Week 1 MVP Award Winner –
The Cat (29 Points)
With great excitement, The Football Club resumed operation last weekend after a long 6-year hiatus. It was great to be back making picks once again and seeing how everything played out on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday. While several long-time club veterans struggled to shake off the rust and make successful picks, one player who returned triumphantly was The Cat. Looking back, The Cat had an amazing 2012 season, which was the previous final season of The Football Club. During that season in Week 11, he scored a Perfect Week, which had only been accomplished one time before in 16 seasons (by The Rickster in 2004). The Cat scored 41 out of 39 Points with 14/14 games picked correctly during his Perfect Week. He ended up with 41 Points instead of 39 since he also selected Triple Jeopardy. The Cat was also our 2000 Club Champion, all the more impressive when you consider that we had a record 49 club members playing that season. As Week 1 of the brand new 2018 season arrived, The Cat turned in his picks from Ecuador, where he is currently serving as a Regular Pioneer along with his lovely wife Judy. And The Cat delivered some outstanding picks, getting both Games of the Week correct with his picks of Mia and Wash. The Cat also got both Monday Night games correct by selecting NYJ and LAR. Thus, The Cat has debuted at #1 with 29 Points scored in Week 1. Congratulations to The Cat on winning the Week 1 MVP Award. Captain Jack Sparrow gave a “21 cannon salute to the Cat.” And Slick Chick said: “Congrats to Cat!.” Our MVP Award Runner-Up was club legend and 2008 Club Champion Nighthawk, who had not participated since the 2009 season. Despite not making picks for 8 long seasons, Nighthawk picked up where he left off by scoring 28 Points. That’s an outstanding job. Rounding out the Top Five were Captain Jack Sparrow (27 Points), Rad Dad (26 Points), and rookie sensation Stinkerbell (25 Points). Welcome to the club, Stinkerbell. And welcome to the Top Five.
Be sure to check out the Current Standings page (best viewed on a computer screen) to see where you finished after Week 1 was completed. By the way, pay no attention to Hoosier Daddy being in 18th Place. As Hoosier himself said on Club Chat: “Careful players... I've got no place to go but up! This week I start my march towards 1st place.” Don’t forget that Hoosier Daddy is our defending Club Champion. And one thing you may not realize about his 2012 Club Championship was that during the early part of the season, he was in 16th Place. So he’s a slow starter, but that doesn’t mean much. The Rickster, as well, went on a tear during the second half of the 2012 season. 2010 Club Champion Slick Chick also warned everyone on Club Chat: “Watch out for Slick Chick next week, everybody!” And 2011 Club Champion Captain Jack Sparrow warned The Cat that he was in danger, stating on Club Chat: “Congrats to the Cat. Fatten yourself up I feel a tasty cat meal coming next week.” Please, everyone, if you can, drop into Club Chat once in a while and say hi to your fellow club members. Club Chat now has its own separate page accessed from the menu bar at the top. Don’t forget to input your name before sending your message so we will know who you are.
This week marks the return of Head to Head Weekly and Pro Bowl Team Weekly. (Once again, these pages are best viewed on a computer screen.) Be sure to check out your Head to Head and Pro Bowl Team matches for this week. As for the Week 2 Picks Sheet, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, The Autopicker has selected Cincinnati over Baltimore for Thursday night. However, I am expecting half of the club to pick Cincinnati and half to pick Baltimore. But you only need to turn in your pick if you are switching to Baltimore (which is what I am doing, just for the record). Even on the most closely contested games, as this one is expected to be, The Autopicker saves half the people the trouble of e-mailing their pick in. Second, this week marks the return of Triple Jeopardy. Triple Jeopardy is the Regular Game with the TJ option listed next to it. Remember if you select Triple Jeopardy and you miss the game, you will receive a -2 Points deduction from your score for the week. I hope everyone has a great week and I hope I’m able to do better this week myself.