Nestled in an inconspicuous corner of New Deck Tavern sit the members of the team "Hello, Newman." They're virtual regulars, this group of lawyers and doctors and engineers. Surrounded by peanut shells and beer, the group -- to the chagrin of the rest of the teams -- is back again tonight. By everyone's account, "Hello, Newman" is a good team: They've won first or second place about once every three weeks. One time, they even went undefeated for six consecutive weeks. But this is Quizzo, where any team can be stumped, any Long Island sophomore can win on a question about the Mets, any newcomer can beat a veteran. Anything can happen. Fittingly, there are passionate trivia fans here tonight who want to go home with a $50 gift certificate. And they'd like to see "Hello, Newman" lose. "There are some of us who've made it our life quest to win," says College senior Jeff Koleba. Welcome to Quizzo.
From Ireland to Philly
Pat Hines is the Alex Trebek of Quizzo, the man responsible for dishing out the questions and providing the few hours of madness each Monday and Wednesday at New Deck. "It's all general knowledge," says Hines, who takes two to three hours to gather information from almanacs, encyclopedias and the Internet for each game. Above the raucous buzz of the New Deck crowd, Hines explains his history with Quizzo: Seven years ago he and his business partner, Sean McCoughlin, began running the game in Wildwood, N.J., at a local watering hole called O' Flynn's. After seeing the game played in Ireland, they chose a format with three rounds of 10 questions each and a bonus round. In the game's current incarnation, members seated at a table write out answers to Hines' questions -- there are 40 in all -- and then submit them, 10 at a time, to be evaluated. Each team can choose one round to "joker," where each correct answer counts double. The team that gets the most right wins. It's that simple. When McCoughlin got a job at New Deck in 1992, they brought the first Quizzo to Philadelphia. Since its start, copycats have sprung up everywhere. "I find it funny that people around the Philly area will call [their games] Quizzo when we made that name up," he says. And so began the weekly tradition of Quizzo, which has existed in one form or another at the Sansom Street restaurant without fail. And Penn barhoppers can play at Smokey Joe's or the Blarney Stone on other nights. Currently, New Deck hosts the trivia show two nights a week. It's not clear when the rift occurred, but it's well-known now that Mondays belong to Drexel and Wednesdays to Penn. "It's a different crowd, definitely," Hines says. "That's all I'm going to say. It's supposed to be fun, but Penn people get a lot more serious about the game. Some people get really upset." Surveying the teams as they scribble their answers, Hines concedes that there is an edge to the audience. "It's fun, but serious," he says. "Most people that come in take it really seriously, but the prize is only a gift certificate of $50." Hines recalled an incident with a student from Beijing who angrily responded to the Hines' answer for the question, "What is the river that goes through Shanghai?" "He stood up, screaming that I was wrong," Hines says. "He came back the next week and apologized. But I'd never go back on a question now," he says, shaking his head. "I always stick to my guns."
Howard Stern and CAT Scans
On a recent Wednesday, the restaurant was packed with about 150 contestants split among eight teams. Because most are regular competitors, a half-playful and half-serious rivalry manifests itself early on. Hines calls out the teams' names, and when he comes to "Hello, Newman," the bar erupts with boos. For the past five years, the team has frequented the bar weekly. Luckily for other competitors, they only come on Wednesdays. "That's been advertised as a feature of Monday nights," jokes team member Dave Fenick about the unpopularity of their all-too-successful team. "We try to remain anonymous; we're afraid for our lives, you know." Coming up with a team name is as much a part of the game as the questions themselves. Most teams try to win a prize by creating the best team name each night. Favorite team names include: Chlamydia is not a Flower, OBGYN Kenobi and How Estelle Getty Got her Groove Back. And then there's "Hello, Newman." It's always "Hello, Newman." "We build up so much hatred, we like our name," says Penn Law School graduate Dan Cohen, who has played for the past five years since he graduated in 1995. Tonight, the questions run the gamut from pop culture ("What was the name of Howard Stern's first book?") to technological acronyms ("What word does the "C" stand for in CAT scan?") Not surprisingly, almost everyone gets the Stern question correct; almost no one guesses "computerized" for the CAT scan question. One reason for the success of "Hello, Newman" is that each member has one area of absolute expertise. And then there's Paul Auh: He knows everything. "My biggest contribution to Quizzo is that I brought Paul," Fenick says. Another team here tonight is "The Steve Guttenbergs," who sit close to Hines. Though focused on the game, they lack the nearly tangible concentration of "Hello, Newman." "It doesn't matter if you're winning because you always blow it in the last round, mostly 'cause we drink too much," says Wharton senior Matt Levy. The Guttenbergs usually come with five to six people, but tonight there are only three. They claim a three-week winning streak, from when they played as "Midgets on Horseback." Among the three of them, Levy is the one to write down the responses on the team sheet. He has the final word. He directs the pace. "Levy is definitely the ring leader," says College and Wharton junior Nick Amigone. "It's because I'm the oldest and also because I know the most," Levy says with a smirk. In between rounds, while Hines tallies the points, the conversation drifts from the legitimacy of Wharton as an undergraduate education, to hometowns, the East Coast and music bands. In round two, Hines asks: "What does the acronym NIMBY stand for?" "Not In My Backyard," says College sophomore David Burstein. Amigone shoots Burstein a confused look of surprise. "He knows that because he's from New Jersey," Levy explains. Surrounded by yells of excitement and groans of disappointment, the members of Newman are carefully reserved, listening quietly. "We never react to the answers," says Auh. "Because these people looked like idiots when they get it wrong," veterinarian Jenny Cromwell chimes in. Over the noise of the bar, Hines calls out the last question: "What TV show featured the characters of Kelly Kapowski and Jessica Spano?" After tallying the scores, Hines looks up at the crowd and jokes, "It is sad that everybody got this right: Saved by the Bell." The bonus round, presidential trivia, has the teams frantic. "What was the most common presidential first name? Six men had it." Cohen, now standing, writes out several lists of names, as Newman agonizes over question two. The team ends up with four or five Williams, James and Johns. They decide on James. Hines reads out the answers, and though James is correct, "Hello, Newman," for a change, doesn't win. The teams give a final cheer or boo, and turn back to the beer and peanuts.
