Quizbowl team quickly conquers competition
By Daniella Snyder, Web Content Manager
Bilger (holding trophy) takes picture with the rest of his team at their most recent tournament.
Try this trivia question on for size: This character admonishes another to not show others the “the steep and thorny way to heaven” while treading the “primrose path of dalliance.” In one scene, this character hands out flowers and herbs but keeps rue to herself. A character picks up a skull at this character’s burial, at which this character’s brother jumps into the grave.
Got it figured out yet? Considered one of the “easier” questions he has seen, Gettysburg’s Quizbowl captain Ryan Bilger seems to know it all. Within the first weeks of his college career, Bilger began a petition to create a Quizbowl team, competing to answer challenging trivia questions against other colleges across the country. An avid Quizbowl-er in high school, Bilger wanted to leave his mark on the campus by doing what he loves: answering difficult trivia questions. Within only a few months, Ryan had the team, the Senate recognition, the competition dates, and most importantly—the trivia buzzers for practice.
He and seven other team members meet weekly, each member proving to be a near-expert in their favorite topics. For Ryan, it is literature and art history. He reads voraciously each day on his subjects and most likely studies more for Quizbowl than most do for a class in their major.
At their most recent tournament, the fresh-faced Gettysburg team came in second place overall, crushing teams from VCU, Georgetown, and UPenn along the way. Bilger says winning the national Quizbowl tournament would be the biggest accomplishment overall. The prize? A big trophy, along with eternal glory, but no monetary compensation. This team’s goal is knowledge for the sake of knowledge; pretty “Gettysburg Great,” if you ask me.
Like trivia? Want to know more? Attend their weekly practice every Thursday at 4:30 in Breidenbaugh 403. And for those of you dying to know the answer to the terrifying trivia question, Ophelia was the correct answer for 10 Quizbowl points.
