We like to think we’re a pretty decent team. We usually hold our own and place in the top three. Sometimes we even win. We won at Drum & Monkey, but the questions were so easy, we only got one wrong, and that was because we weren’t racist enough. When we won at Elephant and Castle, we beat a grand total of two other teams. We were actually really excited when we won a bunch of money at Harrigan’s, even if we only won because Yao Ming is on our team. We won at Ginger’s, despite the jolly old host not thinking that “Alan Alda” was a pervy enough alternate answer– but as it turned out, we didn’t really win anything.
But last night. We won. At Globe Pub. OMG. Oh. My. God.
Source: World Maps
What a great night to be Filipino at Globe Pub. Instead of the usual donations to the MS Society, last night’s team fees went to benefit victims of the recent typhoons in the Philippines. Thanks, Quizmaster Dave. If that wasn’t enough, round one was called “Hippies Lent Hip,” an anagram for “The Philippines”! Of course, at Globe Pub, being Filipino doesn’t really give you much of an advantage if your knowledge is limited to: the capital (Manila), Tagalog swear words, Imelda Marcos’ shoe-hoarding, Manny Pacquiao, and Wowowee. What does give you an advantage is having two guest team members, one who had a Filipina roommate in college, and the other who is an expert on geography/history. Susmaryosep…that round could have been a disaster.
Like most second-generation Filipino-Americans, I know way more about pop culture than my own culture, so I redeemed myself in the next round, “I Take Dark,” or “Karate Kid.” The match round required us to match Chicago dive bars with their addresses — ridiculously hard, but we managed to stay afloat. The Chemical States round, where you turn series of chemical symbols and state abbreviations into a list of words with a common theme, was impossible. We don’t think anyone got the common link, which was Packers. (Quizmaster Dave could have thrown us a bone and given us “Rodgers” for the final clue, but that’s just not how he rolls.) We really started our offensive assault during Dead or Canadian: Mascara or Jedi (perfect for our mixed-gender team!). We continued by being awesome at picture identification. But what really put us over the top was our team member pulling “Burlap” out of nowhere to boost us to FIRST PLACE!
This is what victory looks like.
The winners get a $50 gift certificate to Globe Pub, but that does not hold a candle to the feeling of extreme glee you get for winning the hardest pub quiz in town. Like Ryan’s trip to Thailand, it’s indescribable.
Next stop, State! (Watch your back, Pat Stack, we’re coming for our cash.)
Globe Pub
1934 W. Irving Park Rd., Chicago
8pm to 10:15pm
$5 admission (goes to charity)
4 paws! (out of 4)
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Here Comes Treble is a group of Chicagoans who want to share our love of trivia nights with the rest of the city. Follow us as we search for the best pub quiz in town!
