Hello, everyone!
Will there be a 2010 Pogo Football Pool? To answer all of those emails and phone calls…. yes!
There will be some changes in the format so it will not look the same way and it certainly will not be run the same way. Actually, I would call this an “overhaul” more than I would I would say we were “making some changes.” Let’s hit the change points to get them out of the way, then go into more detail.
This season’s theme is “work smarter, not harder.”
1. No more sheets, no more staples; the entire pool will exist online through www.stevepogo.com with a little help from Google Documents.
2. No weekly collections; the entire season will be prepaid. If you don’t submit your winners on time, you’re out but your money is still in the pot.
3. Everything is time stamped via Google, so the midnight cutoff time will now be enforced to the second, so do not procrastinate!
4. There will be a spreadsheet, BUT…
a. it will flow horizontally instead of vertically
b. it will allow for nicknames to appear instead of real names
c. every cell (except for where you enter the winners) will be locked so don’t worry about screwing something up while entering winning teams
d. Google will do all of the typing, so no more typo concerns
e. The spreadsheet will give you the option to auto-fill the actual winners after just one letter has been typed
f. I will do my best to get the spreadsheet up on time but if I am out of town (which I will happen multiple times), date and time stamping eliminates any challenges
5. No more tipping; you win it, you keep it! My only “fee” for setting all of this up will be three free plays per week: 2 for me, 1 for Emily.
6. I play the exact same way all of you do; by using the new online pick sheet.
7. You will only have 2 opportunities to buy in all season: once before Week 1 a second time before Week 4. That is it. No exceptions. Don’t bother asking for special treatment.
8. There will be two passwords. The first will be a universal password all pool members can use to access a new page on www.stevepogo.com which will prevent random passers-by and internet bots from stumbling across the site. The second, and much more important, will be an individualized passcode you will receive from me upon collection and it will be the first thing you enter on every pick sheet for the entire season. This will have to match your actual name when you submit your picks, thereby preventing non-members from playing, preventing multiple plays, and it will keep your specific identity throughout the season.
9. I reserve the right to bounce anyone out of the pool at anytime. Of course, I’d need a reason, so DO NOT do the following:
a. Show up at my house to challenge results of the pool that are posted on line
b. Whine for me to fix something that you screwed up; be a responsible adult
c. Call me to solve problems that you can’t figure out; there are a few select people that can call me whenever they’d like and odds are you’re not one of them, but feel free to ask one of them whatever you’d like!
d. Call me and ask how many wins you currently have. If technology has passed you by to that extent and/or you don’t have the patience to wait until after work to access a computer, call a friend, not a Pogo.
10. If absolutely any of this bothers you or you don’t feel confident that you can get to a computer by Saturday nights at midnight (or sometimes earlier, based on Thanksgiving and Saturday games) then please do not bother playing.
Did you like the nice, happy, chipper tone for that whole thing? 90% of you do things the right way – turn it in on time, play for fun with an occasionally payoff, make every game important, and use this pool in the way in which it was originally intended: competition, trash talking, and bragging, all while smiling. Of course, if I stated that right off the bat, everyone would assume they were in that category and ignore the rest of it, so if you were concerned that something might be involving you, then it served its point.
I’m going to keep this posted somewhere all season, easily accessible for obvious reasons.
Everything sound good so far? Are you still with me? Do you want to get started?
I am emailing/calling/texting/Facebooking quite a few people who collected for me last season. Since there will only be two collections this season (once for everyone who is on the ball and a second time for the stragglers right before Week 4) that will be the only running around time for any of us involved. If you are interested, please send me an email to stevepogo@gmail.com and we get things rolling for you. An average email might start with “I am interested in playing this year…” while an awesome email might start with “twenty-three of my friends and I want to get in on the pool for the season…” See the difference? 
I will have my usual collection centers and collecting people up and running soon. Of course, this is more than a five spot stapled to a piece of paper so I understand if some of you are concerned and want to give it to me directly. We can arrange that as well; just don’t wait until September 8th (yes, I am including the Thursday night kickoff game; c’mon, Vikings-Saints looks awesome on paper!) and ask if I can make 14 stops in one nights.
How much is this going to be? 17 weeks plus three weeks in the playoffs is 20 weeks at 5 per week. If your mathematical skills got you anything less than 100, you might want to invest in an abacus. If you wait until the week before Week 4, three weeks would have gone by so you’re saving 15 (3 weeks at 5 per week) so the second buy in date would require on 85. Why are we doing it this way? 4 reasons!
1. This makes thing so much easier on those of us who volunteer our time to run it, as well as drive time for all of us.
2. People will be more much more punctual; they’re already paid into the system.
3. It knocks out the people that shouldn’t have been in this thing in the first place; if you can’t scrounge up 100, you should be putting your funds into something more beneficial than a football pool.
4. I will be traveling out of town for destination weddings, as well as conferences in Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Antonio. The last time I put someone in charge of running this thing, the pool population collectively roughed them up and questioned the integrity of the entire thing. I hope you know how much that pissed me off, given that they volunteered their entire weekend. (And yes, I do remember plenty of you emailing your thanks and appreciation to them as well.) This system allows me to work remotely and update via WiFi, so even if the spreadsheet isn’t fully up, I can post my own picks and the remainder will be time stamped to avoid any raised eyebrows later. You guys know I always keep you in the loop; just read and follow the website and you’ll be fine. The sheet should be up every week without a problem; I’m just factoring in variables that have not cropped up yet.
I am working on a trial sheet (a pre-season week that everyone can play for free… and no one can win) so that you can see how easily this will work. We play for real starting with Week 1.
To recap everything you just read…
There will be a 2010 Football Pool, it will be all online, prepaid for the season, timestamped via Google Docs, there will be a new look spreadsheet, be on your best behavior, results not excuses, don’t procrastinate, “work smarter, not harder,” and don’t play if you’re paranoid, broke, or technologically ignorant. 
Now……. let the emails begin! Welcome back, poolers!
- Steve Pogo
P.S. There is officially another Pogo as of 9 days ago. Emily and I were married in Hartland, Vermont on 8/14/2010…. at 6:28pm under a massive maple tree. Pictures will be posted… ummm… eventually. We have over 8,000 to sort through, plus the the shots from the trips up and back. Now I can focus on some football!!!
If they can’t figure out the easy part (which is bolded!) then you know they’ll cause problems later in the season. Reading is fundamental. Give it a shot.