New Scaratings

I just learned this morning that our friend Dave Matthews passed away last night, right about the time the team was playing at Stringz and Wingz. I know some of my other teammates will want to chime in, but in trying to think of an anecdote to reflect the kind of guy Dave was, I can think of no better one than how he came to the team.

When Damon's Stow shut down unexpectedly in the middle of a tournament, we had to find a new place to play on a few days' notice. Thus it was that we descended en masse on Damon's Twinsburg one Tuesday night. I can't really blame any of the regulars for being put off by an unsolicited invasion of their home bar by a boisterous, answer-sharing throng. Many of them were, and stopped coming (at least on Tuesdays)--but not Dave. Despite the way we intruded on his turf, he was unfailingly pleasant and gracious, and then followed with us to Stringz and Wingz when Damon's Twinsburg also shut down.

Always smiling, always friendly, always funny, always a team player: Dave helped make Tuesdays a great time, win or lose.

Thank you for sticking with us, Dave. We're going to miss you.

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Anon
"He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."

"Celebrate, we will... because life is short but sweet for certain..."

I will definitely miss DMBAND's contributions... and of course his awesome and unending support for The Fellowship and all of the teammates.

"Celebrate to be sure
We're climbing two by two
To be sure these days continue
Things we cannot change..."

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RABBIT

I'm not bad -- I'm just drawn that way.

Condolences from Hillbillyville...sad news.

Dave was a great part of The Fellowship, and also someone I had spirited Countdown games against at Wing Warehouse in Northfield.
He had been in hospice for a while, so this is no sudden shock, but it still feels like it's Too Much to see him Away From The World.

There have to be countless men named Dave Matthews, and I'm sure he got his grief for sharing the name of a famous singer, but as his trivia handle proved, he embraced it. That's the kind of guy Dave was. As ANON said, always friendly and always smiling.

I only made one night of Triviapalooza last year because I had to replace a Mac. Macs aren't cheap to replace, and neither is the Adobe Creative Suite. So, I ended up going with Microsoft Office for Mac (a much cheaper alternative if you need to fire out a resume or send documents), and there was this thing called Excel on it, which is not the most intuitive program in the world.

There Dave was, giving me the 101 on Excel, and actually giving me the basis of being able to USE that program! That's the kind of man Dave was.

Dave also checked the Playmakers at Wing Warehouse, identifying the boxes that were bad and giving the staff and patrons the heads-up on which boxes to avoid. Our Countdown rivalry was close and friendly, and we'd often finish within 20 points of each other. One of the last time I saw Dave there, he was having his signature Long Island Iced Tea and playing, saw me walk in, and told the bartender "Give him Box 13!"

I had to laugh, as we both knew that Box 13 would make it two rounds of questions with luck before failing.

Our mano-a-mano Countdown rivalry was all in good fun, with mutual respect, but Wednesdays in Northfield, Ohio now leave me feeling like Ohio State with no Michigan on the schedule.

Dave, it was One Sweet World while you were here.

Sorry for your loss.

So sorry to hear this.

Condolences from a Browns fan in southwest Ohio