It had not long since ended before the talk began…was this the greatest Quizzo Bowl ever? It had some pretty good competition: Quizzo Bowl IV, at the Blue Horizon, was a classic, as was Quizzo Bowl at the Golden Palace. And last year’s steel drum band pretty much blew everyone’s mind with, among other brilliant covers, a mind-blowing rendition of War Pigs.

But there was no question about one thing: this was the weirdest Quizzo Bowl ever, helped in large part by a hair metal band that certainly didn’t just play glam metal…they lived it. Whether it was Welcome to My Face lead singer Casey pleading with the World Cafe staff for more beers in the back (“At employee discount prices, if possible”) or trying to make the moves on my mom. (“How Do I Get You Alone?“), this one had a bit of it all. It also featured a “Live Round”, in which Fastball Bob acted out famous movie scenes and Earle and Brenda Goodtimes made an appearance, and a little WHAM in the opening number (“Wake Me Up Before You Quizzo“).

Quizzo Bowl IX also had a crew of ringers, brought together by our enemies at Geeks Who Drink. Furious that a Philly team had come in and taken their crown the year before, they decided to field a Dream Team. It included 6 former Tournament of Champions contestants, one of whom was Roger Craig, who caused quite a stir when he “beat the game” on Jeopardy a little over a year ago, winning $77,000 in a single episode (a Jeopardy record). Those 6 contestants had won a combined $1.2 million during their time on Jeopardy. This was a Murderer’s Row.

Of course, the Geeks Who Drink crowd had talked a big game before and finished way back in the pack, so I didn’t take them too seriously. Furthermore, I had my sites set on a local squad: Sofa Kingdom (below), who I desperately wanted to lose. The bottom line is this: we needed new blood. We had only had two winners in the past 6 Quizzo Bowls (Lambda and SK) and I really wanted both of them to lose. And so there was not a lot of history and geography (which they have mastered) and there was a fair amount of opera and cocktails (which they struggle at). That said, the quiz wasn’t entirely aimed at stopping them…I knew they would ace the Oscars round and did it anyway, because I liked the idea of doing a live round and the Oscars were the next night.

The 3rd Round (the music round) turned out to be a doozy, with 5 musicals included in it instead of our normal rock music audio rounds. Things got even tougher in the 4th round, the video round, in which no team got more than 7 questions correct.

At the end of 4 rounds, the Sofa Kingdom was still in the hunt, and the Super Team (Who won best Team Name of the Night with “I Used to F*** Guys Like You in Prison”…which won them a Road House poster I just happened to bring as a prize) was in 2nd. In first? The Sidecardigans. The Sidecar staff had teamed up with a few free agents to form a very well rounded team, and they led going into Round Five, which turned out to be easier than the Video Round. The Jeopardy ringers scored a perfect 55, the Sidecardigans scored 50, and the …Guys in Prison held on for a 146-142 victory. Sofa Kingdom finished 4th, behind the Yahoo Serious Fun Club. Smell the Glove finished 5th, and the Specific Jawns finished an impressive 6th. In 8th was Lambda. (You can see all of the Final scores here.)

But the action on the field was not as wild as the action off it, as the event ended with an impromptu jam of “Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake (No, it was not planned or practiced. Casey essentially demanded that we all come up on stage and that’s pretty much the only hair metal song I know all the words to). That grand denouement included 300 nerds from across the country waving candles in the air and singing along, and ended with my dad telling everyone to love each other. And led to the inevitable question: how in the hell are we gonna top this at Quizzo Bowl X?

RELATED: If you haven’t seen the Quizzo Bowl pictures yet, be sure to check them out. They’re pretty terrific.

 

People have been asking me if Quizzo Bowl has a theme this year. The answer is “Yeah! And it’s, like, totally rad!” With Welcome to My Face, Philadelphia’s premiere Hair Metal Band performing between rounds, we’re going with a 1980’s theme. NO, THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT ALL, OR EVEN MOST, QUESTIONS WILL BE FROM THE 80S. I want to make that very clear. It will be a totally general trivia night, with questions from numerous various topics throughout time. But yes, we will be rocking out to 80s tunes and I will be giving away a totally bitchin’ prize for team that has the best 80s outfits. So get those acid washed jeans, shoulder pads, and leg warmers ready!

