2009 Football Season - Pick'em Recruitment Letter

Dear Pick’em Enthusiasts,

I hope this message finds you doing well. I’ve been trying to think of a way for us to get back in touch for this upcoming football season. I know it’s been many months since you last heard from me, but, due to my deep depression regarding the way the football season ended last year (well, mostly the fact that it ended), I’m just now beginning to recapture some of my thirst for life.

The off-season has brought much change in my life. I can't think of anything in particular right now, but I'm sure there was a lot.

Sometimes change can be uplifting, and I've never been adverse to change. Last year, our Pick'em game evolved from an email only thing to blog format. It pleases me to announce even more (uplifting) changes this year. First of all, I have made the site a little more legit by registering a domain name: http://www.pickem-football.com. The site was also given a complete face lift. You'll notice we are lightening up this year, as I've converted from a depressing black background theme to a more custom and inspirational white background theme. Expect more do-hickies, thing-a-ma-bobs, and doobers soon, but for now there are new sidebar widgets and even an ESPN ticker at the bottom. You should be able to follow along by web, email, RSS, and even our own Twitter feed (@pickemdashfb). It is a lighter and brighter world now for the Pick’em league.

The memories of Pick'ems past will now be preserved forever at pickem-football.com. But hopefully distance and time have not broken our bonds forever. Remember how I used to send you guys a spreadsheet every week consisting of 15 NCAA games and all the NFL games of the week (usually 14-16)? The NCAA games were chosen against the spread, while the NFL games were picked straight up. Those were good times.

But there was so much more. Each card usually contained bonus opportunities that were tallied separately for college and pro games. Bonus points were given for things such as weekly winners, sending the Pick’em card in early, bonus question answers, etc. These points accumulated throughout the season and were used in the post season contests. These components will no doubt be included in this year's competition.

Remember when weekends had meaning and purpose?

We must rekindle these pleasures. My suggestion is that you email me with a confirmation that you will join the group and unite our collective football fanatic energies. My promise to you is that I'll deliver the following exciting games:

1. NCAA Pick'em (Where players will score one point per correct pick, against the spread)

2. NFL Pick’em – (Also One point per correct pick, straight up)

3. NCAA Bowl Pick’em Challenge – (A confidence pool style game which includes all the bowl games and incorporates your accumulated bonus points from the NCAA Pick’em contest)

4. NFL Playoff Pick’em – (A Vegas style wagering format which includes all playoff games where points are wagered weekly against the spread)

Four contests... over four months of meaningful life. All for the low cost of $25.

"$25?" I know what you are thinking: “In this economy...” Uhhh STOP right there. You don't have to pay me right away if you don't want. I just need the money by the end of the year to send to the winners. The football season is long my friends. We just don’t have a “try before you buy policy.” If you start the season, you will be expected to pay.

So how much is $25? We play for over twenty weeks, so you can probably fish a buck a week out of a fountain somewhere or off of a Buddha at a Thai restaurant if you need to… this is a bargain.

Where does this money all go? Well what I do is invest into scratch off tickets, which usually nets… just kidding… it’s like this:

- NCAA Pick'em: 1st Place 25% pot, 2nd Place 10% Pot
- NFL Pick'em: 1st Place 25% pot, 2nd Place 10% Pot
- NCAA Bowl Pick'em: 1st Place 15% pot
- NFL Playoff Pick'em : 1st Place 15% pot

Like always, I’m open to suggestions on ways to make this thing better. Hopefully all the peeps that played last year will be back in this year. Pat yourselves on the back. We have had a pretty friggin’ good group in recent years. If you are ready to commit yourself to a wild ride of Pick’em fun from September to early January, email me at commish @ pickem-football dot com. Yep, that’s right. The new site comes fresh with a gmail powered web email addresses. If any of you guys want to have one to use for league emails (or whatever), let me know and I’ll hook you up.

(heard in the distance)
"Play? For 25 bucks? No, we will decline; and we will watch football leisurely"

To this I say...
What!? Play and you may lose. Decline and you will not -- at least for a while. And watching SEC games on ESPN many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the seasons from this season so that for one chance, just one chance to have come back to pickem-football.com and tell your Pick'em league peeps that they may take your $25, but they'll never take your love for the game (and your freedom either)!

Wow! Thanks guys... I feel much better now. Pick'em is back yo!

Sincerely,

The Commish

PS - Tell your friends and stuff. We could always use new friends.