General History: The French Connection was started by my Aunt Lisa in 1980, she had heard that trivia was a cool thing to do, and she was right.
The team was originally named "The French Connection" because my grandmother and my mother were both born and raised in France, hence giving the team a "French Connection!"
Not much is known by myself about any years earlier than 1995 because those earlier years are a blur. In 1998 I officially took over the team and moved it to my house.
Since I took over, the team has been doing much better than it used to, partly because I integrated the internet into the team. In the year 2000, my older relatives left the team,
leaving me to recruit new members. In 2004 my prayers were answered; members of a disbanded trivia team as well as a host of new members joined the team. The new members coupled with 7-10 computers
on a fast internet connection catapulted us to 101st place. In 2005 we set a new TFC record by crushing our top 100 goal and placing 60th. May the Trivia gods grant us wisdom and knowledge to continue our pursuit of Trivia greatness....
Trivia 38: Return of Trivia
April 20, 21, 22, 2007
Team Name: TFC27: ?
Finish: ? Place out of ? Teams
? points
Notes: |
 |
Trivia 37: The Odd Contest
April 7, 8, 9, 2006
Team Name: TFC26: It aint pretty at the gun show
Finish: 34th Place out of 552 Teams
4515 points
Notes: This was another great year of trivia for TFC! We finally have really broken through and took 34th place this year. This placing was beyond our team's wildest dreams and we worked really well at working together to get there!
We used all of our 13+ computers most of the time, and I doubt there was ever less then 5 or 6 people up and on the computers at once. Along with getting some huge point value questions (we even luckily pulled down a 250 pointer at some point along with a few 100+ pointers), we also finally got some big points off of our Music Snippet questions. (Props to Matt's mom for one of them.)
The trivia stone and running questions went off without a snag and for another consecutive year we have pulled down all 600 points from those events!
However, with each contest that we play, there is usually something that is holding us back from breaking out truly from what we could do. At the end of the contest, it was discovered that our point total and the Oz's point total was about 600 points off, NOT in our favor. But thats ok since we all know that with new technology comes new technical problems.
This was not an error on our part (50-100 points off would be normal), but it was an error with the 'new' scoring system that the Oz put in place. Our team was not the only one that suffered a point loss, but out of the teams that did speak up, ours was usually way more points off then other teams (a couple teams were 1000+ points off.. most were about 200 points off). Because of this, I (along with other team Captains from other teams) e-mailed the Oz about this issue, but since trivia was over, he did not feel like changing anything so drastic.
Regardless of this controversy, we did a really good job this year, and just finishing in 30th place next year would be just as big of an accomplishment. After a year like this, it is really promising looking into the future of the team as we mature and pick up more trivia knowledge with age!
-Corey Scharrer
-Team Captain
|
 |
Trivia 36: Keep on Trivia
April 8, 9, 10, 2005
Team Name: TFC:25 Years, 80 Players, 1 Contest
Finish: 60th Place out of 552 Teams
4515 points
Notes: Amazing year!! This year we finally got into the top 100!! That was our goal but I don't think that any of us thought that we would actually get 40 places into the top 100. I think that our advancement was mostly due to good organization and leadership. Also aiding us were new team members and 5 more computers than last year.
Though many of our team members stayed the same from 2004 we weeded out some of the non-contributing players and gained some really good hardcore players. Fortunately the level of drama was significantly toned down from previous years, and no zombies invaded our HQ.
The team performed magnificently. With that out of the way
the things that we need to improve upon for next year: 'Music Snippet Questions', again, we did have a good effort this year but we still missed some pretty easy ones. Books, we need to use them more often.
We placed 60th this year, continuing our advancement in the contest! If we can keep this momentum going we should be in the top 25 in no time, although people have pointed out that the better we get the harder it will be to gain positions in the contest. Seeing as we don't want to set our sights too high our goal for next year will be this years placement of 60th place. So until then team members should keep their trivia skills honed and those notebooks full.
