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Hanging with Mr. Fleming-Cooper

Longtime OQL USA vet Stephen Fleming-Cooper made Team of the Week in OQL USA in back to back weeks four and five. I caught up with him at Rumi's Kitchen in Atlanta for a nice Persian dinner and the following interview:  



Rich: Congrats on Team of the Week for Week 4 and 5 of Season 18. How many team of the weeks have you made in your OQL career?



Fleming-Cooper: To be honest, I don’t know. I don’t really keep track…I’m always here to help my team do as well as they can, and while the individual accolades are nice, they don’t stick with me as much. I think it’s somewhere in the teens, maybe?


Rich: How did you first get into OQLUSA and UK and how tell us about the teams you have been on and how the team name was made? 


Fleming-Cooper: I was invited into OQL USA by former player (and multi-time Jeopardy champion) Dave Leach, who was one of my college quiz bowl teammates. I was hooked immediately -- and even as our lineup has shifted over the years, I keep coming back because I love it so much.  I joined OQL UK as a regular reader for a team the following year, and they have slowly worked me into a hybrid reader/player role, which I greatly enjoy.  And the name? LOL…one of my teammates, Yvette Barton, has a tendency to pull correct answers out of her trivia butt, so we adopted the name to remind us that sometimes our first intuitions are right.


Rich: Chuck Yu also made Team of the Week last week with you. Please tell us how your team was able to land him via free agency.  


Fleming-Cooper: One of our regular team members from last season asked to step away from the weekly responsibility of OQL, so I posted a message on the OQLUSA FB group looking for players who wanted to be on a fun, friendly team (that was decidedly Division 5). Chuck was on a temporary hiatus from OQL USA and responded to my post -- there was no active recruiting --and I’m so glad he did! He’s a great player and he has the perfect attitude to fit in with our band of miscreants.


Rich: You scored a 23(6) in the UK Season 19 Week 1 Friendly co-written by me! Is that your highest score ever in a friendly?


Fleming-Cooper: Oh, I didn’t realize you had written that one! Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s my highest ever…what you wrote just so happened to line up with my knowledge base. I’m pretty sure I followed it up the next week with an 8(2) in the main game, though, so…there’s that. LOL


Rich: Besides OQL, what other online leagues do you compete in?


Fleming-Cooper: Besides OQL USA and UK, I also play on a Quip Quizzing team with an entirely different group of fantastic folks, and I’m a Learned League llama.


Tim: How did you first get into playing any form of trivia?


Stephen: Well, I was one of those kids who read the encyclopedia growing up…LOL.  I always just loved learning things. And I think my first real trivia experience was Quiz Bowl in 4th grade. I played all through elementary, middle, and high school and then collegiately at Oglethorpe University. I’ve also enjoyed running local quiz bowl tournaments and reading for NAQT Nationals -- as well as taking my own quiz bowl team (I teach high school math) to NAQT HSNCT and SSNCT on multiple occasions. Whether I’m playing or moderating or writing questions, I just enjoy all aspects of the trivia world.



Rich : What is the live trivia scene like in Atlanta? Do you play every week at a regular place?


Fleming-Cooper: The live trivia scene is pretty active in Atlanta, but I admit that I haven’t been a regular participant in it since the pandemic. I’m hopeful I can change that in the near future, as I have OQL USA and QUIP teammates who also live in the city (and whom I’ve never met in person!)..



Rich: Besides trivia, what are your other hobbies?


Fleming-Cooper: I sing in an LGBTQ mixed chorus (OurSong Atlanta), play softball (pitcher), read, cook quite a lot, and travel when I can.


Rich: What films have you watched in 2026 and which of them deserve Academy Awards?


Fleming-Cooper: LOL…Film is one of my WORST categories in LL, so I’m probably not the best person to ask this question. Project Hail Mary is one…I know I’ve seen others, but that’s the only one I can remember. 


Rich: Project Hail Mary needs to win Best Picture and Best Actor and Supporting Actor at a minimum.

Have you ever been on any game shows and if so, which ones?



Fleming-Copper: I was on our local high school quiz bowl show back in 1991 (High-Q, shout out!). I also appeared on Jeopardy in 2007 (one and done, baby!). On a non-related note, my chorus was featured in Season 2 Episode 1 of Queer Eye, but I’m more window dressing than anything else there -- and of course, that’s not a game show. :)



Rich: If you could have dinner with any five people from history at the same time, who would you choose?


Fleming-Cooper: Hmm…Rene Descartes, Mary Seacole, FDR, Gottfried Leibniz, Mikhail Gorbachev. I feel like each of them would bring something fascinating to the conversation.



Rich: What sports teams and athletes are you a fan of?


Fleming-Cooper: I’m a homer, especially since I grew up in the Atlanta area  -- Braves, Hawks, Falcons (usually), Dream, UGA & Ga Tech (yeah, I know it’s sacrilege to like both, but I do), and I really miss the Thrashers. As far as individual athletes…Carlos Alcaraz, Matt Olson, Freddie Freeman,, Wemby, SGA,  Derrick Henry, Coco Gauff… 




Rich: What is the dining scene like in Atlanta and what is your favorite cuisines?


Fleming-Cooper: The Atlanta dining scene has come a LONG way in the last 20-30 years; since Atlanta is such an important business and transportation hub, you can find almost any cuisine represented. And in every cuisine, there are foods I truly love. My husband’s tastes are a little more mainstream (Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Thai, Indian) and I enjoy those, too, but on more special occasions, I can get him to enjoy other cuisines as well (Malaysian, Bangladeshi, Filipino, Ethiopian, and Persian are amongst my favorites). Growing up in a town that had only one Chinese restaurant (and nothing of any other international persuasion) and with parents who generally cooked in the Southern vein has left me with a lifelong curiosity for other cuisines.

Rich: What bands are on your playlist and who is your favorite musician of all time?



Fleming-Cooper: I’m really all over the map with my musical tastes…several broadway soundtracks, America, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Bastille, Glass Animals, Take 6, Cage the Elephant, Iron and Wine, TATU, Scissor Sisters…as far as my favorite, is it too stereotypically geeky to admit that it might just be Weird Al?

Rich: Weird Al will be coming to Broadway in a jukebox musical soon. Thank you for your time and I wish you good fortune in the wars to come.

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