Tao of Pauly

Avoiding the Choke; Pauly Wins Pauly's Pub Football Pool

By Pauly
New York City

At the start of November, I couldn't believe that I was at the front of the pack in my annual football pool. I was in the Top 5 or so and had never been that high up so late into the season. On Turkey Day, I took over sole possession of first place. I was on the verge of winning my own pool as long as I didn't choke in December. Last weekend was tough and I agonized over the games. I actually whiffed and went 0-5 in the afternoon games. I overthought the process and imploded. I ended up with a below average week. Although I retained first place, a couple of folks picked up ground on me like Drizz and Storms. I had a cushion and lost it. The pressure was on for the final week of the season with Otis in hot pursuit.

I had less time for the pool than in previous years. I did not do any extra research and I usually did my picks on the fly due to a crazy travel schedule. My picking method was nothing sexy. Just old school formula... picking almost always chalk and selecting the home teams in extra close games. I guess it worked.

On the last week of the season, I tried not to fret over the games. I waited until an hour before gametime before I made my final picks and went with my gut. I didn't crunch the numbers and tried my best to figure out which teams would sit their starters. There were five or six tough games and many with playoff implications. I only made two last second changes and both games were winners; Houston and Miami. The biggest game of the week? Philly beating Dallas. I picked Philly while 90% of the pool went with Tony Romo and the inept Cowboys. That game sealed the pool for me.

Anyway, I got lucky the last couple of weeks and held onto first place. The top four places paid.I won $420. Fitting. I'm going to blow all of my winnings on Phish tour in 2009. That will buy me a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches and other headies in the parking lot.


I also won the Brothers wagers. BG and myself were up against our brothers Derek and Bobby Bracelet. Our combined score was better.

And I feel bad for the guys who finished below Nicky. She finished in 14th place and had bragging rights over PKPNF, Derek, and BTreotch.