Apropos of nothing, some quiz bowl memories

[kammajos000]

Last month, I read and enjoyed Mark Bailey's recount of his experiences at PACE NSC 2019 (viewtopic.php?t=27613), which reminded me of some of my own experiences. I didn't think about it much more until just last night, when recollections of my quiz bowl career seemed to suddenly percolate to the forefront of my mind. I jotted down some of my reflections in the hope that they may resonate with you, and you'll be able to fondly remember your own expereinces, like I have. My name is Joe Kammann, and I played for Wayzata from 2014-18 and for the University of Minnesota from 2018-2022.


I was introduced to quiz bowl in 7th grade and quickly realized I had a knack for it. It both allowed me to show off what I already knew and piqued my curiosity about all the new things I was slowly being introduced to. My team was able to go to nationals in both my 7th and 8th grade years, which were both good times, though we struggled to compete with strong teams. So, when I entered high school as an awkward, skinny little dude with great expectations and great angst, I was eager to join the quiz bowl club. I soon discovered that starting high school quiz bowl can be quite intimidating!

I remember the finals of one of the regular-season tournaments during my freshman year. I sat in the back of the classroom and watched in awe as our A team took on our rival, Eden Prairie's A team. They answered questions about things I had never heard about with such speed and confidence, and I wondered if I could ever be that good. It was in sophomore year that I really became devoted, quitting math team so I wouldn't miss any Monday practices. Coincidentally, it was also around that time that I was developing a crush on the new girl in the club. Back then, I didn't care if it was IS, IS-A, speedchecks, Chip Bowl, trash, or mashups; I loved all forms of quiz bowl, bad or good. What mattered was being able to sit with my new friends, buzzer in hand.

And, of course, I started to study outside of practice, too. Many an English, Bio, or Calc lesson were ignored in favor of Protobowl, which at least mimicked the process of note-taking enough to avoid the suspicion of my teachers, unlike Flash games. One night, I hopped on for a quick Protobowl session and found that the new girl I had a crush on was already there in our club's private room. We played for two hours that night. The following night, too. And so it became a routine: after homework and dinner, I'd boot up Protobowl, put on some Weezer or Car Seat Headrest, and wait for the little oval next to her name to turn from gray to green. Over two years, I accumulated over 200,000 points on Protobowl, which is a heck of a lot of questions, considering how much I negged. Now, seven years later, we don't play Protobowl together anymore — we just live together.

This diet of almost-exclusively Protobowl served me well. I got good, and the game was even more fun than ever! The Saturday tournaments were the best part. I remember those sub-zero Minnesota mornings, still twilight as I drove to school, blasting Led Zeppelin in my '08 Honda Pilot, which was soon to be packed with (up to) 7 other quizbowlers and shipped off to the suburban school du jour. We were ready to crush our opponents, and, usually, we did. I never got used to winning. Sometimes, in the finals of those tournaments, with our school's other 5-7 teams (Wayzata moment) watching, I would turn to the audience and see the same face of awe I made a few years earlier watching the A team that came before me. That made me proud of how far I'd come.

Parallel to my studying, I slowly became more acquainted with the community as well. My curiosity led me to the forums and QBWiki, where I read about faceless, almost mythological figures to my 16-year-old self like Andrew Yaphe, Matt Weiner, and Mike Cheyne, among others. I was fascinated by the funny articles on QBWiki and especially any forums drama that was going on, as well as by the strange posts of the past. This was also the heyday of now-deserted Facebook groups like ILQBM and Quizpolling, both of which were very entertaining. Then, towards the end of my senior year, I remember when Discord started gaining traction, which didn't interest me much at all. I think Discord sucks and have posted about that before, so I won't get into that.

In my senior year, we were on a (not-so-serious) quest to show those top coastal (plus Texas and Illinois) magnet schools that our little high school of 4,000 students in an upper-middle-class suburb could hang with the best. So we went to nationals. To me, nationals was the pinnacle of my quiz bowl experience. The excitement I felt during those weekends was on a level not yet matched in my adult life. I have too many memories from nationals to even start, so I'll just say that, if you've been able to go to a national tournament, I hope you felt the same energy that I did.

