Today my trivia team will play our 13th Sporcle Live League Championship at 59 West Banquet Center in Highland, MI. In true ‘Pods fashion, we worked our asses off to make it this far. We failed in our first attempt to qualify at a very, very competitive trivia spot (we finished fourth overall), but made it on our second try. This “two venue” strategy is part of our playbook and has served us well over the past few years! Speaking of the number 13, this number is considered unlucky in many world cultures, so much so that people who build taller buildings like to pretend that the 13th floor doesn’t exist (though it really does, it just goes by the alias “14”). And in these taller buildings, you might not see a button for floor #13. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit, Bilbo was recruited as the 14th man to keep the group of Dwarves from being an “unlucky number” (they even called him the “Lucky Number.” Jesus’ treacherous disciple Judas was the 13th person to sit down with the other disciples in the last supper. Which is one of many reasons why “Judas” will probably never be one of the most popular baby names, lol! To top it all off, the number 13 is freaky enough to have its own namesake irrational fear, which is Triskaidekaphobia. If you ever played Trivial Pursuit in the 1980s, you already knew that one, right?
Brandon Victor Dixon as Judas Iscariot in the NBC live production of Jesus Christ Superstar, which aired April 1, 2018
Honestly, I don’t know what’s so awful about a number that also represents something as awesome as a “baker’s dozen.” Isn’t it always good to have one extra doughnut? I think so!
I also think it would be good for my team to not embarrass ourselves in our trivia game today! I know we’re long shots to win any prize money, but to be able to say we were one of 400 teams out of more than 1,791 who tried to make it this far? I’ll take it! And for me to being able to throw a team together is a feat in and of itself, as two of my “regulars” are unable to play today. We definitely have the odds stacked against us! One of the other players I recruited to help us wasn’t feeling well as of last night, so he might end up backing out! Bah, screw this “unlucky” crap anyway…
A Listing Of Past Championships/Dates
- August 2012, Majestic Theater, Detroit
- November, 2012, C.J.s, Plymouth
- January, 2013, ???, Livonia
- July, 2013, Buffalo Wild Wings, Ann Arbor
- November, 2013, C.J.s, Plymouth
- June, 2015, 59 West, Highland
- October, 2015, 59 West, Highland
- April, 2016, 59 West, Highland
- August, 2016, 59 West, Highland
- April, 2017, 59 West, Highland
- August, 2017, 59 West, Highland
- December, 2017, The Riv, East Lansing
Note: Though our team qualified for a championship in December, 2016 we were unable to play our spot because of another trivia tournament going on at the same time. “Stunt Doubles” were used in our place at this game. Also, tournaments were put on hold during 2014, though there was one “pay to play” tournament in November, 2014.
A shout out of good luck to Kimberly and her Sparty On cohorts while they do battle in the tough Michigan Central division today. They will be facing some tough competition, including team More Beer Less Pants, whom we hear is attempting to add to their ever-growing trivia trophy collection by finishing first again today. Best wishes to all of the teams playing today, but most of all, Go Pods!
hebspeaks 