The winning statergy........ go for the kill!!!

College bowl is a quiz competetion in which you put your memory as well as reflexes (to buzz) to use. For me college bowl was a way to stuff up my RAM with tit bits of food science. For beginners here is a brief outline of the college bowl competetion. Each round has 20 questions, for every right question a team gets 4 points and for every wrong answer the team is penalized 2 points. Being associated with the K-state team for two years now I realize the statergy that seperates the winners from the runners and the rest of the crowd. Recently the K-state team has won 2nd place, which is sadly the best performance ever by K-state in the regionals over past decade. We lost the final by a buzzer beater, where the other team out buzzed us (by some milli seconds) for the final question of the round. Looking back at what happened during the final we simply lacked the killing instinct. Having won convincingly against Nebraska, Iowa and Missori we had a slight head start over the other finalists Minnesota. Our macthes were no contest, and we never worried about being vigilant in the last few questions. Our formula was simple. If you think you know the answer (60% confirmation) buzz in right away and if you dont then dont buzz. Minnesota on the other hand won crucial matches with some buzzer beaters. In the final and that too the final question we had two points lead over them. Instead of going for the kill and answering the question, we just waited for the other team to answer it right and win it. In a optimistic scenario had we answered the question wrong and assuming that minnesota were afraid to take the risk, there would be sudden death with team answering the most in next five questions wins it all, we would have been winners. But what we lacked was "KILLER INSTINCT".
My take from the whole experience, stay close to the target and strike it hard when you smell blood. In final, Minnesota had their back to the corner but were not afraid of taking risks. On the other hand our nuetral approach was worth it but was worth for a runners spot. The situation is quite analogous to horse racing. In horse racing the chances of a horse, running upfront in the beginning of the race, winning a race are much lower than the one that is waiting to take you over the corner in the last 100 meters. The winning strategy is to be just behind the opponent for bulk of the race and have the instincts to decide on the right time to take on the game. All is well in theory, but it can only be a reality with lots of practice. Practicing scenario's in which your opponent is leading you by a margin and all you have left is last breath to take you the extra mile. Tough not as simple as it sounds, this is what I think is one of the top startegies that seperates winners from the runners and the rest of the crowd.