Column: Words of ‘Wizadom’ on the World’s Largest Trivia Contest
By Mayor Mike Wiza
Some are born into Trivia, others have Trivia thrust upon them. The year was 1975, and a socially awkward young boy returned from St. Pete’s playground to his Aunt Kathy and Uncle Larry’s house on Franklin St.
The scene was a little chaotic. A dining room table filled with books by people like Fred L. Worth, a few TV Guides, and some Sports Illustrated. This boy had a knack for remembering things (like my first Trivia answer from nearly 50 years ago), and in this case, it paid off. Those people were playing Trivia, and the question was about the trailer for a movie called “Magic.”
“Oh, you mean……..?” the boy rattled it off. All of the adults stood with their eyes wide and mouths agape.
“Call!” someone shouted. They handed me the phone, and I rattled it off again. I wasn’t sure why this was such a big deal, but when the DJ read the answer over the radio, it matched. 50 points (before the pari-mutuel scoring system was instituted)! You would have thought I just scored the winning goal in the championship sportsball game. Cheers erupted, and I found my purpose in life.
Who knows what draws people to this crazy contest, but its effect is unmistakable. From that moment on, Trivia was part of my life (as it is for thousands of people). Looking back, most of my memories are related to this contest, like when Sue Wanserski went outside to the keg for a refill and found that a skunk was already at the tap. We moved the drinks inside after that.
You know, Sue may have been my first real crush, or maybe it was Carol Colby. I don’t really recall, but I guess I had a thing for older, Trivia-playing ladies. Relationships start and grow through Trivia. Children of players became life-long friends, only meeting once a year. Kevin Lepak nearly killed himself over a copy of a book called “The Funseekers,” one of the hundreds of books that now call my upstairs home.
If you fall asleep, anything could happen. Derek Bannach once got duct taped to the bench he was lying on, and Brian Lepak got a Sharpie face that took him hours to scrub off. A wrong answer forced you to pull from the crappy candy drawer and try whatever it was. I think Brian Lee will remember the green, foamy “Swamp Gas” stuff forever. His wife Rebecca was the butt of many a joke, especially on those Trivia Focuses.
I remember the first parade float. That’s where I shined. I got free-reign to do whatever I wanted to that Trivia Van and would spend weeks in the garage each year with a new paint job to match, just slightly, the theme. “On The Road” became “On the Road Warrior,” or “All in the Family (Contest)” became “Mario Puzo’s All in the Family.” Our floats were legendary, and you’ll never see anything quite as funny as tossing out superballs instead of candy at the parade and watching people try to catch them.
The food has memories all its own. Mom’s potato salad was so sought after that people waited for her to deliver it in that opaque, white, gigantic Tupperware bowl. The same bowl is used, even today, but only for mom’s recipe, which my sister Becky now makes after mom’s passing. Sunday breakfast made by Larry and Ralph was the best-tasting French toast ever. I don’t think there was a secret ingredient, but after 40 hours of Trivia, it just tasted great.
In 1985, the Franklin Street Burnouts had their first Top 10 finish. They only gave out trophies to the top 5 back then, so we made our own and listed all of the members that year. It still hangs in what I’ve always known as “The Trivia Room” in our house.
There’s another thing to explain. The house. It was Kathy and Larry’s, but the entire second floor was dedicated to the contest. The walls are covered in magazine and newspaper clippings that hold useless facts, like Ida Mae Fuller, who was the first recipient of Social Security, or the time when Woody Harrelson visited campus. Old cigarette ads (yes, they used to advertise them), or even handwritten notes. The closets are filled with every TV Guide since 1976, Sports Illustrated, Maxim, Nickelodeon, or the like.
Remember Slime? We got that, too. Empty cereal boxes, sorted alphabetically, strange candy and products gathered over decades, and it all sits for 358 days out of the year. Trivia Monday, when the pictures come out, the lights come on, and the Trivia Room comes to life again. You can almost hear the whirring as the useless knowledge turbines spin up.
As I look around the room, I can picture everyone in their spot. Not an assigned spot, but like muscle memory, Brian and Daryl grab the sports corner, and Rebecca stationed herself at the radio (complete with a cassette recorder that we still use). I grab my corner chair, Derek next to me, probably carving something new into the tabletop for this year.
I can’t help but remember Pete Zoromski, Grizz, or that one guy my cousin Debbie was dating. Lots of people came and went over the years. They all were Burnouts and part of the magic that is Trivia. Some are no longer with us, like mom or Gavin, but they still inspire us and creep into the 54 hours through some other way.
Every team had a story like this. Whether you are diehard players like Barry and the gang of Network, or the fun-loving goofballs of 90FM alumni called The Cakers. It seems like only last year you heard “Mutated Members” at the top of every hour or got a phone call from Marv on the Beer Pigs, just to razz you about something or pick on Jim for that stupid Horowitz question he keeps getting wrong. I miss the One-eyed Wonder Worms and the Royal Order of Tarboosh. Oh, they’re still around, but times change, and life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Trivia can mean something different to each of the thousands of people that play, and each of us has memories that stay with us during the “off” season, but nothing gets your motor running like hearing Tom Daniels say, “It is now 6 p.m., there’s a tension in the air….”
Welcome back, Trivia players from around the world, to the place where you’ll always have a home. Grab your copy of “Triviatown,” smile as you drive by the marquees that welcome you, settle into your spot, and get ready to make some Trivia memories while we can, because as you know, nothing gold can stay.