Francesa’s annual Super Bowl trivia contest has extra buzz this year with Big Blue in the big game.  For as long as I can remember, Francesa and WFAN have given away five Super Bowl trips for two.  Contestants are asked to answer four Super Bowl-related questions with each one becoming progressively more difficult.

When the Mad Dog was around, he’d take on the “Marquis” alter-ego.  Russo would dress up in a white wig and a royal robe.  The Marquis would ask the questions while Mike acted as the game’s moderator.

Now, it’s all Mike with a stack of papers containing hundreds of questions.  Many are recycled from previous years.

It’s fun radio even if you’re not calling in as a contestant.  The prize is substantial.  You get two game tickets, airfare, four nights at a Fairfield Inn in Indy, a rental car and trinkets.  In all, the value of the trip for two is about ten grand.

What was really interesting this week was that Francesa stumped and frustrated two days worth of contestants with the same audio clip of a mystery player.  Several contestants on Monday and Tuesday were one answer away from winning the trip but failed to identify the taped voice of a prior Super Bowl participant who said the following:

“I try to not get too involved about the past.  I helped them out with some suggestions on how maybe to take the Super Bowl as an event but as far as the ring goes, nobody’s really asked to see it – so I’m not gonna break it out and shove it down their throats.”

The Francesa internet message board is a repository for contest answers and many posters made convincing claims they knew the mystery voice.  But each time a contestant used a suggested answer from the message board, Francesa groaned that they were incorrect.

Two full days went by and Francesa failed to give away the first of five trips up for grabs.  He seemed to enjoy his audience’s inability to decipher the voice on the audio clip.

Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, a caller named Ray from Wall, NJ nailed it.  Here’s what it sounded like:

John Kuhn didn’t touch the ball in last year’s Super Bowl and was on the Steelers practice squad five years earlier when Pittsburgh beat the Seahawks in SB XL.  Kuhn’s not completely obscure, but you could see how his voice would be tough to figure out despite a subtle Pennsylvania accent.

I love listening all week for the reaction of Francesa’s contest winners.  When somebody who roots for a team in the big game wins the big prize, it’s almost as good as the actual football game half the time.