I would like to second Sean's comments -- playing
with class, and even winning, are great ways to combat
arrogance in quizbowl. Though I've been lucky enough to
associate with a great many wonderful (and non-arrogant)
quizbowlers, there is definitely arrogance in the quizbowl
circuit; it is something that must be dealt with, and
hopefully changed. While rude comments have no place in the
game, and game disruption is thoroughly undesirable,
twenty-five minutes spent in protest are not necessarily
"wasted"; hopefully quizbowlers have a sincere desire to
learn information, and in doing so have a natural
inclination to determine the correctness of an answer. In
many cases I would be more inclined to blame a
tournament without effective means of protest resolution
(e.g., anything Chip Beall runs) for undue delays. I
would also ask teams to refrain from yelling "stall"
and the like -- there are certainly more sportsmanly
ways to raise such an issue.
Win and lose with
class, and enjoy the game; quizbowl's positive aspects
can far outweigh arrogance.
Sincerely,
Nate
Meyvis