Speaking **entirely for myself**, and without regard to any particular organizations... --- In quizbowl_at_yahoogroups.com, cbijustgothosedagain <no_reply_at_y...> > Everyone already plays everyone anyway in the > round robin, so what's the point of playoffs if a team has a three- > game advantage on the field? Two reasons come immediately to mind (apart from the trivial one that CBCI had announced the tournament format, and failing to hold a playoff would have contradicted their announcement): 1. I think giving everyone else a chance to see the best teams face each other head-to-head, championship on the line, is a Very Good Thing. Maybe other people's quiz-bowl experiences were different but I always used to deeply enjoy watching (or better yet playing in) the finals of any given tournament. The first time I went to a tournament that had no final, the day seemed incomplete. Maybe people have just gotten used to this phenomenon, but if so, they don't know what they're missing out on. :-) 2. A championship game (or chamionship series) is at a higher level of competition/intensity than anything that comes before it. If some players rise to the occasion, then this is *the* occasion to rise to. > reasons I don't like [CBI]. The imaginary TV audience is another. I'm not sure what this refers to but in general it seems to me that quiz tournaments should, at least to some extent, be audience- friendly. I think this is a really fun game (isn't it? - if not, what else would the purpose(s) of playing be?), one that a whole lot of other people might enjoy playing. Imagine that your friends (or parents, or even professors) ask you about your hobbies, about how you spend your time. Once you mention quiz-bowl, it seems natural to me that friends might want to see a game, or at least hear sample questions. It's a lot easier for people to understand why this game is so fun if they can enjoy watching a game. Unfortunately, a whole lot of college quiz play is (in my opinion) extremely audience-unfriendly. If other people are turned off from the game, then it won't have as much participation, nor as much support, as it probably should. All that said, I'm sure there are some things that would make quiz- bowl somewhat more audience friendly but significantly less enjoyable to the players. I suppose it depends on the specific idea. > Of course, everyone knew the playoff format ahead of time, unlike > NAQT ICT or ACF Nationals. Although I wasn't at the ICT opening meeting (I was in a stat room), I believe NAQT went over the Div I and Div II formats in quite some detail.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0: Sat 12 Feb 2022 12:30:47 AM EST EST