From the Madison Wisconsin Capital Times April 14, 2003:

Ex-Stevens Point Residents Win 3rd Consecutive Trivia Challenge

The Capital Times :: LOCAL/STATE :: 2A

Monday, April 14, 2003
STEVENS POINT (AP)

The "Network: Eye of the Spider" team has won the self-proclaimed world's largest trivia contest for a third-straight time.

It accumulated 8,785 points in the competition during the weekend on WWSP, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point radio station, compared with 8,545 for second place "Tin Man" and 8,505 for third place "Graduates of a Lesser God."

Don Chesebro of Nashville, Tenn., said the Network team is primarily composed of people who grew up or went to school in this central Wisconsin city of about 24,400 people but now live in various locations throughout the country. He said the members have competed in the contest for up to 29 of its 34 years.

"We've learned what you have to do," he said when asked to explain the secret to the team's success.

There were 459 teams and 11,843 people registered for the 54-hour contest which ended at midnight Sunday, said Jim "Oz" Oliva, the lead organizer.

A team named "Weapons-Grade CNOF 54" placed fourth with 8,075 points and "Knights of Neek" was fifth at 7,790.

The marathon of the mind sent trivia buffs scurrying to search books, the Internet, movies and other sources for answers to obscure questions.

Eight questions were broadcast each hour over the radio station. Teams phone in answers within the next two songs played on the air.

Examples of questions include:

What is the name of the record label that signed Fats Domino to a recording contract in 1949? Answer: Imperial.

Patrick and Sponge Bob Squarepants once squared off against each other in the squared circle for a major wrestling match. What piece of food was the wrestling ring built upon? Answer: Hamburger.

The contest also had a "Trivia Stone" treasure hunt that sent players through the city looking for various clues visible in road signs, yards and landmarks to retrieve stamps worth points.

Phil Hartley, 36, hooked three computers to the Internet at his house in the Wood County town of Grand Rapids during the contest.

Hartley said the Internet helps fledging teams like his, which finished in 335th place last year in its first trivia marathon.

"Technology is very important, except for a couple of areas like music and sports," he said.

The contest ran rather smoothly this year, but there were a few glitches, Oliva said.

Organizers ran out of rule books and had to turn away about 10 or 20 teams, he said.

"We had a major computer breakdown earlier when one of our computer people hit the numbers lock key and couldn't input anything," Oliva added. "Upon severe and in-depth computer analysis, I hit the key to unlock, and everything was OK."

Patrick Cady, 34, a Hoboken, N.J., cinematographer, was in Stevens Point to finish a short promotional film he said he plans to use to attract funding for an independent film about the contest. He learned about the event through his wife, Jill, a Stevens Point native.

If funding is secured, Cady plans to film the movie at next year's contest.