Fraters Libertas

It Ain't Over 'Til The Nihilist Sings

Atomizer: Trivia's over, man. Marty dropped the big one.

Nihilist: Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when Bernie Mac bombed at the Oscars? Hell no!

Saint Paul: Bernie Mac?

Elder: Forget it, he's rolling.

Nihilist: And it ain't over now. 'Cause when the goin' gets tough...

[thinks hard]

Nihilist:... the tough get goin'! Who's with me? Let's go!

And go he did. All appeared lost last night. The trivia cards had been collected, the scores tabulated, the winners announced, and the championship trophy ripped from the hands of a weeping Atomizer.

But one man never lost hope. One man wouldn't let the dream die so easily. He knew his cause was just and he was determined to see that it was not lost.

And by golly he won. And through his victory, the Fraters trivia squad was once again victorious.

For you see we had been given credit for correctly answering twenty out of twenty-five questions. The two teams that tied for first had scored twenty-one right.

But one of the questions that we were dinged for was:

"How many years has it been since the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial?"

We knew of course, that the verdict was handed down in October in the year of our Lord 1995 (October 3rd to be precise). We mulled the question over, realizing that the correct answer was somewhere around nine years and six months. We asked trivia MC Marty McNewton if such an exact answer was required. He said just answer in years. So we did. Nine years.

Has it been ten years since the O.J. verdict? No. Has it been nine years? Yes. Simple right?

Not for the usually crack trivia staff at Keegan's. They claimed that the answer was ten years since it happened in 1995. Our appeals to Marty and Terry Keegan for justice fell on deaf ears (hearing aid malfunctions). But the Nihilist in Golf Pants was able to get through to the voice of reason in the Keegan clan, the epitome of the expression "better half", Terry's lovely and gracious wife Virginia. She quickly realized that we had been wronged and immediately righted the slight by awarding us drink tickets and a share of first place.

Unfortunately, we will not be able to defend our share of the title next week because we will be the ones running the show. That's right. Next Thursday March 10th is Fraters Trivia night at Keegan's. Get a sitter, kennel the dog, put Grandpa in a home, do whatever you need to do to attend this magical evening of trivia history. We're writing the questions, announcing the quiz, congratulating the winners, and helping the losers drown their sorrows.

There is an even a rumor that the Nihilist will be taking the stage for one of his much heralded Elvis impersonations. You don't want to miss this one folks.

UPDATE: This reminds me that we've got to add a few more questions about Reagan in next week's quiz. You never can have too many questions about Reagan, right?