Sports and Sporcle

Let me start by introducing myself and letting you know a little bit about me. My name is Ben, and I am the current editor of the Sports section of Sporcle.  I have been working on Sporcle quizzes since the beta group users were allowed to create quizzes. But enough about me, lets get on to the real reason for the blog: Sports and how to get your quiz noticed.

The sports category is one that is always evolving. New records are always being broken, new coaches are being hired and fired, and teams relocate.  Being the editor of this section requires a lot of  attention to what is going on in Sports in a certain week.  It may sound nerdy, but when I know there is a major sporting event coming up, I plan my evening around that event and updating the quizzes as soon as I can.  Just as an example this past Super Bowl, I was at my computer as the clock hit 0:00, and had all the relevant quizzes up on my screen, and updated them all within a minute of the game ending.  I want every Sporcle user to be able to play the most updated version of the game that is on the website, and I take my role as the sports editor very seriously.  To that end, if you see something out of date or needs attention, please send a note to Sporcle feedback, or contact me directly.

You may wonder how I decide which quizzes to select as an editor’s pick.  That is a good question and one I will try and answer as best as I can.  I like to try and find new quiz creators that haven’t been selected for an editor pick before, so I sometimes spend a lot of time searching for quizzes that maybe I think are a good idea, but I am sure that someone may have already done.  I also look at the User Created Page to see what the most played and highest ranking quizzes are.  Also, Sporcle has revamped the search feature on the website. Just search on any term and it will show you what has already been posted on Sporcle as an official quiz and what has been submitted as a user generated game that has not been verified yet.

If you want your quiz to be selected it needs to meet the following guidelines for me to select it:

1. It must be an original quiz (not something already done or close to something already done)
2. It must be formatted nicely (Please try and throw some color into the quiz and make the columns readable and the right size)
3. Use a valid source (especially on sports quizzes where data is readily available to you)

In the past week I have found the following quizzes to be nicely done and well thought out original ideas

• NFL Franchise Yard Leaders – There have been passing leaders, and rushing leaders, but this was well constructed and well put together and makes you put all of your knowledge of football together.
• Most Weeks in AP Poll w/o #1 – What a fun quiz, I had a thought in mind to make this myself looked to see if it had been made and there it was, fresh new idea and very nicely executed makes for a great quiz.
• Baseball: Graphically (Pics) – If you haven’t played a Hejman quiz then you must not Sporcle often.  Hejman has been pushing out some of the most innovative quizzes with his graphs and picture quizzes.  Be sure to check out his impressive list of quizzes here.

I am always open to helping and getting some quizzes some recognition if they deserve it.  Feel free to contact me at bjvano@gmail.com and I will be happy to have discussions, look at your quizzes, or help you out with any problems you may have.

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