The Blogger Games – Closing Ceremony

Not to get all Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman on you, but it’s time to say goodbye.

Welcome to the Closing Ceremony of the first (and last?) Blogger Games!

Before we get into some behind-the-scenes commentary, let’s take a look back at who won medals during the True or False leg of this fierce competition.

WEEK 5 – TRUE OR FALSE

Competitors: T, Aaron, Venus, Monty, rebbit7, Ben

1. I used to have two pet fish named “Fish E.” and “Binoculars”.
A) True
B) False

Correct: rebbit7

I am a terrific liar, apparently. This question came together almost too quickly in my head. I was thinking of names for fish and Fish E. was a given, and then I pictured big eyes and Binoculars was born.

2. I got lost in an Olive Garden (the restaurant).
A) True
B) False

Correct: T, Venus, Monty, rebbit7, Ben

It was New Year’s Eve. My friends and I were leaving the restaurant and I was ahead of everyone else, thinking I was making my way to the exit. Instead, I was headed right for the kitchen. Follow your nose, right?

3. I found $5 in a book at the public library.
A) True
B) False

Correct: Venus, Monty

Again, I am a great liar, it seems. I never found anything in a library book.

4. I was vacuuming the house at Age 3.
A) True
B) False

Correct: T, Aaron, Venus

Okay, maybe I wasn’t getting every nook and cranny, but there are multiple photos of me holding a vacuum. So, it’s legit.

5. I fell in a puddle at recess in elementary school.
A) True
B) False

Correct: T, Aaron, Venus, Monty, rebbit7, Ben

Oh man, I think it was Grade 5 or 6. The field was wet, yet we were allowed to play on it. Big puddles always collected on the side of the field, near the fence. I’m not sure why, so I’m just going to say, “drainage issues”.

Anyway, we were playing soccer and the ball rolled into the puddle. No one was going after it, initially. And then I made eye contact with a guy on the other team and we both darted for the ball at the same time.

If I remember correctly, my mindset wasn’t even to go for the ball. It was to just bait someone else into running after it – no, not so they’d fall – and then I’d slow down and try and take it from them.

Well, I tried to slow down, but slipped. It was basically one of those movie falls where you slip, feel like you fly in the air a bit, and then fall flat on your back. That’s what I did. Smack. Right in the middle of the huge puddle. The other kid didn’t fall.

I was drenched, but that moment of hitting the water was a bit refreshing.

6. I don’t drink coffee.
A) True
B) False

Correct: T, Aaron, Venus, Monty, rebbit7, Ben

I have tried a teaspoon of coffee. That’s all.

7. I keep a lucky penny in my sock.
A) True
B) False

Correct: T, Aaron, Monty, rebbit7

No. Canada doesn’t even use pennies anymore, how could they be lucky?

8. I prefer to use a pencil instead of a pen.
A) True
B) False

Correct: Aaron, Ben

Pens are smoother and I don’t like the smell that pencils leave on my fingers.

9. I like cauliflower with tomato sauce.
A) True
B) False

Correct: Aaron, Monty, Ben

Maybe this is an Italian thing? When you’re cooking the cauliflower in the pot, you throw in some oil, some water, and then a tablespoon (or so) of tomato sauce. You basically water paint the cauliflower red.

It’s not like I’m taking cauliflower and then dumping sauce on it, as if its pasta. Though, I have done that before. It’s still good.

10. I normally eat dinner after 7PM.
A) True
B) False

I like to eat between 5-6:30. I’ll start eating before 5, if I’m really eager. If I eat after 7, it probably means I fell asleep.

Correct: Venus

Total for Week 5
1. Aaron – 6 [GOLD]
1. Monty – 6 [GOLD]
1. Venus – 6 [GOLD]
4. rebbit7 – 5
4. T – 5
4. Ben – 5
DNP: Reid – (11)
DNP: Sarah – (3)
DNP: Meghan – (3)

Congratulations to Aaron, Monty(!), and Venus for taking home Gold this week! As a result, Silver and Bronze are not handed out.

