*eerie, ethereal tones, followed by majestic brass motif*
Showdown—the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Trophy McCarthy. Its 20-year mission: To explore strange new bars. To seek out new night-life and new peregrinations. To boldly split infinitives where no infinitives have been split before…
*music swells to theremin-like vocal melody over a background of driving brass and bongos*
Cup(tin)’s log, ScaRatings-date 02142018: It has been twenty years since I began my Enterprise as a Voyager trekking across the continent on my mission of Discovery. Starting with the Cat-bird people of Hyooston Prime, I have ventured literally from coast to coast: On the East Coast, I spent a couple of years with the N’york people of B-4, and even longer with the Slammers of D.C.; and on the West Coast I spent several more years with the Orange people of Da-Nee K. I traveled so far west that I met the East Side Mario people in the deserts of Lossvaygus. The K-zoo Krew in MeeSheeGun were hospitable hosts; as were the StayDeeUm people of Da’lass and the Pub People I met on my return to Hyooston Prime. Along the way I have faced many dangers and witnessed many battles, including struggles with the notorious Borg. Yet in all these years, by far the most damage I have received has been at the hands of the competing factions of UPS, USPS, and FedEx.
Now, for the fourth time, the mysterious cult called “The Fellowship of NEO” has made me its captive. Like the Gamesters of Triskelion, the Fellowshippers have staged an elaborate contest pitting various groups against each other, offering me as the prize for the winner. I encourage all those out there in ScaRfleet to participate in this contest. While choosing to do battle with other groups in this manner has its Pros and Cons, I believe you should embrace the potential glory of Pros, even if it means facing the potential Wrath of Cons. This is not a Kobayashi Maru scenario: there WILL be a winner, and my mission will continue.
OFFICIAL RULES:
As has become customary for this tournament, it is for wetware teams only. This means no computers and no references of any kind are to be used during gameplay, either paper or electronic (or telecommunication from outside the location). Using the Buzztime Playmaker app on electronic devices such as iPhones, iPads, or Droid phones is fine, of course, as long as this is the only purpose for which the device is being used, and it is being used in and for the location of the team. Just to be clear, if a team violates this rule or engages in any form of cheating, it is a disqualifying offense.
All teams that abide by this primary rule are welcome to play, either by signing up on ScaRatings or BadBart or otherwise contacting ANON. All teams must register no later than MIDNIGHT (EDT) ON SUNDAY, MARCH 4. We reserve the right to personally invite additional qualified teams after the deadline to round out the field. Play will commence on March 6 and will continue weekly until the end of the tournament. If past years are any guide (and barring unforeseen circumstances), the probable ending date of the tournament will thus be APRIL 24.
There will be two phases to the tournament. First, a four-week qualifying phase will start on March 6 in which the total points for each team will be tracked. Each team will be able to drop one low score for the final cumulative total after the March 27 game. The top teams thus calculated will advance to the knockout phase of competition. This will give teams the ability to stay in the competition even if a glitch or system crash knocks them out one week (this seems to have happened to at least one team in almost every past tournament). In such cases, the week of the glitch/crash will serve as the dropped score for those teams.
The second phase will be a standard bracketed elimination phase. The number of teams in the knockout round will depend on how many teams sign up (for example, if only 18 teams sign up, we would be more likely to have 8 rather than 16 in the final round). Seedings for the brackets will be determined by the cumulative score described above.
Should Buzztime have a system-wide repeat game (or other disruptive glitch affecting much or all of the system) during the tournament, that week’s scores will be ignored and the tournament will be extended by a week. Teams faced with a sudden close or loss of Buzztime at their home location may play at another location as long as they notify ANON in advance of the game and continue to follow contest rules in the new location. In general, we take no responsibility for and offer no solution nor redress for localized problems (i.e. power outages, lack of players due to illness or vacation, etc.) with one possible exception: If a team in the semi-finals or finals suffers a documentable and unavoidable mid-game crash, its victorious opponent may invite that team to a rematch, but is under no obligation to do so.
The winning team will receive not just the glory of being the brainiest bunch out there, but also the custody for one year of the beautif...er...majesti...um...OK, let’s be honest: the McCarthy Cup is the ugliest trophy in any field of human endeavor, and has an appearance that not even a Gorn’s mother would love. Still, it is the most venerable and well-travelled trophy in the Showdown Trivia Universe, and a badge of honor for any team that can claim it. The winner will receive the right to have a plaque with its team name and date inscribed on it placed on the base, and the responsibility of hosting the 21st annual tournament next spring.
You have all been invited to join in the fun. Make it so.
The Fellowship is in.
_________________ Anon "He may seem like Mr. Rogers but a dark spirit lies beneath."
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