Thinking while drinking: Pub trivia more popular than ever
The Tab - July 17, 2003
by Josh B. Wardrop
Who was the oldest Beatle? What's the common name for a one-humped camel? On what kids' TV show would you find the character Mr. Greenjeans?
If the idea of spending an evening in a crowded bar answering questions like these sounds like pure ecstacy to you...well, you're not alone, Clavin. All across Boston, know-it-alls are assembling, night in and night out, to put their gray matter to the test in a competition that can result in rewards ranging from simple bragging rights to cold hard cash.
Four nights a week, professional DJ Michael O'Neill switches his focus from filling dance floors to stumping trivia buffs as the master inquisitor behind Pop Quiz Team Trivia. At bars like the Elephant & Castle, The Kinvara, and T's Pub, O'Neill grills smartypants of all ages and backgrounds on topics like music, movies, science, Sports and geography.
"I've been doing this for three years," says Bill Callahan of Worcester, on a recent Thursday night at T's Pub in Brighton. "It's fun -- a way to go out drinking with an objective," he chuckles.
Callahan, along with his girlfriend, mother, father and a collection of friends, make up "The Spesh," a diehard team of trivia buffs who make the hour-plus commute to T's each week to test their wits. "We're a competitive bunch," says Callahan, "and we all have our specialties."
In O'Neill's games, teams of no more than five people are asked four rounds of five questions. The teams have the length of a song (O'Neill started out as a DJ, and he spins music throughout the course of each game) to write their answer on a slip of paper and submit it to the scorekeeper. On bonus questions, teams are able to bet a certain number of points, with an incorrect answer resulting in a deduction from their total score. At the end of the night, the team with the highest score wins a prize, and, at least at T's Pub, secures itself a spot in the Oct. 2 Tournament of Champions.
"I started the game out in the MetroWest area, but it didn't take off until I brought it to Boston five years ago," says O'Neill, who first learned about the game while living in Atlanta in 1996. "After that, I got calls every week asking me to do trivia, but I was booked. Now, between myself and my employees, Alex and Dave, we're running games at 10 locations every week. I come up with new questions every week, and I have a big database of questions so I can change the game on the fly if I have to."
O'Neill says that the trivia games work as a social experience because there's something for everybody. "The questions are a mix of pop culture and academics, as well as questions about older and more recent subjects. So, as a result, all kinds of people are into it. At Mary Ann's on Mondays, I get a lot of students. The T's Pub crowd has an average age of about 30. Downtown, we get a lot of working professionals."
Regulars (which O'Neill estimates make up about 90 percent of his crowd) tend to take the games seriously, so he's not afraid to enforce the rules when necessary. "You can be disqualified for getting outside help -- from other people in the bar, two teams playing as one, and from cell phones. Cell phones are a big concern," he says. "I manage it as well as I can, but there's usually a complaint or two most nights. I really need a 'trivia bouncer' to monitor it," he laughs.
General knowledge trivia nights like O'Neill's attract a diverse crowd of competitors, but venture to Allston's Common Ground on a Monday night and you'll find a very different scene. Here it doesn't matter if you can recite the Super Bowl champions of the last 30 years, or if you know which world city is the highest above sea level. Here, the questions are of a slightly more esoteric, yet specific, variety.
"What was written in the memo space of the check that Bart gives to Jimbo?" asks host Erin Scott on a recent Monday evening.
A sea of hands go up, and clutched in those hands are makeshift paddles each resembling the head of a different cartoon character. Barney Gumble. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. And, of course, Homer J. Simpson.
Scott's goateed assistant with the multiple piercings points to an eager contestant, who says, without hesitation, "For services rendered?"
The answer is correct, candy and valuable points are dispensed, and Scott is on to the next question about the denizens of one cartoon Everytown known as Springfield. Just another Monday night at "Worst Evening Ever!" the all-"Simpsons" trivia night that Scott has been running for 2 1/2 years.
"It started as a promotion to try and draw more people into the store," says Scott, from behind the counter of the New England Comics location she manages, just down the street from the Common Ground. "Originally, it was every other week on Thursdays. Now we do it weekly."
In the process, the "Simpsons" trivia night grew from a few dedicated followers to a Monday night tradition for throngs of twenty-somethings. "The dining area fills up every week, and usually the side bar, too," says Scott. "And then we have our core group of 8 to 10 people who are there every week."
Included in that group is Newton resident Josh Harris, who's been coming since January. "I'm just a huge 'Simpsons' fan, and all my co-workers were getting sick of me quoting Ralph Wiggum," says Harris, of the sweet, hapless confused little boy he names as his favorite "Simpsons" character.
Harris says that he comes not so much to show off his exhaustive knowledge of "Simpsons" trivia (although he admits that he does make it to the finals some weeks), but because "It's just fun to get together with other 'Simpsons' fans, watch episodes, drink beer. The regulars all kind of recognize each other. It's a good night out."
Vanessa Agha of Brookline has been coming for two years, and she doesn't let the fact that she rarely achieves a high score interfere with the fun. "I was hooked the first time out, even though it's very humbling," says Agha. "If you like 'The Simpsons,' and can get over the idea of getting no questions right, it's a great group activity."
Certainly, with the average questions dealing with such minutiae as the name of Prof. Frink's ice-cream-making cow (Mootilda) and Bart's score on a test of state capitals (12), it's clear that the casual fan isn't likely to walk away with the weekly grand prize of "Simpsons" figures and toys.
"I do wonder about the day jobs of some of the regulars," says Agha. "They take it pretty seriously."
"It's a show that stays very relevant with pop culture," says Scott, of the dedication and the depths of knowledge of the trivia buffs at her weekly games. "People really know the characters' histories. ...The trivia night allows people to express their obsession in a supportive environment," she laughs.
For O'Neill, the trivia obsession runs both ways. "I'm really into it,' he says. "I find stumping people incredibly rewarding -- the more time I put into composing a game, the better I sleep at night."
Oh, and case you were wondering: the answers to those opening questions are Ringo, a dromedary, and "Captain Kangaroo." But you knew that... right?
