day when you’re not. You just have to accept that it’s going to suck.” I think we all need to do that. Let’s do our best to accept that it’s going to suck for awhile. But let’s also not give into panic, not give into fearmongering, and not drive ourselves crazy on twitter.

Bonus: I read this earlier today and thought it was terrific. Highly recommend it.

Some Notes About Coronavirus and Upcoming Events

This is my favorite time of the year: NCAA tournament, Opening Day, people hanging out in Rittenhouse. Instead, this year, it’s feeling more like a sci-fi film. The coronavirus has all of us worried (rightfully) for our parents, our jobs, our families. I just wanted to put out a quick note to discuss where things currently stand.

I had A LOT of events coming up this month, and I was really excited about them. Pop-a-Shot, Bowlizzo, a baseball event at Workhorse in a couple of weeks, our annual hoops brackets. As of now, they are all still on, and I will still be promoting them.

But the simple fact is that all of these events, as well as our weekly quizzes, could be postponed or cancelled at any point. Clearly, public health is far more important than any other consideration. I am not panicked, I think we’ll get through in this in the next few months. But in the meantime, I think we’ve got to keep an eye on the ball and know when discretion is the better part of valor. If the city asks us to shut down events where small groups of people gather, I’ll be the first to shut it down.

A few things I would ask that you guys think about in the meantime:

I’d encourage you to buy local whenever possible. Most local businesses depend on tourism for at least part of their income, and that’s about to dry up entirely, at least for this month.
And please help out our Chinatown friends, who have already been hit hard by dwindling business during this virus. Make it a point to order takeout or go to Chinatown this week.
Really, make it a point to order takeout from everywhere in the city. We’ve got a vibrant food and drink scene that’s going to get hit hard by this. Do what you can to help keep them afloat.

Be sure to check back here for updates…even if we do have to hunker down at some point, I’ll find a way to get you guys your trivia fix. Have a few “Just in Case” projects I’m working on now. Thanks for your patronage, stay safe, cover your damn mouth and nose when you sneeze, and hope to see you soon. Thanks-JGT

Pop-a-Shot Tourney on Sunday

Going to have a lot of fun this Sunday at Field House, as we host a Pop-a-Shot tourney. Action starts at 5 pm. $4 Lagers and Bud Lights, $5 Kettle Chips and Buffalo Chicken Fries, and some great prizes from Shibe Sports! We will then kick off our Bracket-tacular, with bigger prizes than we’ve ever had before. Hope to see ya Sunday!

Back to Reality

Alright gang, been a crazy couple of weeks. After an incredible Quizzo Bowl, some fellow Philly peeps went out to Chicago this past weekend for Geek Bowl. I WILL have a full write up about Quizzo Bowl, complete with photos, done by the end of the week. I also took a bunch of video in Chicago for Geek Bowl and hope to put together something with that in the next week was well. We had a blast. In the meantime, we are back in action this week with our regularly scheduled programming, and have some exciting events on the horizon. Hope to see ya this week!

Fastball Bob is Dead

Well folks, I’ve got some bad news to share: Fastball Bob Gutierrez passed away last night from a severe groin pull he suffered while sliding into third base alone at a neighborhood park. Well technically the groin pull didn’t kill him, but it rendered him immobile, and since he was wearing short-shorts in the dead of winter, he froze to death. The only bright spot is that we now know that there are a few more meaty fastballs being blasted over the clouds in heaven right now.

We’re going to press forward at Quizzo Bowl, of course. He’d have wanted the overpriced, fairly monotonous trivia contest to move forward without him. But we will be honoring his legacy early on in the performance. I’m just glad we’ll have a chance to mourn together. See you tomorrow at Quizzo Bowl XVI. (A few more tickets on sale here).

So You’re Attending Quizzo Bowl XVI?

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s big event!

PARKING: Street parking. Best way to get there is definitely Uber or Lyft.

SEATING: Doors open at 7 p.m. First come first serve when it comes to tables. It is going to be quite a bit different than previous years…way more casual seating. There will be several tables for teams of 8 only. There will be some couches. There will be some areas where teams will all get seats and a clipboard.

SHOWTIME: Show starts at 8 p.m.

SHOW LENGTH? This isn’t your typical pub quiz: live music, video rounds, comedy, etc. It’s really as much of a show as it is a quiz. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. The show typically ends at around 11:15.

FOOD AND DRINK: Yes! There is a bar that serves not only beer, cocktails and wine but also food. And the food is provided by legendary chef Jann Zavala, who once received death threats for making vegan meatballs (her tamales are as amazing as her stories.)

SHOULD I BRING CASH? Yes! We’re going to have raffle tickets on sale to raise money for a Friere Charter Field Trip to Spain. I’ve got a bunch of cool giveaways: gift cards to Milkboy, The GOAT, the Vous, Good Dog, Shibe, Helium comedy club, and Simpatico Theatre. We’ll also do a grand prize 50/50 drawing.

WHAT IF WE WIN? You become a nerd immortal and walk forever in the pantheon of greatness. You also win big prizes.

WHAT’S THE THEME? Quizzo Goes Underground.

WHO ELSE GETS PRIZES? 2nd place, 3rd place, 12th place, and Last Place. Oh and we’ll do a bunch of raffles too, as we raise money for the kids at Friere Charter School to take a field trip to Spain!

WHO IS THE BAND? Pat Finnerty Karaoke Band, named Philly’s Best Karaoke by Philly Mag.

SHOULD WE TAKE PHOTOS? Yes! Please take as many photos as you want…between rounds. Don’t do it while sheets are still out. And please hashtag anything you post online with #QuizzoBowl. I will also have a pro photog there, Marissa the Photolady, to take photos of all the teams!

IS THERE AN AFTERPARTY? Yes! We’re headed right next door into the lounge for the afterparty.

THIS SOUNDS LIKE A FUN NIGHT. It is!

CAN I STILL GET TICKETS? Yes! I have room for about 2-3 more teams! If you want to order them, you can do so here.

SEE YA TOMORROW NIGHT! Great!

Quizzo This Week

Hey gang, it’s a damn big week at quizzo: the 16th Quizzo Bowl is Saturday night (Be sure to follow developments on the event’s Facebook page). But before that we’ve got a regular week of quizzo. I will have tickets on me this week (until I run out). I’ll keep you updated throughout the week. Also, please note that Carl is hosting at O’Neals on Tuesday but will NOT be at Birra the next two weeks due to Restaurant Week.

TUESDAY