The My Trivia Live season for us came to an end Monday at Powell’s Pub.  And it came with a blindsiding blow from the host. We had made an unsuccessful attempt to answer the final question correctly, and we handed in our answer slip with the incorrect answer on it with a wager of zero points. A short time later, I used my tablet to see how we fared on the question. And I was greeted by the host, who said, “I’m going to have to disqualify you.”

Wait…what? We had already handed in our answer! Which was incorrect. The trivia host said that he had asked that nobody use their phones during the entire final question round. Which I did not hear, nor did anyone else on my team. I figured we just weren’t supposed to use them while we were answering the question. Also, keep in mind this was just a “regulation” game, not a tournament game or other type of game for cash prizes. We know that phones/devices need to be kept out of sight during games like these.

This is the first time any trivia host at any trivia spot I’ve ever played has admonished us for something like this. And I know plenty of players do the same thing – hand in the answer, then look up the answer to see whether you were hit – or miss. It’s not cheating, since you can’t change your answer after you’ve handed in your slip.

By “disqualification,” this meant we would not be eligible for prizes but would still get our league points. No harm, no foul, right? We wouldn’t have won anything anyway.

Still, something about all of this just doesn’t sit right with me. I know the host is kind of “chummy” with people on another league team there, and he frequently chats with them between questions. And he does not ever chat with us (unless it’s to tell us we’re disqualified for doing something we did not know was “illegal”). This team that he’s “chummy” with used to be the team that would regularly represent this bar at semifinal games. And they would do a pretty poor job every time they managed to make it there.

But the story gets better…they were never the team to officially “earn” their semifinal spot! Nope, another league team in the bar (before we started playing there in January) would regularly win the semifinal spot, then cede their spot to the other team. That’s a mystery I haven’t quite managed to figure out (maybe they just don’t like doing tournaments). I honestly don’t know.

I guess I can understand if the other teams aren’t happy that we  “invaded” their trivia night. Hate the team that’s better than you? I get it, but I honestly don’t see why that even makes any sense.  We’ve managed to win semifinal spots here for two consecutive seasons. I get it that the other teams don’t like us. If I don’t wind up making friends at every trivia spot I play, I’m not going to lose sleep over it!  But if the trivia host has some kind of grudge with us, well, that’s completely unprofessional – and inappropriate. We’ve done nothing but earn our semifinal spots fair and square, usually with just 2-3 players at each game. All’s fair in trivia and war, right? Well, apparently not…if people don’t want you in their bar, they’ll find a way to let you know!

Let’s rewind to the end of the past trivia season, shall we? One of the other teams there tried to use substituted points (from playing at a different trivia spot) for a game that was canceled. I saw that they had logged a score for a night the bar canceled trivia, and I contacted the league about it. They fixed it. Then the score showed up again. I contacted the league again, and they fixed it…again.

What does a team do if a trivia host makes it clear they don’t like you or want you around? Well, f— him, I say! We have every right to play here! It’s close to home for our team, the drink prices are very reasonable, and because of the “barhop” teams in the mix there it’s enough of a challenge to keep us interested. Maybe it makes him feel better to make us “sweat” a little bit. Honestly, though…I WILL complain to the league if he gets out of line!