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After 30 years team takes first trivia title

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The smiles are evident this week on the faces of members of Knights of Neek, the team that won the 2004 WWSP 90FM Trivia Contest last weekend.

The victory comes in the team's 30th year of existence and is only its second Top 5 finish in its history. In 2003 the team finished fifth, the first time it cracked the top 10.

"It was just like New Year's Eve," said Joe Cyran, a team member about the team's celebration after finishing the contest.

The team played in the garage at the town of Hull home of Tom and Ann Lemancik.

"We move everything out of the garage and have shelves and tables to move in," Ann said.

"We have four different carpet remnants and roll them onto the floor," said Tom.

While the garage may be chilly some years, Tom said this year it was warm, but the team couldn't open the garage door because the wind would blow all the papers around.

Ann's brother, George Gitter, started the team at their parents' house when he was in high school in 1975 and Ann and her sister, Donna Cleveland, helped him out. When George moved out of the area, they continued to play at their parents' house, she said.

The team name, she said, comes from the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where they misunderstood the knights to come from Neek instead of Nee.

When Tom proposed to Ann, he said her father told him he could marry his daughter if he took the trivia team to their residence. Tom and Ann have hosted the team since, he said. They've played the last 12 years at the house in Hull.

Before that, they played in "Oz's house," Tom said, explaining that they formerly lived in the house where Jim "The Oz" Oliva, who writes the contest, now lives.

Cyran said the team consists of 30 to 40 people and is a mixture of about two-thirds adults and one-third children.

Team members are friends and relatives and come from Appleton and Wausau. A lot of them attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, said Ann. One of the members who now lives in Appleton used to live in New Jersey and would come back for the contest, pulling a trailer behind his car, she said.

While playing the contest, the team eats. Tom said they went through 50 pizzas, two turkeys (one smoked and one for sandwiches), six buckets of Rice Crispy bars, 22 pounds of ham, five cheese trays, five pounds of cheese curds, plus beer and soda. The team also rents a portable toilet so members don't stress the septic system at the Lemanciks'.

"This team is different than a lot of others," Cyran said. "It's like a three-day party. You sleep when you want to and party. We don't have schedules."

Throughout the contest, various members contribute answers.

Cyran pointed to the Lemancik's son, Brad, 12, who answered a question worth 150 points off the top of his head.

Ed Gitter had notes to answer a question that earned the team 500 points, Ann said. "He is the brains."

She credited Bob Benito as the organizer. "He runs the show. He puts everything together for everybody."

She noticed a change in team members on Sunday when the Knights were still in the lead with the 54-hour contest winding down. "It was a little quieter this year," she said. "We were almost too afraid to savor it."

"It was kind of like telling a guy he has a no-hitter in the seventh inning," Cyran said. "We were there and had the potential to win, but Network (which finished second) could answer two questions and turn the whole thing around."

The team learned how to jump to a lead early Saturday morning after answering two questions that turned out to be worth 400 points each within a few hours of each other.

Throughout the contest, Tom said the team had hits and misses on answering questions correctly. "We like to go with our first instinct," he said, adding that the first instinct wasn't always correct either.

"We lost 400 points by going the wrong way," Cyran said. "On Sunday we were guilty of talking too much."

To answer one question, two team members went to a store to find an answer, then had to find a telephone book to look up the Lemanciks number so they could call the team with the answer, he said.

The team has no secret to success, Cyran said. "We didn't do anything differently. You get lucky. Luck plays a part in it."

He said the team enjoyed the contest. "It was challenging. We had to work a lot for stuff. It was a team effort. Someone would call out something and others would run to look in books."

"When you win, you think it's great," Ann said about the contest.



	After 30 years team takes first trivia title By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette The smiles are evident this week on the faces of members of Knights of Neek, the team that won the 2004 WWSP 90FM Trivia Contest last weekend. The victory comes in the team's 30th year of existence and is only its second Top 5 finish in its history. In 2003 the team finished fifth, the first time it cracked the top 10. "It was just like New Year's Eve," said Joe Cyran, a team member about the team's celebration after finishing the contest. The team played in the garage at the town of Hull home of Tom and Ann Lemancik. "We move everything out of the garage and have shelves and tables to move in," Ann said. "We have four different carpet remnants and roll them onto the floor," said Tom. While the garage may be chilly some years, Tom said this year it was warm, but the team couldn't open the garage door because the wind would blow all the papers around. Ann's brother, George Gitter, started the team at their parents' house when he was in high school in 1975 and Ann and her sister, Donna Cleveland, helped him out. When George moved out of the area, they continued to play at their parents' house, she said. The team name, she said, comes from the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" where they misunderstood the knights to come from Neek instead of Nee. When Tom proposed to Ann, he said her father told him he could marry his daughter if he took the trivia team to their residence. Tom and Ann have hosted the team since, he said. They've played the last 12 years at the house in Hull. Before that, they played in "Oz's house," Tom said, explaining that they formerly lived in the house where Jim "The Oz" Oliva, who writes the contest, now lives. Cyran said the team consists of 30 to 40 people and is a mixture of about two-thirds adults and one-third children. Team members are friends and relatives and come from Appleton and Wausau. A lot of them attended the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, said Ann. One of the members who now lives in Appleton used to live in New Jersey and would come back for the contest, pulling a trailer behind his car, she said. While playing the contest, the team eats. Tom said they went through 50 pizzas, two turkeys (one smoked and one for sandwiches), six buckets of Rice Crispy bars, 22 pounds of ham, five cheese trays, five pounds of cheese curds, plus beer and soda. The team also rents a portable toilet so members don't stress the septic system at the Lemanciks'. "This team is different than a lot of others," Cyran said. "It's like a three-day party. You sleep when you want to and party. We don't have schedules." Throughout the contest, various members contribute answers. Cyran pointed to the Lemancik's son, Brad, 12, who answered a question worth 150 points off the top of his head. Ed Gitter had notes to answer a question that earned the team 500 points, Ann said. "He is the brains." She credited Bob Benito as the organizer. "He runs the show. He puts everything together for everybody." She noticed a change in team members on Sunday when the Knights were still in the lead with the 54-hour contest winding down. "It was a little quieter this year," she said. "We were almost too afraid to savor it." "It was kind of like telling a guy he has a no-hitter in the seventh inning," Cyran said. "We were there and had the potential to win, but Network (which finished second) could answer two questions and turn the whole thing around." The team learned how to jump to a lead early Saturday morning after answering two questions that turned out to be worth 400 points each within a few hours of each other. Throughout the contest, Tom said the team had hits and misses on answering questions correctly. "We like to go with our first instinct," he said, adding that the first instinct wasn't always correct either. "We lost 400 points by going the wrong way," Cyran said. "On Sunday we were guilty of talking too much." To answer one question, two team members went to a store to find an answer, then had to find a telephone book to look up the Lemanciks number so they could call the team with the answer, he said. The team has no secret to success, Cyran said. "We didn't do anything differently. You get lucky. Luck plays a part in it." He said the team enjoyed the contest. "It was challenging. We had to work a lot for stuff. It was a team effort. Someone would call out something and others would run to look in books." "When you win, you think it's great," Ann said about the contest.