
Check out how HUGE that trophy is. And you'll never guess what it's for. Well, aside from the fact that I'm writing this six months after the fact and you probably already know. Whatever. Pretend you're clueless and then pretend you're amazed.
Last winter, Dan, Adam, and Ben, along with three more of Ben's friends (Richard, Mark, and Paul), got together to form a trivia team. Yes, trivia. You don't know how hot trivia is right now? Hot. HOT. Trust me. Not just trivia, but tavern trivia. Apparently people get together at bars on specific nights of the week and compete against one another to see which groups of friends possess the most arcane knowledge. I'm pretty sure this is an excuse to continue our EW subscription and have a weekly pub night with the guys. I'm also pretty sure that all of the affiliated significant others are completely thrilled that our husbands have a regular social outlet. (Plus, their bar is the historic Patric Henry Pub on Church Hill, so this is also culturally enriching. Pub motto: "Let the revolution begin!")
They named their team "Redd Foxx Danger," after a drawing by Ben's first-grader daughter Sophia, created after viewing the animals at Maymont and titled Red Fox: Danger! but with spelling borrowed from comedian Redd Foxx. Yes, our darling husbands combined the innocent creativity of a young girl with an homage to a man who once delivered a routine called "You've got to wash your ass."

Teammate Richard - who is often called "Richard the Lawyer" in our house, in that "you know Richard? The lawyer?" kind of way - doodled this fox on a napkin at some point. They made mugs. I believe it may also have been used in their official team flag. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
As if a social life for the men weren't good enough, it turned out that they kicked some trivia ass during the winter season, thereby earning the right to participate in the 2010 World Tavern Trivia National Championships. Yes, tavern trivia has national championships. Yes, I'm as surprised as you are. No, this was apparently not a clever cover story on the part of the menfolk to have an excuse for a weekend away from their families, drinking and gambling. As Ben pointed out, if they were lying, they would have picked somewhere awesome for the fictitious show-down, not Atlantic City. Mmmmm, New Jersey.
Oh yeah, and they had to have a team flag. So that's where the whole fox-on-flag thing comes in. And now I believe I've closed that little open loop.
In case any of us don't truly believe a story that includes "honey, I have to find a Hawaiian shirt for a trivia championship being held at a casino", here's the proof, copied from the World Tavern Trivia website:

Oh, did I mention they WON? Holy crap! I'm married to a trivia champion! That should be good for...um...impressing...um...
But in all seriousness, they had an awesome time, and they busted some cheaters who were copying off their paper but who weren't bright enough to catch that perhaps the paper they were copying off of was a decoy, and that blue and yellow do not make mauve. Seriously, they fell for that. And yes, THEY WON (not the cheaters, our boys from home)! And those of us who tended the home fires while they were gone ("home fires" refers to toddler shenanigans, yes?) are SO PROUD of them. Even if it took us 6 months to blog it.
There was a HUGE trophy made of plastic and shiny holographic paper and spattered with something sticky that we will just continue to tell ourselves is beer, and I believe somewhere there is a grainy cell phone picture of Adam kissing it (the trophy, not the beer, although he probably kissed some of that, too), and the idea was that it would live with each family for a week before finding its final place of glory over the bar at Patrick Henry, but I think it stalled somewhere on its victory tour of RFD homes.
It is not, for the record, stalled at my house. Our house was the first stop, though.

As part of their winnings (which also included $5K in cash, split six ways, which pretty much covered their trip and prevented some ATM trips), the guys are invited back to the 2011 tournament, regardless of how they perform this year. Although for that matter, they tied for first in Spring 2010 and performed admirably in Fall 2010. I mean, who knows how they'll do, because this post is of course being written in May. MAY. Riiiiight.
Congrats, Redd Foxx Danger!

(left to right: Richard, Dan, Adam, Mark, Paul, Ben)
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