The Nightcap

During this Reds' rain delay tonight, I watched a new show on Fox Sports Ohio called "Beer Money" and it truly made me dislike "Sports Fans". Let me clarify that when I say Sports Fans, I do not mean fans of sports teams, I mean people who pretend to be fans because its the cool thing to do. This happens in every city and for every team but it frustrates me more when it involves Cincinnati. The premise of the show Beer Money is a basic question and answer trivia game involving "fans" from bars for the opportunity to win money.

Every contestant claims to be a fan and is wearing some form of their team's logo on their clothing. You would think this would lead to some general knowledge of the team for which you are claiming an affiliation, sadly it does not. Let's run through some of the contestants:

First contestant is an older gentleman who claims to have "always been a Reds fan" and is now a "big Reds fan". The question he got wrong: What Red led the team in stolen bases and home runs during the 90s? I am ok with him getting the question wrong, I am not ok that his guess was Joe Morgan. Morgan, a member of the Big Red Machine, stopped playing for the Reds in 1979. Clearly this "big Reds fan" was paying a lot of attention during the 90s. The answer, by the way, is Barry Larkin which should have been pretty simple to guess.

The second contestant gets all three answers correct and wins $130.00. True fan. Congrats.

For the record, I recognize that I hold so much anger for these people because I am jealous that they get to be on a show and answer sports related questions while I do not. I am bitter and I am fine with that.

Another contestant later in the show is asked the name of the stadium that the Reds played in from 1996-2002 and was told that this stadium was also named Riverfront Stadium. The guy's guess? Riverfront Stadium. No man, the answer to the question is not part of the question. Fail. Correct Answer: Cinergy Field.

Perhaps my favorite contestant of the night was Jason from Batavia, naturally I had high hopes for Jason but he quickly let me down. Jason was asked to name as many starters as he could for the Reds on Opening Day 2013, this was last season. I just want to make that clear. His responses:

- Mat Latos: Wrong but a fair guess
- Zack Cozart: Correct, but I do find it strange that he was his second guess
- Jay Bruce: Again, correct.
- Joey Votto: Another correct. Great Job!

Then it all falls apart....

- Edinson Volquez: What? Volquez was part of the deal that brought the Reds Mat Latos, the first guess. Would be weird for them both to be starting for the Reds.
- Brandon Phillips: Correct, perhaps the Volquez guess was just a temporary mind stumble. No, it wasn't
- Scott Rolen: Retired
- Ken Griffey Jr.: Clearly that is not a serious answer
- Chris Heisey: A strange current player to know considering all of the ones that he is not saying, but wrong.
- Joe Morgan: Again, 1979. Why does this city think Joe Morgan has been playing forever?
- Chris Sabo: Sadly, no.

Maybe I am more bothered by this than I should be or maybe everyone shares my disdain. Maybe I should write a letter to Beer Money and ask to be the next participate.