Every August at The Times somebody, other than me, comes up with the idea to have a football picking contest. In other words have a contest sponsored by the paper in which local folks, and myself, pick who we think will be the winners of various football games.
Each year I do my best to nix the idea. This year the forces were too overwhelming and thus The Times now has the “Pigskin Football Contest”. I did win one battle this year. The idea to include local high school games as part of the contest was thrown out at my request. My job is already tough enough, and calling up coaches for information or quotes after I picked the other team to win doesn’t make for good public relations.
I’ve generally been opposed to these kinds of contest in our paper for several reasons.
For one, I must confess that I do not follow college football as close as I used to. I know that my column last week was about my excitement over the return of college football. But after covering the local sports scene week in and week out now for over four years I get my fill of sports. I still follow my favorite teams, but I don’t watch football all day and all evening like I used to. When I get some free time these days instead of watching more sports, I tend to prefer taking my wife out for dinner and maybe a movie. And I also don’t mind finding a river to paddle or a trail to hike.
Another reason that I don’t like these contest is that I tend to select with my heart and not my head. It’s hard to pick against some of my favorite schools and I’ve always been a sucker to pick the underdog. I feel better when my favorite teams win and I get lucky every now and then with the underdogs. But picking favorites and underdogs doesn’t usually pad my winning percentage.
And the last reason is these contest are brutal on my sports ego. I know some of our readers might find it difficult to believe I have an ego. But my lovely wife of 24 years often addresses the issue of my ego, so apparently I’ve got one. I’ve been a local sports broadcaster for almost 20 years and a sports editor now for over four years. That has lead some of the general public to think I know a thing or two about sports. And I’ve done my best over these years to keep up the charade. These pick the winner contest blow my cover and reveal that no one should consult my picks on the way to see their local bookie.
In fact, when this season is said and done, Simply Put, the Pigskin Football Contest is likely to show all our readers why I don’t need to quit my day job just yet.
From the Front Porch: Coach said to remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
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