After 12 months of pleading from Steve-O, I am finally going to release some of last year’s Quizzo Bowl questions. Here is round one.

1. What did French refugees arriving from the ongoing Haitian Revolution bring with them in the summer of 1793, killing over 4000 people?

2. Two members of N’Sync were on the Mickey Mouse Club. One was Justin Timberlake. Who was the other one?

3. On February 18th, 1861, who was inaugurated as President of the Confederacy?

4. The DEA training academy and the FBI Academy are both found in a VA town with a population of 561 that is surrounded by an enormous Marine Corps Base. What is it?

5. The only NFL player to win 3 straight super bowls was the son of a boxer who broke Muhammad Ali’s jaw. Who was he?

6. This artist was born in 1898, died at age 98, and was known for her extreme closeups of flowers.

7. Perhaps the biggest teen film star of the mid-1980s, she now stars on an ABC Family show called The Secret Life of an American Teenager.

8. When a rapper talks about how expensive his whip is, what is he referring to?

9. (Double) Whose gravestone in Maui reads, “If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea…” Hint: he died in 1974.

10. At what temperature do Celsius and Fahrenheit converge?

Continue reading “Quizzo Bowl 8 Round One Questions” →

WHO? You, me, and nerds from not only the Philadelphia area, but from as far away as Seattle.

WHAT: Quizzo Bowl IX, the longest running and most prestigious event of its kind in America the world.

WHEN? Saturday, February 23rd at 8:30 p.m.

WHERE? World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut Street. Downstairs.

WHY? Here’s the thing that people who have never been to a Quizzo Bowl don’t quite get, and understandably so…”Why would I (quoting Fastball Pitcher Bob Gutierrez here) pay $25 to answer questions in a trivia setting”?  It’s because quizzo at the bar on a lazy Tuesday and Quizzo Bowl are as related as intramural flag football and the Super Bowl. Yes, they are both still fun, yes they are both great activities, but the pageantry, the insanity, the hilarity is amped up to the Nth degree. There will be an awesome hair metal band, Welcome to My Face!, playing between rounds and performing our music round. There will be Philly’s best sketch troupe, Secret Pants, performing a round live on stage. There will be a video round on the enormous film screen, tons of prizes to give away, and of course, the most lovable co-host in America, Fastball Pitcher Bob Gutierrez.

OK, ENOUGH WITH THE PEP TALKS. I NEED MORE DETAILS. HOW MANY ON A TEAM? Each team can have up to 8 players. If you have a team of 5 or less, there is a decent chance you will be teamed up with another squad, so we can maximize our space (These are always sell-outs, so I want to make sure we can get as many people in as possible).

CAN I JUST COME AND WATCH? No. If you want to come, play, and not have your score recorded, you are welcome to. But this is an interactive event, and it’s important that everyone in the room be part of that energy.

I WANT TO COME, BUT I DONT’ HAVE ANY TEAMMATES. CAN I STILL PLAY? Of course. Just let me know if you have a team of 4 or less (all the way down to 1) and I will team you up with another smaller team. You can see me at quizzo or send me an email at johnny @ johnnygoodtimes.com.

WILL THERE BE FOOD AND ADULT BEVERAGES TO PURCHASE? Yes, there will be table service at the event.

REMEMBER HOW PISSED OFF I GOT AT QUIZZO BOWL VI WHEN I COULDN’T GO OUTSIDE TO SMOKE, JOHNNY? I BETTER BE ABLE TO GO OUTSIDE TO SMOKE HERE. Yes, you are welcome to go outside to smoke between rounds during the event.

JOHNNY, I HATE STEAK EM UP/SOFA KINGDOM AND I DON’T WANT THEM TO WIN. WOULD YOU MIND IF I TOOK A TIRE IRON TO ONE OF THEIR KNEES RIGHT BEFORE THE EVENT? I certainly cannot condone such actions in a public forum. But if you shoot me this question to my email address I’ll tell you what I really think about this suggestion, and where you can get a quality tire iron for a reasonable price.

WHERE CAN I GET TICKETS? You can buy tickets from me at quizzo this week or you can purchase them online here.

CAN I JUST BUY TICKETS AT THE DOOR? You possibly could, but this event almost always sells out before the night of the event, and the tickets are more expensive at the door. Buy them beforehand to be safe.

I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT QUIZZO BOWL. Shoot me an email or post them on my quizzo facebook page.