After a brief hiatus OC PopQuiz! returned to the Orange Dog Bar and Grill with gusto Sunday, July 10th. In an act of overwhelming patriotism or underwhelming laziness, Sunday’s game was an ode to America. This game would have easily been won by a 5th grade Social Studies class, but our participants who left the halls, water fountains, and lunchrooms of elementary schools long ago found it a bit tougher than usual.
Leading off the game with a 0 “April & Friends” had an early stumble, which put them at a disadvantage for the rest of the night. Four teams put in a solid 3 point round–“Gloryhole Confessional,” “Stoncutters,” “Barry Jive & the Uptown Five,” and “Circle Takes the Square.” But the lead was secured by “Nostradamus Predicted Carmaggedon” with 4 points.
Round 2 offered a rare Bonus Point opportunity which “Barry Jive & the Uptown Five” capitalized on adding an additional tally to their perfect 10. This 11 point effort gave them the early lead. The rest of the pack put up 8 points with exception to “Stonecutters,” who managed a respectable 7.
3-for-3 (three questions with three answers) is a good time to catch up when your team is down. “Gloryhole Confessional” did so tacking on 8 points of a possible 9. For “Barry Jive & the Uptown Five” however, it was time to pad their two point lead. Another perfect round gave them 23 points by half time. The room was aghast and accusations of “wireless enhancement” were flying. But as hosts, we have extensive human polygraph training and deemed all was on the up and up.
The Locker Room Speech is a turning point in any gridiron battle, this game proved to be no exception. After their sensational play, “Barry Jive & the Uptown Five” began celebrating with generous pulls from their Primos and subsequently collapsed. With every round their performance worsened. Like hungry scavengers, the rest of the pack picked away at the lead, eventually surpassing the coulda-been champions.
The Picture Round is more often than not a slam dunk. Teams who struggle in other rounds often excel. This week was decidedly different. “Nostradamus Predicted Carmageddon” channeled their inner Elementary school student and dominated with the round’s only 8 point total. “Stonecutters” were on the job with 7. “Circle Takes the Square,” flying solo this week, threw in a solid 6 while the rest of the room could only manage to identify 4 of the pictures in question.
When putting together this game of all things Americana, we had to carefully choose our mystery person for the Guess Who Round. George Washington? Abe Lincoln? President Obama? These names were all floated but deemed too obvious or too well-known. We instead went to a well-known but often overlooked iconic American. “Stoncutters” quickly identified the Mystery Man, which put them in good position to win the game. “Circle Takes the Square” was next to chime in correctly.
With Double or Nothing in play, the game was ripe for the taking. “Barry Jive and the Uptown Five” held on with 24. “Gloryhole Confessional” sat on 25 points. “Stonecutters” threatened the leaders with 29, while “Circle Takes the Square” was sitting pretty chasing 1 point behind top contenders “Nostradamus Predicted Carmageddon,” who had 31.
Round 6 proved to be a challenge for those present. Three out of six was an average score, but “Stonecutters” saw their chance and pounced on first place. They weren’t alone though, as “Nostradamus Predicted Carmageddon” cinched up a tie. “Circle Takes the Square” almost joined them in the fun, but a 1 point roll of the Bonus Die wasn’t quite enough. This brought about a tough tie-breaker for the remaining two. True to their namesake, “Nostradamus Predicted Carmageddon” was practically clairvoyant, answering all 3 overtime questions correctly and collecting all of the available 6 points which sealed their victory.