--- In quizbowl_at_y..., tfmichael1 <no_reply_at_y...> wrote:
> Indeed. And, as the great Mr. Waters would often recount the tale,
a
> teammate negged on #20 and cost him the perfect match. This is the
> reason he gave in the mid-90's for playing solo. He really wanted
the
> Perfect Game.
>
> In fact, the first time I ever heard him tell the tale was after
> watching him go 19 for 20 while playing solo at, IIRC, a tournament
> in Maryland.
Was this versus GWU B at the 1995 Terrapin? If so, Tom's strategy of
playing solo did him no better, because at that tournament he still
got the first 19 without getting tossup 20. The answer, IIRC,
was "Georgia" (the country, not the state), and, unfortunately for
Tom, the average GWU team of the mid-90s had at least one national
security wonk. In this case, it was Anna Stafford, a Russian
specialist.
Also on the subject of near-perfect games: at ACF Regionals one year,
I sat on a tossup despite having a really strong (and correct) hunch
that the answer was "Queen Anne." A teammate of mine negged on it
instead.
We went 19-1, half a step behind most perfect game contenders.
However, if I had gone in, not only would we have had the perfect
game, but we would have done it by having all four players go 5-0.
- David Vacca