Seinfeld Trivia Night: What I Learned About Myself

At a recent Seinfeld trivia night, I discovered a side of myself I never knew existed. When I’m really interested in something, I go all in, completely all in, and as a result, I’m the person who wants to win. I’m getting competitive! Yeah. This revelation made my head spin because I didn’t even know this person existed. Who am I?

Why I love Seinfeld

I think Seinfeld is one of the funniest sitcoms of all time! The humor is so clever and I love it because the punchlines are unpredictable. Well, after watching it again and again, I can predict what comes next. But the humor itself is not like so many other series.

I also love all the memorable quotes. I don’t think a week goes by without me slipping in a Seinfeld reference. And yes, I can do Elaine’s dance quite well. Ask some of my work colleagues!

More than just laughter

Seinfeld isn’t just a sitcom to me. It’s more than laughing or cringing at the ridiculous things the characters do. It’s a fascinating look at human behavior, social quirks, and the absurd moments of everyday life. And yes, most of the things they do are completely over the top. But I don’t think I’ve found another sitcom that makes me laugh out loud like Seinfeld does.

Actually, I think it’s a series about everything, not a series about nothing, which, by the way, was only an episode and not the original pitch.

Seinfeld trivia night

When my friend invited me to a Seinfeld trivia night, I was excited to go. I’ve been watching Seinfeld since it first started airing in Australia in the mid-90s. I’d put my baby to bed and sit in front of our old tube TV for my weekly comedy fix.

So it’s safe to say that I was pretty confident in my general knowledge of Seinfeld. But I wanted to be sure, and I probably studied more for this quiz night than for my HSC. I wanted our team to win.

My friends, including my husband, were my teammates, and even though they’re all fans too, I’m pretty sure they weren’t obsessed with it like I was.

And then we lost, and it stung.

I was surprised at how bothered I was because, before trivia night, I would have easily said I was one of the least competitive people ever. I don’t even have a favorite football or soccer team. But then again, put Australia in the Olympics, and suddenly I’m a die-hard fan of any sport they play. I can totally relate to Puddy and her makeup (if you know, you know).

So what does this mean? Am I really competitive or not? Was Seinfeld Trivia Night just a one-off competitive moment I experienced? And are there maybe a few things that push me to go into competition mode? Join me as I explore this aspect of my personality. Because it’s never too late to discover new things about yourself. Hue!

Intrinsic motivation is my driving force

I put on my pseudopsychologist hat and say that Seinfeld trivia night made me a competitive person (for a short while) because it allowed me to tap into something I enjoy.

I didn’t really care about the price. In fact, I didn’t even know what it was until the end of the night. Of course the $100 pub voucher would have been amazing, but that wasn’t the point.

It wasn’t just about beating others, although I still don’t know how the other teams knew what they knew! Google cheating? No. I better not say that because I don’t want to be a sore loser.

For me, it was about knowing the little details that motivated me, like Jerry lived in apartment 5A (even though it was 3A in the early episodes), Elaine was banned from ordering at Hop Sing, you have to say please and step aside when ordering soup at Soup Nazi, and George’s ATM password was Bosco.

Remembering all of this lit up my brain. And all these anecdotes only mattered to me because I love the show so much, and that’s what motivated me. It wasn’t for anyone else. It came from within. Intrinsic!

I had a dopamine hit!

Humans are wired to feel pleasure from mastering things that challenge them. For me, Seinfeld trivia night was a test of my ability to remember all those little details. Apparently not as good as I had hoped.

That buzzing feeling of knowing you’re good at something you really care about is a dopamine hit. That’s why I was so absorbed, so “all in.” It’s not a feeling I notice too often and I loved it.

Selective engagement

The fact is that I’m not competitive on everything, almost nothing in fact. That’s probably why my mother-in-law didn’t identify with me, but that’s another story. Something must really resonate within me to bring out that competitive spark. So far I’ve discovered two things: Seinfeld trivia and cheers for Australia at the Olympics.

Not the ego

I didn’t want to prove anything to anyone. It was all about me, my love of Seinfeld and my own enjoyment. Me, me and more me.

Am I competitive after all?

In short, I’m not always competitive. But I can being competitive, super focused and maybe a little absorbed in the things I love. Who knew a quiz night could teach me so much about myself? To go out!!