Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Television Knowledge Bowl: Marion Patriots vs. FACS Crusaders
Posted by Greg Akers on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 at 8:05 AM
Knowledge Bowl, Match 3: Marion Patriots vs. First Assembly Christian School Crusaders. Aired November 14, 2009.
Landon (Captain), Senior
Nicole, Junior
Raghib, Sophomore
Jonathan, Junior
Alternate: Sam, Junior
FACS (Blue Team):
Andrew (Captain), Freshman
Hannah, Junior
Zach, Junior
Megan, Senior
No alternate
Results:
Round One: Marion 55, FACS 80
Round Two: Marion 100, FACS 85
Round Three (Lightning Round): Marion 40, FACS 30
Tiebreaker: Marion 0, FACS 10
Final: Marion 195, FACS 205
Marion? Huh? According to the taping and broadcast schedules on the official Knowledge Bowl website, Match 3 was set to be FACS vs. Wooddale. For some reason, the team from Marion High School in Arkansas played against FACS. I can currently give no explanation. (Marion didn't appear elsewhere in the tournament either, so I'm going to chalk it up to Wooddale being unable to play for some reason and Marion being the first alternate to fill in.)
The Game: The early moments of the game provided an answer for a hypothetical future KB FAQ. Marion rang in early and missed a question before they actually had any points, ostensibly accruing a five-point penalty. The scoreboard doesn't tally negative points, so Marion had an understood -5 score.
This was confirmed after Marion's first correct answer (Nicole: "Civil War"), when the scorekeeper posted Marion's first sum as 5 instead of 10.
Round one was tighter than it should’ve been. Marion only answered two toss-ups correctly, but they did get the two bonuses. FACS, though it got 6 toss-ups correct, only cashed in on one bonus question.
The end of Round Two saw Marion within 10, setting up a tense finale. The Lightning Round was thrilling as promised, with Marion tying it up with 4 correct answers to FACS' 3.
Host Jim Jaggers, unaware of the tie, was about to go to commercial when someone off-camera shouted, "No no no no no! Tiebreaker."
Jaggers calmly read the tiebreaker question. Sudden death. Winner takes all: "The board of the Regional Medical Center in Memphis has approved plans to close what —"
Andrew from FACS rang in —before the question was completed! — and answered, "Emergency Room."
Correct. Jaggers: "With that, we have a winner."
For the Record: For my bracket, I picked Wooddale. Er. So wrong in so many ways.
The Kids Are Alright: Did I mention there was a Freshman captain!? Jaggers asked Andrew how he was selected to be team leader. He replied, “I really don’t know.”
For Marion, we found out that Captain Landon is looking to study meteorology in college: Jaggers: "What type of meteorology are you interested in?" (This subject is in Jaggers’ wheelhouse.) Landon’s answer: "Most of them," although he qualifies that probably not the tropical areas. My favorite exchange of the week.
Malaprostagisms: Malapropisms, FBLA, hematogenous, hematosis, Mycenaeans, Haydn, Hermitage, Karzai, Mikheil Saakashvili
Dr. Richard Ranta, Renaissance Man: After we get to know the kids, Jaggers and Knowledge Bowl judge Ranta hold brief palaver where Ranta tells about some other nonprofit/initiative/community effort he’s involved in. It’s quite funny, en masse, getting a handle on all of the things Ranta participates in.
This week we find out that Dr. Ranta is Treasurer of the Southern Arts Federation, which is a "regional arm of the National Endowment for the Arts." Hey, can I get a little of that grant money, Doc? I'd like to use it to set up the Mid-South Knowledge Bowl Center for the Gifted, the Rote Jr. Library, and, of course, the Alumni Center and Gift Shoppe.
Metric System: I'm taking the week off for posting math data while I experiment. I'm going to try to collect two-games' worth of data before unveiling the Knowledge Bowl Quotient 2.0. I'll retroactively analyze Marion v. FACS with that new metric.
In lieu of math, an artistic observation. Coming from sponsor commercial into the Lightning Round, some very dramatic music was playing. It filled me with existential, Scandinavian-like dread and tension for what would happen in the Lightning Round. I don't know if that music cue was intentional or just a chance transition between the carnival tunes, but either way: More of that please!
Tune in Next Week: Saturday, November 21st, 9 a.m. Germantown Red Devils vs. Hutchison Honey Bees Sting.
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I wouldn't leave my current posting for just any job, but proprietor of the Rote Jr Library? Meeting the information needs of those patrons would be living the dream.
Plus, all my holiday shopping could be done at the Alumni Center & Gift Shoppe. DVDs of complete seasons would be a must (the imagination staggers at the possibilities for "director's cuts"). I'd also like to see the MSKBC host an adaptive working mock-up of the Knowledge Bowl set, so future Bowlers could get a feel for the buzzers at an early age. Corporate branding by the sponsors everywhere, of course, in the interests of synergy and other vital catch phrases of our times.
Not sure if this was officially a malapropism, but I'm pretty sure Jaggers wants back the comment, "I better be careful then" after the very strange lighting round question about where a naked man was arrested recently.
Do you think there is any out loud reading of the questions prior to the broadcast? Not only does Jaggers need to practice, but some of the questions that may look good to the question writers on paper come out very awkward when read aloud. Jaggers delivery doesn't help, but some of the questions are inscrutable before they even get to his lips.
Great match!
Three Thoughts:
1. FACS has emerged as the most intriguing early team: Freshman captain, Gone With the Wind-reading cheerleader, jovial guy who got the "Windsor change" pun, nice girl who just loves Memphis and wants to teach in Memphis City Schools. And three underclassmen! One to watch, this year and next.
2. At the risk of breaking the unspoken communal rule about being nice to the kids, I was disappointed that no one got the algebra question. I did it in my head! This was one of the moments — truly one of the few so far — when, from my vantage point on the couch, I longed to be back in the arena.
3. I'm assuming you just made up the mascot name for Hutchison, Akers. Shame on you!
Herrington: I NEVER make up a mascot name. That stuff is deadly serious to me.
How I arrived at Honey Bees is a long and convoluted story, but, basically, it's what appears as their nickname most often online. (The mascot is never referenced on the official Hutchison website, so far as I can tell.) My reputation called into question, I checked with some high-school-age kids who would likely know and they confirmed: Honey Bees. STILL wanting to be sure, I just called Hutchison.
They said that Honey Bees is the nickname — for the really young kids there. The upper school girls though, they're the Sting. D'oh. I'm disappointed. Hutchison Honey Bees is awesome, for kids of all ages.
sankara, I will let someone more dispassionate address the preparation strategy of Mr Jaggers. You are correct in noting that many of these questions are not ideal for reading out loud, especially in a television environment.
Greg, there's a Sting joke in here somewhere that involves Jaggers and Ranta doing the nose swipe, but I can't find it this morning. However, I did note that FACS had no alternatives...? "Our team's on the floor, TV man!" Hard not to root for these frosty assassins disguised as GWTW enthusiasts; hide in plain sight, indeed.
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