Even the best hitter strikes out sometimes. The best quarterback throws a pick. The best guard misses a lay up. The best goalie lets a dump in slip between his pads. The best golfer misses a two foot putt. And, once in a blue moon, the best trivia team misses a gimme.
Such was the case with the Fraters squad last night at Keegan's Irish Pub. We let an easy one slip through our fingers and it ended up costing us a chance to share in yet another trivia championship . One question made the difference between the joy of victory (and more importantly the joy of free drinks) and the agony of defeat (you haven't seen true agony until you've witnessed the Nihilist having to open his wallet to pay for a beer). One question that we had no business missing, yet inexplicably did.
A history question no less. On a matter that we are all at least moderately well versed. The query that tripped us about was,
"Who gave the longest speech in UN history in 1960?"
As soon as we heard the question, the possible answers started flying fast and furious both at the table and in our minds. Adlai Stevenson seemed like a good response until we realized that he did not become US Ambassador to the UN until 1961. U Thant was mentioned and I also thought that Dag Hammarskjold was a possibility. After further discussion we ruled out the Secretary Generals from the mix. We then went back to a name that had come early on and decided to go with it: Nikita Khrushchev. We figured maybe he did more than just pound his shoe at the UN. Maybe, just maybe he also tried to bore us as well as bury us.
It turned out that we had the wrong Commie. After the cards had been corrected and just as Marty "Wayne" Newton was about to read the correct answer, it hit Saint Paul like a thunderbolt:
Fidel Castro
Fidel F'in Castro. Of course it was Fidel Castro. In the last three months Saint Paul and I both had penned posts regarding the spectacular length of Castro's oratories. And yet last night, when we most needed to come up with that nugget of knowledge, it was nowhere to be found. The gods of trivia work in mysterious and sometimes cruel ways.
The evening was not a total loss. A night at Keegan's never is. We had the pleasure of meeting Ryan from ZERO TWO MIKE SOLDIER! (another MOB member in good standing). In addition to being a mil-blogger, substitute teacher, and jazz aficionado, Ryan also plays in a local ska band called The Secondhand Ska Kings. We're hoping that someday soon the band will be playing at Keegan's in the coveted Thursday night post-trivia time slot. Developing...
We were also able to take advantage of a great deal on Stella Artois beer. For three fitty you got a pint of Stella and a nice glass. You also had a chance to win a free beer if you got a chocolate coin with your glass and Saint Paul and Atomizer were both fortunate enough to do just that.
The Jameson gals were on hand as well, passing out free samples of their fine Irish Whiskey. Cheap beer, quality barware, and free whiskey definitely helped ease the pain of our trivia failure.
At the end of the evening things got even better as I was pleasantly surprised to be able to exit the parking ramp behind Keegan's without having to pay. Free parking baby. Truly one of life's simple yet very satisfying pleasures.
SAINT PAUL AMPLIFIES: Margaret Martin, of Our House blog and the diva of Taxpayers League Live! (9AM Saturday, AM1280 the Patriot) reminds us what trivia victory tastes like.
THE ELDER ECHOES: Very thoughtless of me to forget to salute those who bested us. Hail to the victors!
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