Alan Fioravanti steps into Biederman’s to find his teammates at their usual table near the entrance of this restaurant. The answer sheets are sitting neatly in a pile in front of Plymouth State University senior Matt Fish, who is eager to start round one. Members of the team have a tall cold glasses of Coors Light, the special of the night, in front of them. The clock turns seven and the game begins.
The first round is classified as a random category. The questions are based on song names, sport’s statistics, geography, and more. There are sighs and moans coming from each table all around the restaurant. Every team believes this to be the hardest round. Questions like, “How many Grammy awards has country singer Leanne Rhimes won in her career? “Who won the World Series in 1940?” This game does not include a list of possible answers so the teams have to think of the correct answer off the top of their heads. The arguing amongst team members begins.
The bartenders are busier than usual and the beer taps are flowing, however the college students at play are so into this game there is not any misconduct at all. Recognizable bartender, Bob Crosby, is the one who initiated this night of fun for Biedermans Deli, which is a local hangout for the locals and college students in Plymouth.
“I saw this trivia system on a screen at the Woodstock Station in Lincoln. I thought it was a great idea for Plymouth,” said Crosby.
“This really is my favorite night to go out in Plymouth, I get so wrapped up with the trivia and I like learning all the new facts as well,” said PSU senior Carrie Shinego. Looking around it is obvious that everyone is enjoying themselves immensely.
The set-up for trivia night functions well. There are seven rounds of trivia and ten questions in each round. The entire game usually lasts for two hours. Everyone who is interested in playing gets themselves into a team. There is not any rule that enforces a set number of teams or how many can be included into one. You do not have to be on an already existing team. It is possible to start Trivia at any time of the month. However, this has turned into quite a competition and the same people/teams return week after week. Crosby stated, ” There are about 16-20 teams each week.” Each month starts a clean slate, but during the month the points get carried over. On the last Thursday of each month, the points all get added up and the team with the most points wins the grand prize
After each round, the winning team of a round receives a bunch of goodies. They are usually memorabilia from the beer that is featured or the special of the night. For instance if the beer of the night is Coors Light, winners will receive key chains, tee-shirts, shot glasses, mugs, all with the beer logo on it. Bob Crosby runs the night and since he uses the same three or four beer distributors, they are always willing to donate the hot prizes. There is usually enough for each member on team to go home with something. The real fighting occurs when the grand prize is given out at the end of the month. Those prizes are grills, skis, lounge chairs, and more.
Since the points are carried over week after week each team needs to choose a name for themselves. The names are quite raunchy, a little clever, and some are even humorous. They include, “I stole Michelle Tanner’s virginity,” “Salty Boobs,” “Sweatpants in Public,” and “Here for the Beer.” These teams are Trivia Night regulars because they are all saved on the board week after week in serious competition with each other. ” It was tough picking a name for our team,” said PSU senior Alan Fioravanti. “Someone came up with Salty Boobs and everyone on the team laughed and that became our name.” Team Salty Boobs were Trivia Night champs in February.
Even though the game begins at 7:00, Plymouth State Students file in in groups all throughout the night anticipating that there is an open table for them to sit at and participate. Usually, they end up standing around the bar or just leaving in disappointment. The turnout of students each week is increasing and there simply is not enough seating for everyone. In order to receive a table and enough seats for an entire team, it is a good idea to get down at least a half an hour in advance. This night is not just secluded to college students.
“I Like Trivia because it’s an action packed way to drink and learn cool facts,” said Katie Reagan. Others enjoy it simply for the tradition of coming down each Thursday night. The questions are tough, but it still surprising to see how much random knowledge one has stored in his or her brain.
If the team you are on has a good number of people, usually each person on a team has a certain category they know the best. If the questions seem really hard and you are having trouble answering any of them, you may be able to help your team out with something a little more fun, word scrambles, which is always a category. Now the real brainteaser is, which team is going to be the trivia champs for March?