Football season is fast approaching, and with that I’d like to invite you to play a game which involves watching a bit of football, picking a winner from a single game each week, easily passes the 4 way test, and will be a whole lot of FUN for those involved.

• Is it the truth? No shenanigans here, just simple rules.
• Is it fair to all concerned?  A sore loser may not think its fair, but I assure you it is!
• Will it build goodwill and better Friendships?  ABSOLUTELY!
• Will it be beneficial to all concerned?  ABSOLUTELY!

The game I speak of is a NFL survivor pool, which will help to boost fellowship, and also will benefit our club and Rotary International.  THIS GAME IS EASY!  The object is to pick the winner of only ONE NFL game each week, straight up with no point spreads (just a single winner, easy right?).  The only catch is that YOU CANNOT PICK THE SAME TEAM TWICE during the entire season, so don’t burn your good picks too early.  If the team you pick wins in that week, you survive to the next week and remain in the game to pick the next week.  The game ends when only one person is left, to which that person will take all the prize pool money. 

My target is to get about 10 people involved, to make this more fun.  I have already made it mandatory for my Sponsor (Ed Charlesworth) and the person I sponsored (Robert Stein), so including myself, we already have a few involved, let’s get this moving!  We’ll close the door to new entry’s and start the season just prior to week one of the NFL Season.

Payment & Payout: 

• $75 prize pool + $25 for optional insurance
• $75 Rotary International Donation + $25 for optional insurance

So to play it costs either $150 or $200 depending if you’d like to purchase the optional insurance, which is explained below.   For example I will pay $200 to play, of which $100 of it will go into the pool for the winner to take, and the other $100 will go as a donation to Rotary International.  It’s a win/win for everyone involved!

The fine print:

You may pick any NFL team to win its game that week. Once you select a team, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PICK THAT TEAM AGAIN FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE NFL SEASON.  For example, if a participant selects the Texans to beat the Jaguars in Week #1 of the season, that participant may not pick the Texans again for the rest of the season, but is free to select the Jaguars in any one subsequent week. Obviously, with 32 teams in the league and only 17 weeks in the NFL regular season (including bye weeks) there are some teams that you will never use, SUPER SIMPLE RIGHT?!

Ties: If a NFL game ends in a tie, that game shall count as a loss for all participants who picked either of the teams involved in the tie.  The goal is to pick a winner each week.

COVID-19:  If a NFL game ends with a forfeit due to COVID-19, that game shall count as a loss for all participants who picked the team required to forfeit.  The goal is to pick a winner each week.

Insurance Picks: If a participant elects to purchase insurance, they are allowed to make one (1) incorrect selection at any time during the first THREE (3) weeks of the season and still remain in the pool.  Once you have used your insurance pick, you will be eliminated from the pool if you make another incorrect selection at any time during the rest of the season.  Insurance will expire after Week #3 of the 2021 NFL season.  Using your insurance pick does not allow you to pick the same team twice, it just gives you insurance against a loss the first (3) weeks of the season.  (Insurance also applies to a game that ends in a tie during the first three (3) weeks of the season.)

If the team you pick wins in that week, you survive to the next week and remain in the game.  The object here is to SURVIVE as long as possible. The one to survive takes home the prize! There are no consolation prizes. WINNER(S) TAKES IT ALL!!!!!  (In the event that two (2) participants make it through all 17 weeks of the NFL season, those participants will split the prize equally.  If more than two (2) participants are still in the Pool after Week #17, they will advance to the Playoff Round.  (If we get to playoffs we can either split the cash or talk about the rules then.)

The game kicks off in Week #1 of the NFL regular-season and ends after Week 17 or whenever there is only one (1) remaining participant.  Week #1 of the 2021 NFL season begins on Thursday, September 9, 2021. 

In the event that multiple final participants all lose in a given week, those participants will move to the next week until the tie is broken.  For example, if the final six participants all pick incorrectly in Week #13, all six will get to pick again in Week #14. If only one participant selects correctly in Week #14, that participant wins the pool.  If two participants pick correctly in Week #14, only those two participants (and not all six who got to pick on Week #14) move on to the next week.

All participants MUST submit a team pick each week to Jake Stein.  IF YOU DO NOT PICK A TEAM IN ANY GIVEN WEEK, YOU ARE ELIMINATED.  Insurance does not save you if you do not send in a pick.

The final deadline for each week's selection is prior to the start time of the first Sunday game on each weekend of play.  That includes picks for the Monday night game.  On weeks that have a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday game, anyone wishing to pick one of the teams playing in those game(s) must have their pick submitted prior to the start of that game.  There is no restriction on how early a selection may be submitted (i.e., if you are going to be out of the office on business or vacation, you can submit your picks in advance).  A participant may also change their pick at any time providing they submit the new pick prior to the deadlines listed above.  Each participant is responsible for being aware of and meeting the deadlines for their weekly picks.  A week of play is based on the regular NFL schedule and includes the Monday night game for that week.

The weekly picks will be available to all participants so each participant can track how many survive and how many are eliminated.  It will also give everyone a chance to check to make sure I have selected the correct pick for everyone.

This will be limited to the first 10 participants and time is sensitive as the NFL this week.  Choose your team beginning with  Sunday Football games on September 12th.

How to pay to participate?  Email jakestein70@gmail.com.  The $ may be sent by Venmo to Jake Stein  and PDG Ed Charlesworth will take care of the Rotary Foundation donation portion.  

Either select $150 or $200 to play with or without insurance. Next,  send your picks for the game winners to Jake Stein at jakestein70@gmail.com and sit back and have fun!