Name
They say everything is in a name.
I once heard that if you look at major corporate and political leaders, they tend to have a certain ring to their name. Maybe that theory has been disproved by President Barack Obama, but nevertheless, you don’t see many Barthalomew’s leading our country into war. Just saying.
So, we took it VERY seriously during our first week of trivia when it came time to name our team. Our decision would determine everything. Self worth. What our competition thought of us. Whether the MC would give us the benefit of the doubt on our answers. It meant everything. It meant street cred.
Bob Saget’s Fan Club.
What? Didn’t you hear what I said? We needed to intimidate those around us. And what better way than with some washed up actor/comedian who still preys on his former twin child co-stars, only now with dirty, filthy lines. All for laughs. We knew people would want to know the members of this club.
That week, we finished pretty far from the top.
The next week, it was a different set of friends. Same location for trivia night. We mentioned the name we used the previous week. We were met with blank, blinking stares. The name was not cool. It couldn’t have been more obvious. So, we put our thinking hats on and one friend came up with the winner.
Saucy Intruders.
Personally, I relate to saucy. I often feel saucy when I get a drink or two in me (and what do you think we’re doing while playing trivia?!). And I kind of feel like an intruder on trivia nights, because I am definitely not one of the inner circle of knowledge. Immediately, I liked the name.
Though this blog is all about me, the real world out there isn’t (what a shame!). So, you’ll have to trust me when I say there’s an historic story behind the name. Pierson v. Post. In 1805, this trespassing case came before the Supreme Court. In writing the dissenting opinion for the case, one of the justices described the defendant as being a saucy intruder. As my friend went on to say, she remembers this name because it’s one of the few times where something in law is actually humorous.
And so we changed our name to the Saucy Intruders. We got a laugh from the MC. But, we got the last laugh when we finished markedly better than the previous week. That week, we came in fourth, just out of prize contention.
Which brings me to earlier this week. Another night of trivia. Same location. Both groups from the first two weeks merged into one, strong team. The question was which name? It didn’t take long to convince some of the early team members that Saucy Intruders was a strong name. Stronger than Answers in my Panswers. Able to blow out of the water Freezing my Jingle Bells Off. (Yes, those were both teams this week.) And way more formidable than Bob Saget’s Fan Club.
I like to think the choice in name played a role in the fate of our team. You see, the other night? We finished third. We won gift certificates to a local eatery. And more importantly, we were able to pay tribute to those who came before us. To our namesakes. Those saucy intruders of the early 19th century.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Being a trivia competitor, this is a really big topic for me. We have tried things like using a letter like each of names (K-MAT) and news/pop culture references (Madoff’s Angels) and stupid inside jokes (Chuck up the Deuce). But picking a name each season is hard. We have been “SEE 9″ for 2 seasons -- as the reserved table we sit at each week is known as “C-9″ on the waitstaff’s map of the bar and we were going for our 9th title as a team. Due to a rule change we can’t play together until July 2010. (There were only 2 teams that ever took the championship and they tried to make is a little more fair.) So in January I will have a whole new team and have to think of a new name.
I love that you are doing trivia.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:50 am
I am completely convinced the team name is super important. Love the Saucy Intruders, too. Congrats on a win! I’m terrible at trivia of any kind, so I’ve never been part of a winning trivia team!
I love your new profile pic; I think it’s from your yoga party? Would you ever teach a southern bell just how you wrapped that scarf so beautifully? I love it!!
December 17th, 2009 at 9:04 am
I think that a name can make or break a team, your team, has the perfect name! Its sort of intimidating but still fun. I’m envious, I never come up with good names for anything or when I do, it literally takes forever. Congratulations to your team for winning gift certificates. I hope next week you are even closer to the top. It sounds like a marvelous time with some great people.
December 17th, 2009 at 9:39 am
When I used to play trivia we were team “Steve Holt!” which is from Arrested Development. We consistenly placed in the top three for awhile, but then we gave up on the trivia as some people started cheating (thank you smart phones) and turned to the evening as more of a social hour with some trivia peppered in.
The other time I needed a team name? It was Slippery When Wet. We were SO creative. To be fair, it was during a bar-crawl scavenger hunt in Key West for a bachelorette party so it makes sense, right? We came in third in that contest too. It was quite fun and then we proceed to drink and dance with the coolest couples from England. Their team name? Three Roaming Chicks and Two Strutting Cocks. They took first place in the bar-crawl scavenger hunt.
December 17th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I kind of like Answers in my Panswers. I might have to find a way to use that one.
December 17th, 2009 at 10:10 am
I love the name Saucy Intruders! I always wanted to find a trivia night but never made it. It sounds like you are having a lot of fun and laughs!
Enjoy the fruits of your knowledge.
December 17th, 2009 at 10:43 am
I swear coming up with a clever name is often the hardest part of Trivia Night for me!
December 17th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Congrats! That’s awesome. Though I’m not sure Romeo and Juliet would agree with the importance that you assign to a name.
December 17th, 2009 at 11:12 am
I love the team name, it really does help! lol
My default team name is “The Seductive Penguins”. I can’t really explain why, but it’s really…evocative. lol
December 17th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Great name, although I have to admit I love “Answers in my Panswers”.
I’d be no good with naming a trivia team. I do, however have a name in my back pocket for when I’m ready to start my death-metal-punk-headbanger band. I’m going to call it “Bolus”. Catchy, isn’t it?
December 17th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
When I participated in Pub Quiz at a local bar in Berkeley, our names included: Between Barack and a Hard Place; Barack and Role; and Britney Sheers (this was right after she shaved her head). We won a prize for our name EVERY time!
December 17th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I am THE WORST at names. Andrew and I played just the two of us for awhile, so we were A-Squared. Another time, with friends, we were Team Ubuntu (an African word that loosely translates to “we’re better together” or some such) but no one could ever pronounce it.
December 17th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
How fun! I wish I lived somewhere large enough for trivia competitions. Too fun!
My favorite was when I named our DC Scavenger Hunt team as Disco Lemonade. Awesome!
December 17th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Love this! The name is, hands-down, the most difficult and vital part of trivia night.
My standard is “Fat Kid Get Off The Bus!” but lately have been playing as “Ringo Ate My Baby!”. Apparently the exclamation mark is key.
December 17th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
That’s a great name. And if the members of the group are anything like you, it’s perfect! ;-)
Daniel is frequently trying to work clever phrases into his briefs. Sometimes he reads them to me and they’re a little over the top. He hasn’t asked me in a while, which worries me. I’ll ask him if he can remember anything funny he’s read/written recently.
December 17th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
I TOTALLY highlighted that line in the case! :D
December 17th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
My mind went straight into the gutter on this one. Yep…all I could think was, “I’m totally going to refer to Mr. W’s unit as ‘The Saucy Intruder’ next time we’re in bed.”
Love your new profile picture on here, btw. Very cute!
December 18th, 2009 at 11:07 am
All you need now is tshirts that have “Saucy Intruders” written on them. :D
December 18th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
At the pub where we used to play trivia, there were prizes both for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place and for team names!
December 19th, 2009 at 9:26 am
When I played trivia and disappointed my team, we were Spite Club. You Look Like I Need A Beer were our biggest rivals. We beat them once. And it was glorious.
December 19th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I laughed out loud at Answers in my Pantsers. Our next foray to pub trivia we will be using it for sure!
And what happened to Bob Saget--he is filthy and not even in a funny way—
December 20th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
I need to be on a trivia team. Seriously, I would be awesome. And your team name is awesome. I would be intimidated going against you guys.