I don’t play favourites, but I pumped by fist three times when Monty won gold.

Combined Total
1. rebbit7 – 23 [GOLD]
1. Venus – 23 [GOLD]
3. T – 20 [BRONZE]
3. Aaron – 20 [BRONZE]
5. Ben – 17
6. Monty – 13
7. Reid – 11
8. Sarah – 3
8. Meghan – 3

After combining the scores from all five weeks, we have a tie for Gold between rebbit7 and Venus! We also have a tie for Bronze between T and Aaron! And here I was thinking that after 50 questions, there wouldn’t be any ties. I guess not!

FINAL MEDAL TABLE

Name	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Venus	2	2	1	5
rebbit7	3	–	1	4
Aaron	1	2	1	4
T	1	1	2	4
Ben	–	1	1	2
Monty	1	–	–	1
Reid	1	–	–	1
Sarah	–	–	1	1
Meghan	–	–	–	–

Venus is our overall medal winner! Congratulations!

For the final time, thanks to Monty (@MontyVern on Twitter) for creating this fantastic photo for me to use.

Inside The Blogger Games

Okay, let’s spill some secrets.

As some of you guessed, The Blogger Games were inspired by the Olympics. They were an idea that I hastily threw together, without much planning.

Initially, they were called, “The Blog Friend Olympics” and the first post actually went up with that title! But then my brain went into a panic and remembered the Olympics don’t like it when people use their name.

I didn’t want to get sued, even though I did some extensive (20 minutes) research on Google and figured I would’ve been in the clear because I wasn’t using it for commercial gain.

Nevertheless, why risk it for a Triscuit?

I had a hard time thinking of an alternate name and then The Blogger Games just came to me. It seemed to have the exact same menacing title (right guys?) as The Hunger Games, so I was good with it.

I thought my topics each week were going to be: food, sports, music, TV, and my life, but by the time I finished food and sports, I realized there weren’t really going to be many great questions for the other topics.

That’s why Week 3 was Preferences and Week 4 was basically a combination of TV, Music, and “famous things”. Week 5 ended up being True or False questions because I couldn’t think of any other broad topic.

Plus, it would increase your odds of getting the questions right.

I severely overestimated how well I thought you guys knew me and came out of the gates in Week 1 with FOUR multiple choice options per question. I quickly realized that was too many and yet, I doubled down on it for Week 2.

I’m sorry about that.

By Week 3, I never provided more than three options for a question.

Many of you said the questions were hard – that was the point.

I wanted to make it an even playing field for everyone because I didn’t know who would participate. My thinking was, if you’ve been following me for years, you’ll have an advantage over those who just discovered my blog.

As a result, I made the questions tough and mentioned things that I hadn’t before. That way, you were all, somewhat, equally oblivious.

Your answers were a fun way to see how you perceive me and who I actually am in real life.

Will there be a Blogger Games 2? I have no idea right now. I’ve pretty much run out of personal questions to ask you. I can’t ask you questions that have actual answers because then you’d just Google them.

So, it’s tricky.

That’s why when I do The Captain’s Quiz, I’m in control of what answers I’m looking for. Blog Quizzes are very hard and I’ve basically created two separate series of them. Who let me do this?

All that being said, my hamster wheel is always turning and I’m sure if I put my mind to it, I could come up with a premise for a Blogger Games 2.

For now, my attention shifts back to The Captain’s Quiz. The next instalment was supposed to happen about three weeks ago, but I figured it would be too confusing to do that and The Blogger Games at the same time.

Hopefully, you will see it within the first half of September. I already have ideas for the two (maybe 3) quizzes following that one, so stay tuned.

That’s it.

A big thank you to everyone who participated in The Blogger Games, whether you were here for one week, or all five weeks. I really appreciate the commitment!

It was fun to see you having fun with this and getting way way way too into it. That’s what I love to see. A passion for something that ultimately doesn’t matter.

I hereby declare The Blogger Games officially closed.