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Quiz about Winning By Losing
Quiz about Winning By Losing

Winning By Losing Trivia Quiz


Sometime long range success in sports is aided by a Machiavelian strategy of underperforming or losing along the way to gain an advantage in the end game. Identify the schemers and the ways they are foiled, or handicaps given to supposedly weaker foes.

A multiple-choice quiz by SixShutouts66. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
384,201
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
148
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Question 1 of 10
1. The NBA draft allows one of its weaker teams to select the best player available for the draft. This leads to accusations of "tanking" when weaker teams employ strategies to lose games, and its fans even cheer for their opponents. This is especially noticeable when a transcendent player will be available, and the race to last place is often called the Player X sweepstakes. Which of these players was one of the coveted first selections of the NBA draft? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Amateur golf has a handicap system to allow competition between players of unequal ability. In stroke play the difference in the players' handicaps is deducted from the weaker players score. It is not as straightforward when playing match golf (one point for the low score on each hole). If my handicap is 2 higher than my opponent, how is the handicap applied in match play? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Peyton Manning was the best NFL quarterback for a number of years and captured the Super Bowl in 2010 for his team in Indianapolis. The year after that victory, Indianapolis had the first pick in the NFL draft (awarded to the team with the worst record) and managed to draft Andrew Luck, regarded as the best college quarterback in a number of years. How did they pull that off? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Eli Manning, the younger brother of Peyton Manning and son of Archie Manning, was the consensus number 1 pick in the 2004 NFL draft. He didn't want to play for the team with the first pick and threatened not to sign with them if drafted. He eventually was traded to the New York Giants. Which team did Eli Manning shun? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. In the final regular season game of the 1988 NFL season the playoff-bound San Francisco team was upset by its bitter rival Los Angeles. By virtue of their upset the LA team made the playoffs as a wild-card team over the New York Giants. Why do some people think San Francisco tried to lose that game. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The 1982 World Cup game between Austria and Germany has been called the "Disgrace in Gijon". Germany needed to win by 1 or 2 goals to let both squads through to the next round and send Algeria (who had finished the day before) home. Germany scored a goal within 10 minutes, and both squads made no further attempt to score. What was the consequence of this? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. You wouldn't think curling has any stategy other than finishing quickly and returning to your warm hotel room. Teams alternate throwing the curling stones towards the scoring area. The team with the last throw has a significant advantage because it can knock out opponents scoring stones. The last throw alternates between teams unless no team has scored. So a team may deliberately try for a 0-0 score to retain that edge. What is the right to throw the last stone called? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. In the 2006 Winter Olympics final game of pool play Slovakia pulled a stunning upset over playoff-bound Sweden by a score of 3-0. The Swedish play was very listless to the point of failing to attempt a shot during an extended two-man advantage. Why do most observers believe Sweden was satisfied with their loss. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Strategic underperforming has a long history. In 1898 a goal-less shot-less draw rocked English First Division (top league at that time) football in a four-team test (two bottom teams in the First Division versus the top two teams in Divison Two to select the last two spots in the First Division for the next season). By playing to a deliberate draw, Burnley and which other city (nicknamed the Potters) assured themselves of a place in the First Division? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Many sports allow competitors to compete as part of a team, but compete for individual awards. Cycling and long distance running have long accepted the practice of individuals sacrificing their chance for victory to aid stronger team members. Auto racing has an unsavory history of this. In a 2008 Formula-1 race Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his car near the Raffles Hotel to allow teammate Fernando Alonso to win the Grand Prix event in which city? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The NBA draft allows one of its weaker teams to select the best player available for the draft. This leads to accusations of "tanking" when weaker teams employ strategies to lose games, and its fans even cheer for their opponents. This is especially noticeable when a transcendent player will be available, and the race to last place is often called the Player X sweepstakes. Which of these players was one of the coveted first selections of the NBA draft?

Answer: Patrick Ewing

Patrick Ewing was regarded as the top player coming out of high school and college. Tall, powerful, and intimidating, he was regarded as the cornerstone for the lucky NBA team. Conspiracy theorist have long questioned the fortuitous draw that enabled the NY Knicks franchise to end up with Ewing in the 1985 NBA Draft. Ewing had a long and successful career in the NBA, but many think that he fell short of expectations.

Surprisingly none of the other three all-time great players were the first selection in the draft - Jordan #3 (1984 draft), Durant #2 (1987), and Bryant #13 (1986).
2. Amateur golf has a handicap system to allow competition between players of unequal ability. In stroke play the difference in the players' handicaps is deducted from the weaker players score. It is not as straightforward when playing match golf (one point for the low score on each hole). If my handicap is 2 higher than my opponent, how is the handicap applied in match play?

Answer: I deduct one stroke from each of 2 hardest holes

The course playing card indicates the order of applying the handicap. In some instances (I win the hole outright or I lose by more than one stroke) the handicap will not affect the result of an individual hole. So basically I deduct a stroke at the predetermined holes, and the hole is awarded based on those results.

The golf handicap system looks at the difficulty of courses and makes adjustments to limit the manipulation of handicaps. Oftentimes golf handicaps test friendships.
3. Peyton Manning was the best NFL quarterback for a number of years and captured the Super Bowl in 2010 for his team in Indianapolis. The year after that victory, Indianapolis had the first pick in the NFL draft (awarded to the team with the worst record) and managed to draft Andrew Luck, regarded as the best college quarterback in a number of years. How did they pull that off?

Answer: Indianapolis finished last after Manning was injured

The success of the Indianapolis offense was due to Manning's precision passing and his reading of defenses. He had suffered a neck injury , underwent surgery, and missed the entire year in 2011. The team floundered very badly without him and ended up with the worst record in the league.