-AlexVan Dreel
-TFC: Webmaster |
 |
Trivia 35: Thanks For The Contest
April 16, 17, 18, 2004
Team Name: TFC 24: Trivial Malfunction
Finish: 101st Place out of 442 Teams
3805 points
Notes: Excellent! This was it! This year we finally broke out! Honestly, our goal this year was to just make it into the top 150, as I had no clue what to expect out of all of the new players joining the team. This year we only had about 5 or 6 people who crossed over from last year, and most of the new players were my friends who, until last year, had a different team that they have played on. We also had several people who were new to trivia, which we had to show the "ropes". This year we upped our computer count from 3 to 10 so that helped enormously. Although this year we unfortunately had a zombie outbreak. The zombies came from out of town, and infected several members of our team, including myself. Some members of my team were disemboweled, and some lost their limbs.
Eventually, we got the zombie outbreak under control near the end of the weekend, and we were able to have a full-time team again. We lost a lot of good players this year, but that didn't stop us on our quest to the top 150.
May the poor players who were killed in the zombie outbreak R.I.P.
That said, this year I was very impressed with everyone on the team, we all played our hearts out, and the payoff was huge! There were a few things that we still need to improve upon for next year, mainly 'Music Snippet Questions', and usage of sources other then the internet. We were in 'the basement' again this year, with the same 3 bare-light bulb lighting scheme that we always have had, hopefully next year the lighting will be finished. We also need a better ventilation system, so we can get some of 'the stank' and heat out of the basement during the contest. We placed 101st, which is by far the best place this team had taken in it's 24 year history. Everyone had such a good time this year, and the chemistry was so great that most everyone is coming back for next year's contest, and our goal will be set much higher, seeing how there is no danger of further zombie outbreaks.
- Corey Scharrer
-spsmartguy@gmail.com ~or~ cscha276@uwsp.edu
|
 |
Trivia 34: Survivor Trivia
April 18, 19, 20, 2003
Team Name: TFC 23: Toronto or Bust
Finish: 212th Place out of 456 Teams
2650 points
Notes: This year, was one of the best years that our team has ever had, our goal was to beat the previous year's score, and we did that with flying colors. 2650 Points was the most ever gained by our team, and we even got the final question correct! (Thanks Todd) The name is kind of complicated to explain but I shall try: Me and Todd were both in choir, and this year's trip was to Toronto and it was during Trivia weekend, which sucked. The choir teachers were pussies and they decided that because of SARS we shouldn't go to toronto, but instead spend way too much money to go to Chicago. Chicago was not exciting to me and Todd so we decided that we would go to Toronto, but not Chicago, and in the end we stayed here for Trivia because honestly who wants to pay $400 to go to Chicago??? In the end we even got most of the $400 back from the trip and we both had the times of our lives here in Point! Toronto or Bust? We busted!!! I tried to get as many people who would actually play as possible, and I did a pretty good job, except for a few people. (You know who you are ;) ) This year we wanted 4 computers on the high cable modem connection, but we could only figure out how to get 3 on there. From the beginning, a lot of people left and came back, and we always had someone up on the computers. One memory that I am quite fond of was Todd sleeping under the foosball table. I was mostly in charge of the Trivia Stone, which we proudly spent probably 6 more hours then we should have on the road because of a couple of dodgy clues from the OZ (Faded Fruit picture?? Ducks Unlimited??) This is the first year that I wasn't actually alone on the last hour, because me and Todd were the only ones here for the last 4 hours or so. Also, I found out that Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City are GREAT ways to let out that pre-during-post trivia stress.. if you don't believe me, just ask Todd!
