We figured if we used the team name “60 percent of the time, our answers are right every time” in a Sporcle Live theme trivia game Friday, it would be a humble way to pay homage to the movie Anchorman. That movie has become one of our favorites over the years.

I mean – if you’re only going to see…uh five Will Ferrell movies, this one would be near the top of the top of that list! Yes, Step Brothers is also good, Old School is also a nice modern day take on the Animal House college comedy, and if you’re into drama, Stranger than Fiction really wasn’t that bad (who knew Will Ferrell could actually be a serious actor)?

Some of you may have already noticed we kind of like Anchorman. Almost every trivia recap we post ends with the line, “Stay classy,” which you might have known was a nod to Ron Burgundy telling TV viewers, “Stay classy, San Diego” at the end of each of his news broadcasts. Until that fateful day when because of a teleprompter prank he said “Go f— yourself, San Diego!” Don’t we all want our newscasters to talk this way?

Maybe I haven’t listed any of your favorite Will Ferrell movies and really, really liked Land of the Lost or Night at the Roxbury. That’s OK – you do you! Whatever makes you laugh is what’s the most important, isn’t it? The 2004 comedy film Anchorman was the focus of all of the trivia questions Friday night! Our humble team name must’ve proven to be slightly ironic, because we wound up in first place! Had we been characters in that movie, we would’ve celebrated by having a pool party and listening to songs by Neil Diamond and Bill Withers (which I actually queued up on Spotify after the game), drinking cocktails with a ridiculous amount of garnishes and putting the moves on a woman by telling her she has a nice “heinie” and saying “I want to be in you.” We did not do either of those last things. But we’re not quite as “groovy” as that! Yeah, we just played a zombie killing board game in the basement after our trivia win (don’t hate us because you ain’t us)! Without delaying this “broadcast” any more, here are the questions that were posed to me, my husband Mike and my dear friend Michelle, who joined in on the fun from fabulous Las Vegas:

1. Openings – What two vocal warm-up phrases are repeated by Ron during the opening montage with him sitting at the Channel 4 news desk? One of only three misses in this game.

2. Brick – When Brick identifies a part of the United States as “the Middle East,” which U.S. state is the location of the “38” he references as its temperature? Whew, good guess!

3. Not Quite – What does Ron believe is the name of an old wooden ship from the Civil War era?

4. Family – What is the name of Wes Mantooth’s mother? She was a SAINT!

5. Cute – When Veronica is meeting Ron before their non-date, she tells herself that “he’s very cute. No, he’s not. He’s” what adjective?

6. Animals – What is the name of the cat dressed as a gladiator at the 2nd Annual Kitty Cat Vogue?

7. Champ – What weapon is Champ seen wielding when lined up opposite the Channel 9 news team prior to the fight scene?

8. Protests – What two-word alliterative phrase is seen on a green sign outside of the news station while Ron is being escorted out of the building by security? Miss, I don’t think any teams got this one.

9. Callers – When Veronica calls Ron but says nothing when he answers, Ron wonders aloud if the caller is either Baxter or what person? Hint – this person’s only credited film role was Conan the Destroyer.

10. Credits – What non-Anchorman film is shown during the outtakes portion of the credits?

Mystery Round – Songs

Identify the songs that are playing when the following things are happening in the movie:

M1. Ron first sees Veronica at the party

M2. The news team sings about what Ron believes love feels like

M3. A montage after Veronica is named co-anchor

M4. The credits begin rolling

We missed #3. Also, there were two songs that played when Ron was checking out Veronica at the pool party (both artists I mentioned earlier in this post).

Scores heading into the final: 60 % of the time, our answers are right every time, 58; B Arthur’s Big D, 55; We Drank the Kool-Aid, 53; 2. B Arthur’s Big D; Aloha Mr. Hand, 48; I Love Lamp, 38; The Wicker Men, 35.

Final Category – Background Details

FINAL QUESTION:

Name either of the musicians who are seen in posters on either immediate side of the booth Ron and Veronica are sitting in at Tino’s.

This was rough…one of those posters had TWO musicians on them, and one of those musicians was not listed as the correct answer (though the trivia host said he would have accepted either of them as being correct). Thankfully we picked the “safe” option, so we got it..

Unsure when we’re doing trivia next, we’re not on a real “schedule” with it these days – and haven’t been since Pandemic 2020 struck about a year ago. In a way, it’s nice to not be on a set trivia schedule! As always, Go Pods, and stay classy, public news anchor who pushed Veronica into the bear bit (nice comedy turn, Tim Robbins)!