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Being Bud doesn't trivialize victory

By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Being Bud Somerville captured the 31st annual Trivia contest sponsored by WWSP FM90 radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point during the weekend.

The team led throughout the contest after the second hour, amassing 11,060 points in the 54-hour contest to capture its second straight trivia crown, only the second team to win the contest in consecutive years.
The team won last year under the name CNOF54: Runnin' Out of Time. It consists of approximately 50 players, many of them veterans who have participated with numerous teams throughout the years, including City News, Occupation Foole, Zoo, Hugh Beaumont and Hour 54.

The only other team to win in consecutive years, Network, was second under the name ne2rk, earning 9,305 points. Network won seven consecutive titles between 1988 and 1995.

Jim "Oz" Oliva, who has headed the contest by writing questions since 1979, said the real battle was among the top 20, with several teams moving up in the final hours, including ne2rk, which had been fifth.

TinMan was in third place with 9,175 points; followed by Graduates of a Lesser God in fourth place with 8,650 points and ZIGGY ZOGY ZIGGY ZOGY YAARGH YARGH YARGH!! in fifth place with 8,610 points.

The remainder of the top 10 included WRTM: U're A Good Man Charles Schultz; Franklin Street Burnouts; Beerpigs: Bigger, Longer and Uncut; Late Night with Bob Keeshan; and Mutated Members. Late Night and Mutated both jumped into the top 10 in the closing hours, Oliva said.

A total of 466 teams with nearly 12,000 players participated.
Next year's trivia contest will be held April 20-22.

The results can be found on page 9.

Oliva said the contest went smoothly and he's received a number of complimentary telephone calls and e-mails about the contest.

He's also gotten requests for an 800 phone number for teams from out of town to play or putting the contest on the Internet, with answers e-mailed. Don't expect either to happen, he said.

"90FM asks people to support the contest," he said. "We go to businesses in Stevens Point and ask them to help us out, which they do. We want people from Madison to come here and play it."

There would also be added costs associated with the Internet, he said, such as having people to collect responses. "We would need a registration fee, but it would be astronomical, maybe $500, because we would have to get more computers."

Playing to the theme of this year's contest, "Trivia Y2K The Bug Strikes," the station simulated a computer breakdown and featured a "retro" hour, between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday when teams could call in as many times as they could, trying to guess the answer.

In 1982, the contest went to a single telephone call from each team on each answer because of concerns over the delay in getting a dial tone if too many phone users tried calling in at once. Local officials were worried about delays for services in an emergency.

Since then, phone equipment has improved, so Oliva said the station decided to have one hour with the old method, including putting a point value on each question, instead of deciding on the points based on the number of correct answers.

While the contest had a Y2K theme, virtually every hour had a question or answer involving Elvis Presley, and Oliva said that was something that just transpired. For the first hour, one question asked about the TV Guide Entertainer of the Year, with Elvis the answer.

Then it mushroomed. "How do you have too many Elvis questions?" he asked, adding that not all the entertainer questions were about Elvis.

One thing that surprised Oliva was the dispersal of questions and the way they got answered.

"It appears to me that current information and current television is very easy to find on the Internet," he said, hinting at a change in next year's contest. "This contest should be about books and notes."



	Being Bud doesn't trivialize victory By GENE KEMMETER of The Gazette Being Bud Somerville captured the 31st annual Trivia contest sponsored by WWSP FM90 radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point during the weekend. The team led throughout the contest after the second hour, amassing 11,060 points in the 54-hour contest to capture its second straight trivia crown, only the second team to win the contest in consecutive years. The team won last year under the name CNOF54: Runnin' Out of Time. It consists of approximately 50 players, many of them veterans who have participated with numerous teams throughout the years, including City News, Occupation Foole, Zoo, Hugh Beaumont and Hour 54. The only other team to win in consecutive years, Network, was second under the name ne2rk, earning 9,305 points. Network won seven consecutive titles between 1988 and 1995. Jim "Oz" Oliva, who has headed the contest by writing questions since 1979, said the real battle was among the top 20, with several teams moving up in the final hours, including ne2rk, which had been fifth. TinMan was in third place with 9,175 points; followed by Graduates of a Lesser God in fourth place with 8,650 points and ZIGGY ZOGY ZIGGY ZOGY YAARGH YARGH YARGH!! in fifth place with 8,610 points. The remainder of the top 10 included WRTM: U're A Good Man Charles Schultz; Franklin Street Burnouts; Beerpigs: Bigger, Longer and Uncut; Late Night with Bob Keeshan; and Mutated Members. Late Night and Mutated both jumped into the top 10 in the closing hours, Oliva said. A total of 466 teams with nearly 12,000 players participated. Next year's trivia contest will be held April 20-22. The results can be found on page 9. Oliva said the contest went smoothly and he's received a number of complimentary telephone calls and e-mails about the contest. He's also gotten requests for an 800 phone number for teams from out of town to play or putting the contest on the Internet, with answers e-mailed. Don't expect either to happen, he said. "90FM asks people to support the contest," he said. "We go to businesses in Stevens Point and ask them to help us out, which they do. We want people from Madison to come here and play it." There would also be added costs associated with the Internet, he said, such as having people to collect responses. "We would need a registration fee, but it would be astronomical, maybe $500, because we would have to get more computers." Playing to the theme of this year's contest, "Trivia Y2K The Bug Strikes," the station simulated a computer breakdown and featured a "retro" hour, between 5 and 6 a.m. Sunday when teams could call in as many times as they could, trying to guess the answer. In 1982, the contest went to a single telephone call from each team on each answer because of concerns over the delay in getting a dial tone if too many phone users tried calling in at once. Local officials were worried about delays for services in an emergency. Since then, phone equipment has improved, so Oliva said the station decided to have one hour with the old method, including putting a point value on each question, instead of deciding on the points based on the number of correct answers. While the contest had a Y2K theme, virtually every hour had a question or answer involving Elvis Presley, and Oliva said that was something that just transpired. For the first hour, one question asked about the TV Guide Entertainer of the Year, with Elvis the answer. Then it mushroomed. "How do you have too many Elvis questions?" he asked, adding that not all the entertainer questions were about Elvis. One thing that surprised Oliva was the dispersal of questions and the way they got answered. "It appears to me that current information and current television is very easy to find on the Internet," he said, hinting at a change in next year's contest. "This contest should be about books and notes."