(Yes, that was the best Barneyism last night. I’m still trying to figure out who is the best definition of a twelve, where you are required to hit it but scared to death that you are going to lose a lot of money in the process.)
Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time (besides deserving a medal or at least a free CD) has heard about my penchant for entering trivia contests around town. What started off as a lark and an extension of my quest to have the name “Dr. Wang” immortalized on bar trivia machines across the country has since turned into something bordering between second job and obsession. In the process, I somehow became embroiled in a huge rivalry at the Flea Market where my team’s early dominance caused another team to bring in reinforcements to beat us. As someone who really does play to cover my bar tab I was extremely proud of that fact.
That may have changed this weekend. See, during a commercial break on The Amazing Race (will Charla and Mirna just go away already) I for some reason decided to see what was on the Game Show Network. Not a channel I usually check on but that night they had on “Secrets of game Show Millionaires.” And obviously that is a show that is going to gain my attention.
The idea behind the show was to give you the hints that you need to become a successful game show contestant and was hosted by the legendary Chuck Woolery. Who, I’m sad to say, did not tell me how to make a better Love Connection or that he’d be back in two and two. They had the usual hints like “Know the game” and “Be yourself, but bigger” with comments from previous top players. Like Ken Jennings the Jeopardy king. The military guy who won a ton of money on Tic Tac Dough, my favorite show as a kid as it involved a dragon and Wink Martindale. They also had someone who won $32K on Who Want’s To Be a Millionaire. I wouldn’t particularly consider that to be a successful performance. I think I could do that in my sleep without any lifelines. Still, it was a fun little television break…until…until…
I saw the guy I play trivia against every week being interviewed. And a graphic underneath him that mentioned that he won $1.4M on Twenty One.
Son of a bitch.
(To the rest of the Kai Badgers. I’m not making this up. It’s the dude who wears the sweatshirt that says “Who Wouldn’t Want To Be a Millionaire” all the time. Did anyone know this and just not tell me?)
I’m not quite sure how I am supposed to react to this. Now as much as I don’t really care about money I really do care about people being more successful than me, which is a problem as at the present moment pretty much anyone with a pulse is more successful than I am. But to know that I have spent a year fighting this guy, week in and week out, and winning more than my fair share of the time when he was a freaking millionaire just ticks me off. One, because why the hell is this guy stealing my beer money and two, why the hell am I not getting rich on television right now?
(Yes, and I know that I am saying I when it is a team game. But let’s just say that if my team was the 90’s Bulls I wouldn’t be playing the role of Luc Longley. I’d be that guy with the statue.)
What gets me is that this guy did bring in reinforcements to deal with the fact that I was killing him in categories like “Family Guy” and “Pro Wrestling”. I don’t know if I could take him one on one in trivia but I could probably hold my own. It’s just knowing that what is meant to be a friendly game has just become a hell of a lot more competitive for me. Because if there is one thing that gets my adrenaline going is having the opportunity to show up someone who is supposedly better than me. I’ve been doing that all my life.
Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time (besides deserving a medal or at least a free CD) has heard about my penchant for entering trivia contests around town. What started off as a lark and an extension of my quest to have the name “Dr. Wang” immortalized on bar trivia machines across the country has since turned into something bordering between second job and obsession. In the process, I somehow became embroiled in a huge rivalry at the Flea Market where my team’s early dominance caused another team to bring in reinforcements to beat us. As someone who really does play to cover my bar tab I was extremely proud of that fact.
That may have changed this weekend. See, during a commercial break on The Amazing Race (will Charla and Mirna just go away already) I for some reason decided to see what was on the Game Show Network. Not a channel I usually check on but that night they had on “Secrets of game Show Millionaires.” And obviously that is a show that is going to gain my attention.
The idea behind the show was to give you the hints that you need to become a successful game show contestant and was hosted by the legendary Chuck Woolery. Who, I’m sad to say, did not tell me how to make a better Love Connection or that he’d be back in two and two. They had the usual hints like “Know the game” and “Be yourself, but bigger” with comments from previous top players. Like Ken Jennings the Jeopardy king. The military guy who won a ton of money on Tic Tac Dough, my favorite show as a kid as it involved a dragon and Wink Martindale. They also had someone who won $32K on Who Want’s To Be a Millionaire. I wouldn’t particularly consider that to be a successful performance. I think I could do that in my sleep without any lifelines. Still, it was a fun little television break…until…until…
I saw the guy I play trivia against every week being interviewed. And a graphic underneath him that mentioned that he won $1.4M on Twenty One.
Son of a bitch.
(To the rest of the Kai Badgers. I’m not making this up. It’s the dude who wears the sweatshirt that says “Who Wouldn’t Want To Be a Millionaire” all the time. Did anyone know this and just not tell me?)
I’m not quite sure how I am supposed to react to this. Now as much as I don’t really care about money I really do care about people being more successful than me, which is a problem as at the present moment pretty much anyone with a pulse is more successful than I am. But to know that I have spent a year fighting this guy, week in and week out, and winning more than my fair share of the time when he was a freaking millionaire just ticks me off. One, because why the hell is this guy stealing my beer money and two, why the hell am I not getting rich on television right now?
(Yes, and I know that I am saying I when it is a team game. But let’s just say that if my team was the 90’s Bulls I wouldn’t be playing the role of Luc Longley. I’d be that guy with the statue.)
What gets me is that this guy did bring in reinforcements to deal with the fact that I was killing him in categories like “Family Guy” and “Pro Wrestling”. I don’t know if I could take him one on one in trivia but I could probably hold my own. It’s just knowing that what is meant to be a friendly game has just become a hell of a lot more competitive for me. Because if there is one thing that gets my adrenaline going is having the opportunity to show up someone who is supposedly better than me. I’ve been doing that all my life.
1 comment:
the trivia guy is not one of the more honest trivia guys. For example, last week the answer was Atlanta Thrashers, yet his team wrote Atlanta Trashers. They got their points. I wouldn't care so much except that the question was referring to a state bird (I don't know any bird named trasher). So, you stay honest and you'll be a richer man. LB
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