Forget all this NAQT nonsense. I just got back from the true national
championship, where participation isn't restricted to just coddled
students. TRASHionals was awesome. The competition was great,
questions were great. Two in the finals drew rounds of applause, and
one of those was a _standing ovation_, which, I would imagine, was the
first standing O for a question in quizbowl history. (It would be
impossible in NAQT, another deficiency in the timed format for you.)
The former I won't describe, since I don't remember the exact wording
and probably would screw up the joke (someone in the know, jump in).
The latter required Dave Murphy to play a round of "Dance Dance
Revolution" on a Playstation 2 home set. Inspired stuff.
Congrats to MKEA, who were truly impressive in the final. And to TRASH
and BU, who hosted a very enjoyable tournament. You won't hear any
complaints about "pyramidality" from me.
Dave