Facing tough questions, quiz team members rely on nerve, knowledge to stay competitive

College students are all aware of the sinking feeling when faced with an easy question on a test that causes your mind to go blank. Imagine that feeling multiplied by one hundred. \nKevin Pearce, a junior, is the leader and partial founder of IU's quiz team. He has many years of experience when it comes to participating in quiz bowls, and helped bring that quiz team tradition to IU. \nOriginally from Wilmette, Ill., Pearce actively participated in his high school's quiz team.\n"I have always wanted to know everything," he shrugged as he explained his constant fascination with trivia," he said. "I have always enjoyed watching and playing Jeopardy." \nAlthough Pearce is majoring in music, his love for trivia has broadened his spectrum of knowledge, yet he still involves himself in the music environment during his off time from the team. \n"Aside from the quiz team I usually busy myself with anything dealing with music -- that is my main interest." \nPearce relies on team members to concur and support him during quiz bowl competitions. The team consists of approximately 10-12 members, yet only four teammates participate in each tournament. \nA typical tournament format goes as follows: there is a moderator, two teams (typically) of four, and myriad questions ranging from the Kher Empire in Angkor to the cultural icon for the 1930s within African sports. \nFollowing a tossing of a coin to start the game, the team who wins the first question -- the only one that teams can discuss -- gets 10 points along with the advantage.\nJust like a sports team, no team can be properly prepared for a game without practice. The quiz team practices twice a week. Reading through old packets from previous matches, and participating in as many tournaments as possible, this team tries to ready themselves for the challenge. \nOpponents are chosen from any Midwestern universities within eight hours driving distance from IU. \nUnlike a sports team, there are no conferences and the "starting line-up" of the team is typically a specific theme emulating David Letterman's top ten lists. This line-up tradition also provides one of the team's unspoken pre-game rituals.\nEvery member has gotten involved in the team for different reasons; some played in high school, others just showed up at an open practice and decided to join. \nGraduate student Wesley Mathews said he's been involved in quiz teams ever since middle school. Since then he has had a craving for knowing trivia because it allows him to "learn so much about facts and ideas outside your specialty, so you come to know a lot about many different fields." \nAlthough IU has numerous prospective quiz team members, they are a new team within the Midwest. Two years ago IU participated in the "college bowl", yet the tradition never caught on, causing Pearce to reinvent one upon his arrival at IU. Therefore the current quiz team not only has to focus on the knowledge aspect, but also the growth of the team. \n"The simple fact is, if our quiz bowl team gets people, it could have a very strong future," senior Brian Balta said. "We need more people to be able to put on our own tournaments successfully or to field several teams at tournaments." \nPearce echoes Balta's sentiment. "I hope it lasts, (this team) has seemed to find a whole new enthusiasm for the game."\nSo far Pearce hasn't thrown folding chairs across the room in frustration or challenged an opponent to a brawl in the parking lot.\nBut he was tense when he was clueless to the name of "Joe Lewis" for an obvious answer. Exhilaration and interest is what pumps through the veins of these athletes, and this too is what the current members hope draws new teammates to their new tradition.