Through this unintended, but fortuitous, set of circumstances Indianapolis had the first pick in the NFL draft and selected Luck. The following year Manning was traded to Denver, and Luck took over as the starting QB. Although Luck has performed well, the Indianapolis team (to this point) has not reached the same heights they had with Manning.
4. Eli Manning, the younger brother of Peyton Manning and son of Archie Manning, was the consensus number 1 pick in the 2004 NFL draft. He didn't want to play for the team with the first pick and threatened not to sign with them if drafted. He eventually was traded to the New York Giants. Which team did Eli Manning shun?

Answer: San Diego

Sometimes the best laid plans of a franchise are thwarted. Even though San Diego didn't get Manning with the top pick, they received a decent return in their trade (all-star players Philip Rivers and Shawn Merriman).

Eli Manning was following in the footsteps of John Elway, who had been drafted by Baltimore but manipulated a trade to Denver. Elway had additional leverage because he was an outstanding baseball player, who had already played for the New York Yankees minor league teams.
5. In the final regular season game of the 1988 NFL season the playoff-bound San Francisco team was upset by its bitter rival Los Angeles. By virtue of their upset the LA team made the playoffs as a wild-card team over the New York Giants. Why do some people think San Francisco tried to lose that game.

Answer: Eliminated a stronger New York team

This was a case of eliminating a serious contender by losing. The New York team had beaten San Francisco in the playoffs the previous two years and were a serious threat to the San Francisco title aspirations. By losing San Francisco eliminated a strong competitor and made its championship quest much easier by losing that last game.
6. The 1982 World Cup game between Austria and Germany has been called the "Disgrace in Gijon". Germany needed to win by 1 or 2 goals to let both squads through to the next round and send Algeria (who had finished the day before) home. Germany scored a goal within 10 minutes, and both squads made no further attempt to score. What was the consequence of this?

Answer: Result stood

Chile, Algeria, Austria, and Germany were in the same bracket. At the time of the final game, Chile had lost all three of its matches; Algeria (which had beaten Germany) had two wins and a loss; Austria had two wins; and Germany had one win and one loss. If Germany beat Austria, they and Algeria would have the same record (2 wins and 1 loss). A German victory by 1 or 2 goals would cause the tie-breaker (goal difference) to allow both Austria and Germany to advance. A German victory by 3 goals would have allowed Germany and Algeria to advance.

As a consequence of this, all of the final group games start at the same time to minimize any possible "manipulation" of the results.
7. You wouldn't think curling has any stategy other than finishing quickly and returning to your warm hotel room. Teams alternate throwing the curling stones towards the scoring area. The team with the last throw has a significant advantage because it can knock out opponents scoring stones. The last throw alternates between teams unless no team has scored. So a team may deliberately try for a 0-0 score to retain that edge. What is the right to throw the last stone called?

Answer: hammer

The set of 8 or 10 throws is called the "end". The "house" is the scoring area, and the "rock" is the name for the stones.

Teams with the last throw of the stone seek to win the end by at least two points. So it's much more advantageous to have a 0-0 score than a 1-0 score on the end and lost the "hammer". This is especially true on the penultimate end when it may be advantageous to stay in a losing score to control the final end of the match.
8. In the 2006 Winter Olympics final game of pool play Slovakia pulled a stunning upset over playoff-bound Sweden by a score of 3-0. The Swedish play was very listless to the point of failing to attempt a shot during an extended two-man advantage. Why do most observers believe Sweden was satisfied with their loss.

Answer: Ensured a weaker opponent for the first medal round game

Losing in tournament play may allow the loser to play a weaker opponent in the next round.

The Swedish coached realized that they would play either Canada or the Czech Republic if they won; but they would have to face a much weaker team from Switzerland if they lost. By losing they assured themselves of an easier schedule in the medal round ( and eventually won the gold medal).
9. Strategic underperforming has a long history. In 1898 a goal-less shot-less draw rocked English First Division (top league at that time) football in a four-team test (two bottom teams in the First Division versus the top two teams in Divison Two to select the last two spots in the First Division for the next season). By playing to a deliberate draw, Burnley and which other city (nicknamed the Potters) assured themselves of a place in the First Division?

Answer: Stoke City

Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City were the bottom finishers in Division 1; and Burnley and Newcastle United were the two leaders in Division 2. The teams played a four-match series with 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. After three matches, Burnley and Stoke each had 4 points and the other teams had 2. With a draw the leaders were assured a spot in the top division. A loser would risk losing their spot to the winner of the Newcastle vs Blackburn match.

As Robbie Burns said of best-laid plans, things then took a turn. Division 1 was expanded to 18 teams to hold all four teams; and the relegation/promotion scheme was enforced the following year (without four=way play-offs) i.e. bottom two relegated, top two promoted. Many other examples of strategic draws that benefit both teams have occurred throughout football history.
10. Many sports allow competitors to compete as part of a team, but compete for individual awards. Cycling and long distance running have long accepted the practice of individuals sacrificing their chance for victory to aid stronger team members. Auto racing has an unsavory history of this. In a 2008 Formula-1 race Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his car near the Raffles Hotel to allow teammate Fernando Alonso to win the Grand Prix event in which city?

Answer: Singapore

Both were members of the Renault team. Alonso started with a light fuel load and made an early pit stop to refuel. Piquet Jr.crashed his car about the time the other drivers needed to refuel. Alonso was back on the track and assumed leadership of the race. Between his lead at the time, the narrow track, and a blocking pack of slower cars, he was able to keep his lead. Hopefully "Raffles" helped you.

A similar situation occurred in the final race of the NASCAR ("if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying") qualificaction for its prestigious Chase Cup series. Three separate teams were accused of trying to manipulate the reults to gain the last two qualifying spots via crashes or dropping out.
Source: Author SixShutouts66

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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