Then, it was off to college. College quiz bowl is like catching sunfish off the dock after a career of deep-sea fishing adventure. And somehow, the sunfish are much more difficult to catch than the marlin. It's alright, but it's just not the same. You really have to like quiz bowl to like college quiz bowl. And you REALLY have to like quiz bowl to like online college quiz bowl. And online DI ICT — that raises in oneself existential questions. Primarily, "What am I doing here?" Oof da. I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't done high school quiz bowl.

Now, I'm about two years out of college, and quiz bowl looks different to me than before. In high school, it seemed big and getting bigger. Now, it seems small and getting smaller. Whether that's my own increasing distance from the game or the reality of quiz bowl over the years (or a bit of both), I can't say. During my high school years (2014-18), the forums, Facebook groups, and the community in general were much more alive. All kinds of new and interesting things were happening! Today, it feels like a lot of quiz bowl is just going through the motions. Obviously, COVID had a big impact. It seems like the American teenager is having a rough go of it right now, and maybe that's detrimental to quiz bowl. Unfortunately, at this point, Discord is probably like a cancer grown too big to be removed without doing greater harm to the patient. (Not that Discord is the main, or even a large cause of this change; it's just one thing I don't like). Oh, well. I've been somewhat heartened by the influx of middle schoolers posting on the forums the last few months; they remind me of me and have some of the same questions, curiosity, and passion I had when I was starting out.

This concludes my sentimental ramblings. If you love quiz bowl, then we have something in common. I'm thankful for your participation in a game that has meant so much to me. If you're a younger player reading this, enjoy it all you can. Quiz bowl is awesome! Have a blast!

[Auks Ran Ova]

Joe, you are and always will be a poster after my own heart.

[Cheynem]

I like that I'm a mythological figure, but I do have a face--I'm not Matt Bollinger.

[The_Impaler_]

When are you gonna ask the girl you have a crush on out on a date?

[Krik? Krik?! KRIIIIK!!!]

I can't believe Joe came back just to flex the protobowl rizz, smh

It was an absolute pleasure to be in the North circuit with you - I hope I get to see you again next time I'm up in Minneapolis (if you're still there - if not, we'll see each other again some day!)

Now, I'm about two years out of college, and quiz bowl looks different to me than before. In high school, it seemed big and getting bigger. Now, it seems small and getting smaller. Whether that's my own increasing distance from the game or the reality of quiz bowl over the years (or a bit of both), I can't say. During my high school years (2014-18), the forums, Facebook groups, and the community in general were much more alive. All kinds of new and interesting things were happening! Today, it feels like a lot of quiz bowl is just going through the motions. Obviously, COVID had a big impact. It seems like the American teenager is having a rough go of it right now, and maybe that's detrimental to quiz bowl. Unfortunately, at this point, Discord is probably like a cancer grown too big to be removed without doing greater harm to the patient. (Not that Discord is the main, or even a large cause of this change; it's just one thing I don't like). Oh, well. I've been somewhat heartened by the influx of middle schoolers posting on the forums the last few months; they remind me of me and have some of the same questions, curiosity, and passion I had when I was starting out.

I really resonated with this. I remember going to my first HSNCT in 2018 and being completely overwhelmed by the number of people there. It was like that too for ACF Nationals in 2019 - except a lot more moments like this when I encountered someone I vaguely knew online. HSNCT is still gigantic (being in the finals room last year was astounding at how many people were there - props to those on stage!), but I do feel like the online community has slowed down, or people have gone to their own separate corners. Part of that feeling is that you and I aren't viewing quizbowl from the outside in anymore, while the hundreds of kids who picked up a buzzer for the first time this year still are!

[luoleo000]

I was introduced to quiz bowl in 7th grade and quickly realized I had a knack for it.

Coincidentally, I was also introduced to quizbowl in 7th grade and quickly realized I had for a knack for it.
The person who introduced me was Joe Kammann. Thanks, Joe.