Editor’s note: I actually decided to go a bit old school and take some notes during this trivia game, so (don’t get too excited since I might not do this for every game), there are ANSWERS in the comments! I know some of my blog readers will be ecstatic beyond belief (curb your enthusiasm)!

COVID-19 may be one of the biggest killers out there right now when it comes to human lives (sorry that’s a grim reality), but when it comes to trivia games – the seemingly harmless category “Emmy Awards” for a final trivia question is undoubtedly one of the biggest killers for my trivia team! Killers of perfect – or near perfect – trivia games, that is! In fact, when I realized we were only one point away from a perfect game going into the final, I jokingly said, “All we need to do is blow the final – it’s a classic ‘Pods maneuver,” during a virtual trivia game hosted by an Ohio-based host named Jill Friday night.

Then after that very thing happened, I said, “If I had a nickel for every time an Emmies (sorry that’s how I’m spelling it) question kills us, I’d have a whole lot of nickels.” Sure, the topic of Emmy awards is trivia fair game. It’s completely fair to ask about those awful things (even if they are the Emmy awards of Emmy awards – which makes no sense, but really, that’s what they are). They don’t have the prestige of Oscars, or the snob appeal of Tony awards, and you don’t get a cool trophy that looks like a Gramophone like you do when you win a Grammy (even if you phone it in like Audrey Hepburn did when she won a Grammy for spoken word album just before her death). Does anyone else think people winning Grammy awards should be required to sing, compose or produce? I mean, anyone can just record themselves talking – how is that Grammy worthy?

We assembled an all-Michigan group of mostly ‘Pods and a couple of ‘Pods “comrades” for the game, here were the questions we had:

1. Grammar – A serial comma, which is optional in some writing styles and mandatory in others, is placed after a penultimate item in a list, and is also known by what name that it shares with an English University? 10 points

2. Presidents – THIS IS NOT EXACTLY HOW THIS QUESTION WAS WORDED – Whom is the oldest living U.S. president (there were other qualifiers given that I didn’t get down)? 9 points

3. Book to Movie – Eva Green stars as the title character in what 2016 fantasy film that is directed by Tim Burton and based on a 2011 novel of the same name by Ransom Riggs? We were nearly stumped by this one…my brother said, “How was there a Tim Burton movie I missed?” I said the same thing, then said aloud, “Maybe it’s like something along the lines of Lemony Snicket, but not Lemony Snicket,” and that seemed to click, and someone (don’t remember who exactly, it wasn’t me), came up with the right guess. 4 points.

4. MLB Players – Nicknamed “Little O,” what shortstop played from 1989-2012 and won 11 Gold Glove Awards in his career, during which he turned more double plays than any other player in history? Nice work, Dave (though I didn’t spell the last name correctly when we virtually handed in our answer slip). 2 points

5. Acquisitions – In March 2019, The Walt Disney Company acquired what other media company, with the exception of a handful of assets, including its sports and news networks, for a total of more than $70 billion? 8 points

6. U.S. Cities – Joliet, Naperville, and Aurora are among the five most-populous cities in which U.S. state?

7. Children’s Music – Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, and Emma Watkins are the current members of what Australian children’s music group who notably perform wearing different colored shirts? NICELY DONE, SUSAN! 6 points

8. Business Terms – What two-word animal term refers to a business or other asset that, once paid off, continues to produce a steady flow of money over its lifespan? 5 points

9. Reality TV – In 2016, two protesters stormed the stage of what reality TV series, where controversial Olympian Ryan Lochte had just completed a performance? 3 points

10. Coasts – Name one of the two countries other than Finland that have coasts on the Gulf of Finland. Miss for 1.

Mystery – Initials and Postal Abbreviations

Example: If I said, “Green Bay Packers starting quarterback known for his ‘discount double check’ celebration,” the answer would be “Arkansas,” because Aaron Rodgers = AR = Arkansas

M1. Actor who has received three nominations for the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight, all alongside Jackie Chan

M2. Queen consort of France from 1774-1792

M3. American soldier and spy whose only regret was that he had but one life to lose for his country

M4. Author whose most recent novel is a 2020 prequel titled The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Nice teamwork to get all of these. We had 62 points going into the final and were in first place. Don’t worry, we’ll be sure we don’t get too cocky about that (read on)! Final Category – Emmy Awards

We knew this was a horrible category for us, but we wagered all of our points anyway. Why? Because there is no “real” prize money on the line. Had we been playing in a pub, we probably would’ve been more “strategic” with our wagering.

At the Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2020, there were three HBO series that each won one of the five major awards for programs, while two others were nominated but did not win.

Name either of those series that did not win, both of which lost in the same category.

Clearly we weren’t “enthusiastic” enough to get this one right. Oh well, it was a fun trivia night (I always enjoy seeing my brother and sister in law’s kitties on the Zoom cameras)! Next trivia game is TBA…as always, Go Pods, and stay classy – and enthusiastic, Larry David! Wasn’t his show basically just Seinfeld without any of the Seinfeld characters (I never watched it so I don’t really know)!