The Ultimate Uno Club has been one of the most well-known clubs at Trinity for many years. After every meeting, the winners of the most recent games are reported on Trinity’s news broadcast (TTV). Consistently for the past few years, one name has stood above all the others. After almost every meeting, the announcer of TTV reports that once again “The King of Uno, Dr. Zoeller, has won.” Dr. Dan Zoeller sat down with The ECHO to talk about The Ultimate Uno Club and shared his inside perspective on his dominant reign through the years.
For those who do not know about the game of Uno, the objective of the game is to be the first to get rid of all your cards by matching them in number or color to top the card previously put down on the pile. Uno’s simple rules and fast game play has been a staple for family games for many years and has had a lasting impact as a club at Trinity.
The Ultimate Uno Club hasn’t always existed on campus. Zoeller told the story of how he and a group of seniors on senior retreat had a deck of Uno cards, so they started playing throughout retreat. They had an exciting time, and when they all got back from retreat, a couple of the seniors came to Zoeller and told him they thought it would be fun if they played the game more often. After that, the club was born.
Attendance for the club varies from year to year. Zoeller said, “Every year is a new year from a participation perspective, and every year is a little bit different, and a new group of guys come out.” The club members vary in grade from freshman to seniors, though the majority of members are typically underclassmen. The beginning of the school year is normally the busiest time of the year for the club, but no matter how many guys show up it is always a good time. It’s a guarantee that all the guys will have a great time playing. “It’s one of those clubs that’s all about fun,” said Zoeller. “There’s a lot of trash talking that goes on, but it’s all good fun, and we always have a good time. It’s a good release at the end of a busy day.”
Something that the Uno Club does to make things unique for those involved is that everyone who attends gets a nickname. One year during one of the meetings after Zoeller won once against someone, that student said he was the ‘King of Uno’ and the nickname stuck. Zoeller says jokingly that he is still in his prime when it comes to his winning dominance. After every meeting the Trinity community can see his results sure do back that statement up. He says that the secret to being successful in Uno Club is to pay attention when the games start to really heat up and the trash talk gets going. Most guys tend to forget about the game and get caught up in talking to each other, but not Zoeller. He is always watching and keeping laser focus on the game.
The Uno Club through the years has been a fantastic way for guys to get together, have fun and blow off steam while keeping their minds sharp. Zoeller hopes to keep up his successful years of winning, but more than anything he just enjoys seeing all the guys show up at each meeting to get involved. When asked about the club’s future, Zoeller said, “As long as the kids show up and want to play, we will continue to have Uno Club.” The Uno Club will continue to be one of the most memorable clubs at Trinity and “The King of Uno” hopes to keep up his success and continue to be a dominant force.
