Full Kit W*nker

In last week's post, I discussed the idea of having UC contestants returning for multiple series, which would make it a bit more like American college sports. And also more like UK quizbowl, in which the top teams from each university compete against each other, with the best players appearing for multiple years on the same squad.

Well, with that in mind, I watched this week's match between Edinburgh (my alma mater) and Manchester dressed in all of my University of Edinburgh gear in a bid to try and make the atmosphere a bit more like Ohio State vs Michigan.

Unfortunately, the only gear I own is a thermal base layer and a reusable coffee cup, so I don't think I brought the same vibes. Maybe that's the next step towards making my suggestion happen - University Challenge team kits (specifically for UC, I'm not just talking general uni sweatshirts).

Shameless Plug

A wee note before we start (and I know I've said this before, but things have escalated) - I won't be using Twitter (X) as a way of promoting and posting the blog going forward. It has been getting more and more decrepit over the past couple of years and has gone off the deep end in recent months.

The point being - if you know anyone or anywhere who might enjoy this blog, I would be very grateful if you shared it with them, as my discovery is going to have to be a bit more... organic going forward.

Anyway, let's move on to the actual match...

Here's your first starter for ten.

Truth gives Amjad the opening points, and Edinburgh took one bonus on poems by Coleridge, though they are fortunate that they waited for the whole question, which made clear the answer was nightingale, rather than rushing in with their first thought, which was albatross.

Cocteau gave Richards his first points, and they took a pair on the First International Labour Movement. A starter is dropped before Amjad takes another to win a bonus set on the Fallout series of games. Another for Richards, along with a pair of fives, put Edinburgh 70 points clear going into the first picture round.

Manchester finally got on the board with the flag of the British East India Company, the buzz coming, predictably, from their captain, Madgwick, who had taken 18 of their 20 starters over the first two matches. A hat-trick of flags on the bonuses got Manchester rolling, but they couldn't capitalise, and Amjad's Wheel of Time rolled the momentum back in Edinburgh's direction.

Continuing his double-act with Amjad, Richards picks up the next starter, pushing Edinburgh into three digits.

Hearing the words 'Manchester Art Gallery' perks up Dickson, who leans with intent, but it turns out the question is on obscure Classics, and in the end it is Madgwick who buzzes, though he is wrong and loses five points. They are determined to get back into it, and coming in early is a good tactic when Edinburgh have been so dominant on the buzzer, but it doesn't pay off on this occasion.

Magdwick blunders on the next question too, buzzing with Piedmont when the question had asked for a city, allowing Richards to steal the points with Turin (the capital of the Piedmont region). Had this gone their way, perhaps the outcome might have been different, but after the bonuses, the gap is 115 points, and Edinburgh are in a form too sublime to surrender such a lead.

Still, Manchester don't give up, and Madgwick displays some of their typical bravura with a buzz after a few seconds on the music starter. A couple more starters for the skipper give them a respectable score, but they don't come close to troubling Edinburgh, who look a very assured team.

Manchester 80 - 195 Edinburgh

Manchester had been relying heavily on Madgwick's buzzer prowess (indeed, all five of their starters came courtesy of the captain tonight), and this weakness finally came home to roost, as Madgwick alone was unable to cope with the one-two punch of Richards (7) and Amjad (5).

Next week sees UCL take on Merton. See you (and all of the new subscribers you will have captured for me ;) then)