|
 |
Tri
via 33: All in the Contest
April 19, 20, 21, 2002
Team Name: TFC 22: Screw It! Just Mumble
Finish: 226th Place out of 456 Teams
2300 points
Notes: Trivia Registration.. ha.. I was there on day one of registration, waiting in line for hours to get into the building. This was on a freak really really hot day in the middle of April, and the sun was killing me, so I decided to drink one of the free Red Bull energy drinks that were being passed out. This turned out to be a BAD idea, because the mix of the sun and the drink gave me a 103.5 fever for the next week, including during trivia, so I had to bank on all other members of the team to do most of the work. I was sick for most of trivia so I don't really remember that much happening. We had an average year and finished a bit lower then I wanted to,
oh well, it was mostly my sister's friends anyway. Moral of the story Red Bull + Hot Sun = Miss Trivia |
 |
Trivia 32: The Old Days
April 20, 21, 22, 2001
Team Name: TFC: Just Four Girls
Finish: 358th Place out of 460 Teams
800 points
Notes: AS you could probably tell by the name, this year, I was absent from the team. Being grown up on Trivia, I was not very happy at all that I had to miss it, but I couldn't give up the once in a lifetime chance of going to New Orleans to a national competition with my swing choir (Yes, I was a loser and arguably still am) Instead, I put my sister in control of the team, and she ruined it. They (four f***ing girls) stopped playing halfway through the weekend. Sh*t. Oh well, nothing to report from New Orleans other then I had fun with 3 girls.. 2 from Texas. ;) (NO NOT THAT YOU PERV) |
 |
Trivia 31: The Bug Strikes
April 14, 15, 16, 2000
Team Name: TFC: The New Generation
Finish: 196th Place out of 466 Teams
2300 points
Notes: Well this is it, finally the year that the older members sign off, and I get a team of my own members. Yippee. I invited my
first girlfriend over, so I (being in 9th Grade) spent most of my time with her, and less time paying attention to the contest, my bad and this
wont happen again. I did, however, play a good deal too. This was the year that the computers were all "off" because of the dreaded Y2k BUG
(Wisconsin is always the last state that things happen to ;) ) Anyway, this year for one of the stone clues, we went out to find the stamp, and luck had it that we would see the stamping place on the outskirts of town on the way into town, so we didn't have to try and find it, which was good and lazy, like our team. This year we managed to get 3 computers on the same dial-up connection at the same time with these special cards, so the internet helped again. Kleenex was the word of the weekend because we had um.. a slight cold problem, where at least half the team had a cold. OOPS! |
 |
Trivia 30: Like It's 1999
April 16, 17, 18, 1999
Team Name: The French Connection XX: Now Online
Finish: 185th Place out of 492 Teams
2195 points
Notes: YES! This year we moved to my house, into a much .. nicer atmosphere. Granted, we are now 3 miles out of town, so
Grocery questions are out of the question, and the Trivia Stone is just a bit more difficult. There was some confusion after the actual starting
year of "The French Connection" and we came up with 20 for this year, but later I am proven this is wrong (oops :S )This is the first year that we have the
internet, and we have a DIAL UP CONNECTION!! YEAH BABY! It's better then nothing, and we take the best place that we have in a long time.
Most of the members of the team this year were really annoying, and playing was really the least of our concerns at times, except for me of course.
The Trivia Stone went off without a hitch as usual, and we got the full point values. However, our team cant pull off getting any
big point value questions at all, the highest probably being about 55 points. Needless to say, my motivation is not yet in full swing.
|
 |
Trivia 29: On the Road
April 17, 18, 19, 1998
Team Name: The French Connection XVIII
Finish: 211th Place out of 520 Teams
1850 points
Notes: This was the first year that I took over the team. At this point, we had the team at my grandmothers house, because we weren't
quite ready to move it over to my house. This year was the first year that the Trivia Stone was back (THANK GOD)
after a few year's absence, which was a good thing.. because they are easy points, but I couldn't drive, so I missed out on a big
part of Trivia myself. The members this year were my immediate relatives and the finish was respectable considering we didn't quite
yet have the internet, but we were in town so we were close for some grocery questions. Besides that I don't remember much about this years contest.
|
|
Trivia 28: Mission Trivia
Dates: Classified
Team Name: The French Connection
Finish: 248th place out of 526 Teams
1570 points
Notes: All information pertaining to Trivia 28: Mission Trivia has been deemed
C-57 Classified and cannot be commented on at this time.
|
 |
|
