More than 130 teams from all over the United States vied for a chance to win $7,500 for their demonstrations of useless knowledge at the Isleta Resort and Casino on Saturday.
A Philadelphia-based team, Independence Hall & Oates, took first place in the competition. Our Steak Puns are a Rare Medium Well Done was Albuquerque’s highest-placing team, coming in at third place, two points behind the winners.
John Dicker, the quizmaster-in-chief for Geeks Who Drink in Denver, said Albuquerque has always had a high turnout at the weekly quiz nights, which is one of the primary reasons for the change of venue for Geek Bowl 009.
“We want to give something back to the people who have supported us here all these years,” Dicker said.
Previous bowls took place in Denver, Colorado and Austin, Texas he said. Many of the teams were repeats from previous years. Total attendance, including Quizmasters and spectators, was about 1,000 — a typical turnout for Geek Bowl.
However, that number looks even better when viewed in terms of the new site, because so many people were from out of town.
Every quiz is comprised of eight rounds of eight questions each. These can be visual, audio or simple written questions. Each round has a specific theme. This year the bowl had live performances from local dance company Keshet, a non-profit geared towards helping at-risk children.
The dancers performed short dances from films like “Silver Linings,” “500 Days of Summer” and “Mean Girls.” Dicker said he has been planning this idea for over four years and felt that after last year’s bowl, he had to come up with a new way to keep the trivia exciting.
This year the bowl’s music round was performed by special guests The Dan Band.
The top five winners split $12,000. Nate DiGiorgio, captain of Independence Hall & Oates from Philadelphia, said this year was his team’s second Geek Bowl win; their first was Geek Bowl 006. The team has placed in the top five in each of the other six bowls.
The team took home $7,500, which will help pay travel expenses, he said. The team of six regularly competes at least twice a week in Philadelphia.
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New Mexico is an interesting state, he said. “There is nothing quite like it.”
“It’s been a lot of fun and the people are really great,” he said.
As for the dancing portion of the trivia, DiGiorgio said it was “probably one of the greatest rounds in Geek Bowl history.”
Andrew Phillips, who has been a Quizmaster for two and a half years and is currently Quizmaster in Socorro, agrees with DiGiorgio that the dancing was one of the most interesting trivia rounds he has ever seen.
Phillips said at least 27 teams from Albuquerque participated in the bowl.
Moriah Carty is the assistant culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at cultureassistant@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MoriahCarty.
