The Quiz armies have assembled, armour gleaming in the February sunshine. The Brewer, the Bunclark, the Claydon battalions, the Medley Of Gabbs, the Rains and Rogers regiments, the Woodhouse and many more. The Whitfield Sisters Gang look as fearsome as in a Western. Lurking are the guerrilla fighters hoping to snatch top prizes under their noses. A dozen tough oilmen out in the North Sea under Captain Gary emphasize the strength of the Scottish clans.
There are ten more contenders than in 2019,thanks to the efforts of top recruiting sergeants such as Gary Patterson, Iain Irvine, Brian Daley and Eddie Cook. Not many more you say so how come the 2020 donation to Macmillan has gone up by £200 to £1400 plus. The answer is of course that so many have outdone themselves in your heart warming generosity. I may have mumbled my thanks for a promised but undisclosed transfer, then opened my bank statement to see you had dispatched wagon loads of gold. I hope my Christmas Card thanks will be more proportionate.
Before we get to business, let me explain the League Table. Your name, your tie break estimate(which goes live after the Olympics),your score after two events and a D for debutante if you were not a 2019 quizzer(see www.snedsquiz.net for what lies in store for the D squad)Never fear, you quizzers still on nought-it’s a marathon not a sprint and I shall repeat that till August at least. Next time you see the table in mid March, it will be in score order, not alphabetical.
1)Oh dear, oh dear! This was not the start us quizzers expected. France 17-0 up at half time; that lead stretched to 24-0 before TWO LATE TRIES from Jonny May gave the scoreline a hint of respectability. Perhaps the Saracens financial scandal damaged team morale (certainly plausible with an awful performance from skipper Owen Farrell).Perhaps the scars of that listless second half against South Africa still remain. Even when winning, the English strategy of punching holes through defences using Pacific Islanders as battering rams looks ugly to me. When they are absent as in the Paris, the strategy looks like headless chicken time.
Us crickety fans love flickers of a resurgence in the West Indian Test team. It’s great to declare that France can win the 2020 Six Nations. The Gallic style has been missed. Only the most optimistic of the many quizzers who chose England as Q5 champions will fancy the English chances.
Now for the first LETTER FROM AMERICA from our new correspondent in America, Neil Dewhurst. He already sounds after only a few weeks to have become a convert to the Texan way of life.
Letter from America(courtesy Alistair Cooke, the Proclaimers and Neil Dewhurst)
After an advertised 80+ hours of analysis & live build up, game day arrived for the AFC & NFC Champions set to collide at the 54th edition of the NFL Superbowl in Miami, Florida. From the NFC came the San Francisco 49ers whose strong running game had been key to their success. From the AFC the Kansas City Chiefs, whose two comeback wins in the playoffs gave them the chance to put 50 years of hurt behind them. Could they become the Pride of Kansas, Donald mused on Twitter until reminded that the Chiefs play their games in Missouri.
To add to the excitement of the game itself there were fashion show style catwalk team introductions by The Rock, superstar adverts for those of us in the US & confusion in the ranks of the Chiefs during the coin toss. After performances of both America the Beautiful & the Star Spangled Banner, the teams finally got down to business.
The first quarter got off to slow start for the Chiefs on their possession with a 3 & out. The 49ers offense came out of the blocks with a couple of trick plays to move the chains downfield before settling for a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. Patrick Mahomes, the 2019 regular season MVP, responded in the next drive taking the Chiefs up to the Red Zone & running in a touchdown. The end of the first quarter scoreline was 7-3 to the Chiefs ; a pretty quiet start all in all. The 2nd quarter started with 49ers in possession, Jimmy G throwing his one & only interception of the match which the Chiefs capitalized on to extend their lead to 7 with a field goal. The 49ers response was to continue the passing offense that, while rarely seen in their 2 previous playoff games, was proving successful . Like most pundits, the Chiefs may have been expecting a running based offense. Jimmy G threw for a touchdown; the game was now tied at 10-10. The first half ended with no more scores, the Chiefs punting on their next possession & the 49ers somewhat surprisingly playing out the clock in their final possession rather than attempting to get more points on the board.
At half-time & while getting my snacks readied, the Latin American pairing of Shakira & Jennifer Lopez kicked off an explosive & breathtakingly energetic 12-minute musical interlude. After a countback it was confirmed that they squeezed in 20 songs but also managed to complete numerous costume changes, some crowd surfing, an Empire State Building / King Kong entrance & even some pole dancing.
The game restarted with the 49ers receiving the ball, They continued their positive offense again led by the accurate passing of Jimmy G, ending up with a field goal to move ahead 13-10. Mahomes was having a quiet game. He was being out passed by his opposite number. In his next possession, he both fumbled on first down but retained possession, then threw an interception on the same drive. This turnover was capitalized upon by the 49ers with Mostert running in a touchdown. The 49ers lead was up to 10 at 20-10. The final drive of the 3rd quarter saw Mahomes again exposed with the only sack of the game & following that with another interception. At this point it looked like Groundhog Day for the 49ers with their 6th Superbowl within their grasp at the scene of their latest triumph in 1995.
It was not to be however. As the groundhog predicted ,spring was on the way for the Chiefs; the 49ers started the final 15 minutes in possession but could only punt .What followed in the final minutes was a Mahomes MVP-esque masterclass. Sparked by the longest completion of the game to Olympic hopeful Hill, a defensive pass interference call followed which moved the Chiefs from their own territory to the 49ers 1 yard line in the blink of an eye. Kelce got the Chiefs touchdown & a single point added made it 17-20 .All the momentum was suddenly with the Chiefs. The 49ers could only punt away possession next & the Chiefs capitalized; Williams scoring his first of two late touchdowns to put the Chiefs ahead, 24-20, for the first time since the second quarter. The 49ers penultimate drive ended with a turnover on downs as they tried to stop the rot but it was too late, the Chiefs saw out the game with another Williams touchdown & added point, to make it 31-20 & with Jimmy G throwing an interception on the 49ers last possession it was all over. As the clock wound down, timeouts & knees were taken the Chiefs started their celebrations and confirmed an AFC win, achieved by coach Andy Reid on his 222nd game on 2/2/20; how poetic!!
