Quiz Night in the Paddock
Banff National Park, Alberta
Despite the insistence of many of the energetic hill workers, going out at night in Banff is not always about getting thrashed. The problem is that Banff is just too nice a place to be hung-over. It’s hard to take in the incredible views or enjoy the activities when it feels like there is road works going on inside your head. Sometimes it feels good to replenish your brain cells, while enjoying a beer or three of course. At the Paddock bar on Wednesday nights, the opportunity is there to show off your knowledge or lose some more respect from your friends.
The black board sign outside tempts those passing by to hop down the steps. $4.50 pints of Honey Brown beer, $12 for any pizza and a quiz starting at 8pm – sold! As the bar is fairly hidden off Banff Avenue, it’s hard to know what to expect when you make the trip inside. It is delightfully welcoming and warm. Though there weren’t massive crowds waiting for the quiz to begin because of the early season start, there was certainly enough to be competitive. The Four Desperate Freaks (well thought out name) sat down, ordered pints and massaged the brains.
Question one – wrong. Question two – I told you so. Question 3 – do you think we should just cheat? Don’t worry, your faithful Banff Insider would never cheat. Instead I suffered the humiliation of coming in third last, beating inanimate objects only. There was a bit of a modern twist to this quiz as everything was done through the TV screen. Every question was accompanied by a picture. Though it was nice to have a visual, it seems the atmosphere lacked a little without the voice of a quizmaster. It would be supremely better if the friendly quizmaster (man, I want that title) asked the questions along with the screen.
In the end ‘Team Anal’ won out…I never thought I would say that. Calgary Flames tickets and a warm fleece was the prize to the worthy winners – one of whom found the time to ridicule my team’s performance as we stood side by side in the toilet – mighty uncomfortable. Nonetheless a good night was had by all and we collapsed back into Banff with replenished brains and ruined bodies as the Canadian Rockies looked down on us with pride. Four Desperate Freaks made their way home convincing themselves that the questions just weren’t right for us!