From the Stevens Point Journal April 14, 2008:

Letdown part of Trivia

The scores are tallied; the pizza boxes are stacked, and the Trivia-goers lucky enough to be able to take off a day of work are fast asleep. Of course, the end of Trivia really isn't the end for Trivia die-hards, but it does provide the week's last Trivia-pedia entry: "Trivia lag."

Also known as "Trivia letdown," Trivia lag is an irrefutable example of the basic laws of cause and effect. If you prepared well for Trivia -- took notes, stored up on caffeine, organized a computer database -- then you probably did well. And if you did well, you probably wore yourself out doing it.

Members of the team “We Get By W/A Lil Help From Caffeine,” playing from a Plover garage, celebrate a correct answer in the 39th Trivia contest. THOMAS KUJAWSKI/STEVENS POINT JOURNAL

Consider the physical toll the contest takes on the body. Fifty-four hours of wakefulness, a steady diet of junk food, and constant mental stimulation -- it's no surprise that Trivia comes only once a year. Stevens Pointers love their Trivia, but, by and large, they love their sanity, too.

Which explains the preponderance of heavy-lidded people walking the streets of Stevens Point today.

"There's nothing worse than Trivia lag," says Rog Badgley, a Trivia fan and a University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point student who promised to be at school Monday. "You're completely worthless, but you're there. You're pretty much just a slug."

Still, even if Trivia lag leaves a hole in one's soul, says Trivia fan Jennifer Asuquo, "it's only a small one, because you know it's going to be filled by next Trivia."

May the circle be unbroken? Just so long as you get to take a nap.

What in past years has been a fanfare of paper streamers and papier-mâché floats shrunk to a more modest procession this year, as drizzle, cold weather and occasional hail beleaguered the annual Trivia kickoff parade.