Smashburgers and fries with Collette Lee

 I recently caught up with Shrug Emoji’s Collette Lee who made TOTW in Week. She has made team of the week three times this season so I made the trip to Paxton, Illinois and chatted with her about trivia and other things while enjoying burgers and fries at Just Hamburgers.

Rich: How did you first get into OQL? Did you know your teammates when Shrug Emoji was formed?

Lee: I signed up as a scratch player for Connections Online Quiz League back in August 2023 and ended up on a team with James, Phil, and Mike. We realized in playing together that we had very different but highly complementary knowledge bases, so we started playing in OQL USA in Season 11 and have been Shrugging together there ever since!

Rich: what other formats of OQL do you play? What other online leagues are you a part of?

Lee: I play with Shrug Emoji in COQL and QuIP in addition to OQL. I’m also part of the Chicago Malört Cohort in OQL Regions. Individually, I play LearnedLeague, Pop Solos, ICC, and Mimir’s Well.

Rich: How did you first break into trivia as a hobby?

Lee: My parents were big on trivia when I was growing up. Trivial Pursuit was always a hotly contested affair between my parents and I loved the feeling of getting more and more questions right as I got older. Jeopardy was appointment viewing in our house and both my Mom and my brother made it into the contestant pool, but neither one got the call.

I was always pretty casual about trivia until I made it into the J! Contestant pool in 2021. I started flashcarding to get ready and I joined LearnedLeague in 2022 when my time in the pool was waning.

Rich: Have you ever been on any game shows and are you currently on the list for any?

Lee: I did end up getting the call just after my time in the contestant pool had technically ended. I appeared on Jeopardy in June 2023. I haven’t applied for any other shows, but I might dip my toes at some point in the future!

Rich: Besides trivia, what are your hobbies?

Lee: I’m an enthusiastic home baker. I love trying new recipes and delighting my friends, family, and colleagues with homemade treats on the regular. I also knit and crochet, though my local stitch and bitch has unfortunately been dormant since the pandemic. I sing in my church choir and enjoy karaoke every once in a while. 

Rich: You have made TOTW three times this season. Which week did you enjoy the most?

Lee: I particularly enjoyed the set for Week 2. My flashcard on Clara Driscoll paid off and I picked up my own chemistry question in round 6, so things went well for me in my seat. I was kicking myself after the game for my round 8 miss because they gave the clue about Empress Elizabeth sharing a name with Sisi of Bavaria and I watched and enjoyed Corsage but just couldn’t remember her actual first name. James also had a monster game and made TOTW in Week 2, so having two Shrugs on the board in the same week was awesome!

Rich: What is the live trivia scene like in your city? Is there a regular bar you play at every week?

Lee: I live in Paxton, Illinois (pop. ~4300), so there definitely isn’t a live trivia scene here. Usually the only live trivia events in town are fundraisers for our high school chorus or scholastic bowl. Last year my family team (“Um, Actual-Lee”) took first place, so that was fun!

Rich: What is the dining scene like in your city? What is your favorite eatery there and your favorite cuisine and beverage?

Lee: Paxton has a few gems. I really like Pizza Palace. They do both thin crust and Chicago-style deep dish pizzas and they have lots of interesting topping combinations, like the Georgia Peach, which has pulled pork with house-made peach BBQ sauce, fresh peaches, goat cheese, and pecans. Paxton also has a local burger joint called Just Hamburgers that has an amazing smashburger that they’ve cooked the exact same way for over 50 years.

My friend and fellow teacher Katrina has a family-owned and operated brewery out in the country called Artesia that makes some really unique craft brews, including a lovely lavender honey hard cider.

Rich: What professional sports teams and athletes do you follow and what are your top five favorite memories as a fan?

Lee: I’m not massively into sports (and am a bit of a liability in the sports department - sorry, Shrugs!), but I do casually follow the Chicago Blackhawks and White Sox. I always get really into the Olympics, and especially enjoy watching beach volleyball, swimming, and skiing.

I might struggle to get to five, but I’ll try!

1. I went to the University of Illinois and was a junior when the 2004-2005 Fighting Illini basketball team made it to the NCAA championship game. I had just taken up knitting and started knitting while watching every game, so it had turned into a bit of a superstitious thing for me. The highlight was watching the comeback against Arizona in the Elite Eight.
2. My Mom grew up in Oak Park, Illinois and has been a White Sox fan her whole life, so it was a joy to see how excited she was to see them win the World Series in 2005.
3. I haven’t been to more than about a dozen professional baseball games in my lifetime, but one of the few I attended happened to be Mark Buehrle’s 2009 perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. That was pretty wild! The tension just built and built for the last few innings as it dawned on all of us that we might be witnessing something incredibly rare.
4. My Dad is a die-hard Chicago Blackhawks fan and I was living at home during the 2009-2010 season, so I got to watch a lot of games with him. During the Stanley Cup finals the Chicago Tribune included a funny little cardboard DIY Stanley Cup insert and my Dad assembled it before Game 6 and just exploded with joy when they won, jumping up and down hoisting his little cardboard cup in the living room.
5. After college I worked for three years as an English teacher in Changwon, South Korea and while I was there I got to go to a NC Dinos game. It was really interesting to see a professional baseball game in another country - the fans really go all out!

Rich: Have you ever been to SporcleCon, Geek Bowl, or Trivia Nationals? If so, how was the experience?

Lee: I attended SporcleCon in DC in 2023 mostly because I was trying to connect with the Women of Jeopardy facebook group after my airdate. I really didn’t know anyone and just joined a scratch team for the Battle of the Brains, but I showed up to the WoJ Happy Hour, made lots of great connections, and had an excellent time. I went to SporcleCon in Detroit this past fall and am really looking forward to SporcleCon in Chicago next year!

Rich: What movies have you seen in 2024? Which of them do you think will win the Academy Award for Best Picture?

Lee: I have two young kids (Simon, age 7, and Stella, age 3) so I watch almost exclusively kids movies for the majority of the year. I took them to see Kung Fu Panda 4, Inside Out 2, and The Wild Robot in theaters, and our favorite was definitely The Wild Robot. I did see Dune: Part 2, though that was quite a while ago! I’ll start making an effort to see more of the heavy hitters closer to awards-season.

Rich: What are the top five artists on your playlist?

Lee: Mitski, Neko Case, Pixies, Wolf Parade, The Cure.

Rich: If you could play trivia and have dinner with any five people ( dead or alive), whom would you choose?

Lee: Okay, the real answer is James Tyler, Mike Lewis, Phil Steindel, Allison Strekel, and Jared Watson, because we’ve never had a chance to play together IRL! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But if we want to go with the time traveling trivia/dinner companion team, I guess I’d go with Jeff Goldblum, Dorothy Parker, Cheddar Gorgeous, Carl Sagan, and my Dad.

Rich: Good luck in OQL and will see you in Week 11 when our teams play.

Lee: Looking forward to it!