Rachel “The Crusher” Cushing entered the match with an Innergeekdom record of 3-2 with two knockouts. She represented the Fyffe Club.
“Amazing” Mara Knopic entered the match with an Innergeekdom record of 2-0 with two knockouts.
This match was a semifinal in the 2018 Innergeekdom tournament.
First Round
Cushing missed two questions, scoring eight out of a possible ten points. Knopic missed five questions, scoring five out of a possible ten points. The missed questions were:
Category: DC
Who wrote the screenplay for Batman Begins with Christopher Nolan?
Knopic’s Answer: Jonathan Nolan
Correct Answer: David Goyer
Category: Middle Earth
What was Samwise Gamgee’s profession before he went on his adventure with Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring?
Knopic’s Answer: Cook
Correct Answer: Gardner
Category: Marvel
In Daredevil, what does Bullseye use to kill a talkative old lady passenger on a plane?
Knopic’s Answer: Oxygen mask
Cushing’s Answer: Fork
Correct Answer: Peanut
Category: Heroes & Villains
Who played Red Sonja in 1985’s Red Sonja?
Cushing’s Answer: Natasha Henstridge
Knopic’s Answer: Al Pacino
Correct Answer: Brigitte Nielsen
Category: Mixed Bag
Hellboy II: The Golden Army was released in what year?
Knopic’s Answer: 2012
Correct Answer: 2008
The score at the end of the first round was 8-5 to Cushing.
Second Round
Cushing chose to go first. She spun Mixed Bag, decided to spin again, and got Heroes & Villains. She went to multiple choice twice, answered three out of five questions correctly, and earned six out of a possible ten points.
Knopic stole one of Cushing’s misses for one point.
The missed questions were:
Who plays the main villain that simply goes by “Max” in the Vertigo Comics-based film The Losers?
Multiple Choice: a) Jason Patric b) Jeffrey Dean Morgan c) Idris Elba d) Eric Bana
Cushing’s Answer: b) Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Knopic’s Answer: c) Idris Elba
Correct Answer: a) Jason Patric
What does Steve say when Peggy asks how he fees after the Super Soldier procedure in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger?
Multiple Choice: a) Stronger b) Tired c) Hungry d) Taller
Cushing’s Answer: c) Hungry
Knopic’s Answer: d) Taller
Correct Answer: d) Taller
Knopic spun Mixed Bag, decided to spin again, and got Marvel Movies. She went to multiple choice twice, answered four out of five questions correctly, and earned six out of a possible ten points.
Cushing was unable to steal Knopic’s miss.
The missed question was:
In 2015’s Fantastic Four, where is Sue Storm originally from?
Knopic’s Answer: Czechoslovakia
Cushing’s Answer: Romania
Correct Answer: Kosovo
The score at the end of the second round was 14-13 to Cushing.
Third Round
Knopic’s two-point question was in the category of DCEU and she got it correct.
How does Superman kill Zod in Man of Steel?
Knopic’s Answer: Snaps his neck
Correct Answer: Snaps his neck
Cushing’s two-point question was in the category of Weapons, Tech, Vehicles, and Magical Objects and she got it correct.
In Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, what does Anakin initially call a lightsaber while speaking with Qui-Gon in his home?
Cushing’s Answer: Laser sword
Correct Answer: Laser sword
Knopic’s three-point question was in the category of Lord of the Rings and she got it incorrect.
What are the giant elephant-like creatures called in The Two Towers and Return of the King?
Knopic’s Answer: Didn’t have it
Correct Answer: Oliphaunts or Mûmakil
Knopic’s five-point question was in the category of MCU and she got it correct.
Josh Dallas played what character in the first Thor film?
Knopic’s Answer: Fandral
Correct Answer: Fandral
Cushing’s three-point question was in the category of The Hobbit and she got it correct.
What is the name of the eccentric wizard that lives in Mirkwood and aids Gandalf numerous times throughout the Hobbit trilogy?
Cushing’s Answer: Radagast the Brown
Correct Answer: Radagast the Brown
Cushing’s five-point question was in the category of Who Said It? and she got it incorrect.
Who said, “None of you seem to understand. I’m not locked in here with you. You’re locked in here with me.”?
Cushing’s Answer: Ultron
Correct Answer: Rorschach
The score at the end of the third round was 19-19.
Sudden Death
Cushing answered four of the eleven questions asked in overtime correctly. Knopic answered five of the eleven questions asked in overtime correctly. The missed questions were:
In 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, what MLB slugger’s style of bat was Casey Jones using in the fight in the park with Raphael?
Cushing’s Answer: Nolan Ryan
Knopic’s Answer: Babe Ruth
Correct Answer: Jose Canceco
Who plays Coach Boomer aka Sonic Boom, who is in charge of power placement, in 2005’s Sky High?
Knopic’s Answer: Kurt Russell
Cushing’s Answer: Jeff Bridges
Correct Answer: Bruce Campbell
What is the name of the futuristic city in Big Hero 6?
Cushing’s Answer: San Frantokyo
Knopic’s Answer: New Tokyo
Correct Answer: San Fransokyo
In Back to the Future, in the photograph Marty’s sister’s sweatshirt says “Class of ____”?
Knopic’s Answer: 1983
Cushing’s Answer: 1983
Correct Answer: 1984
Which one of the Star Wars saga films features a camera pan up, instead of down, after the opening crawl text?
Knopic’s Answer: Rogue One
Cushing’s Answer: Rogue One
Correct Answer: Attack of the Clones
In The Losers, what is the nickname of the team’s cowboy hat-wearing sniper, played by Oscar Jaenada?
Cushing’s Answer: Tex
Knopic’s Answer: Tex
Correct Answer: Cougar
Who said, “There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”?
Knopic’s Answer: Steve Rogers aka Captain America
Cushing’s Answer: Superman
Correct Answer: Steve Rogers aka Captain America
The final score was 24-23 to Knopic.
Other Details
Including steal opportunities, Cushing answered 17 of the 30 questions asked to her correctly for an accuracy of 56.67%.
Including steal opportunities, Knopic answered 16 of the 31 questions asked to him correctly for an accuracy of 51.61%. She moved on to the finals of the 2018 Innergeekdom tournament.
But in reality, none of those stats matter, because both Cushing and Knopic competed in this match while incredibly ill and in a lot of pain, and they should be commended for putting on such a fantastic match while feeling so awful. This is the Schmoedown’s Sick Game, and both women lived up to Michael Jordan’s performance in his infamous Flu Game.
