Ah what? I know how much work goes into running a game like this so thanks for running.
Went back and looked and I went 17-3 this year in COFP. Definitely the difference
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and I forgot to put my picks in in time so had none pregame
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Congrats ONA!
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So . . . no emjoi’s for me?
I see how it is NOW . . .
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Congrats @OutdoormanNowActuary.
And thanks for running the show, @FSP-Intern 
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Congrats, OutdoormanNowActuary!
And just as important: Well done, FSP-Intern! All those years of learning finally paid off! 
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**An Ogden Nash–Inspired Valediction
(for the GoA Full Season Pick’em,
With Apologies to Ogden Nash,
And No Apologies Whatsoever to the Intern)**
Once upon seventeen seasons ago
(Which sounds like a fairy tale, and sort of is, though),
A man named @Jables, genial and spry,
Had a notion involving football and why
Predicting it all before kickoff Week One
Might be clever, or foolish, or terribly fun.
Thus, in 2009, on a board called AO,
The Actuarial Outpost, long may it glow,
The Full Season Pick’em lumbered to life,
With camaraderie, chaos, and stats sharp as knives.
Jables ran it for four years — then vanished from sight,
Like a wizard who leaves just before Act Two’s big fight.
He was jovial, popular, endlessly cited,
So prolific it often was quietly whispered
That most of the board — if you did the math well —
Was just you… and Jables… posting under twelve alts as well.
The contest lived on (as good contests do),
Migrating from AO to GoActuary, too,
Where spreadsheets were sharpened and tiebreakers honed,
And seventeen seasons have now fully growned
(That’s not a word, but Ogden Nash wouldn’t mind —
And frankly, neither should anyone kind).
Along the way, champions rose,
Some once, some twice, some thrice, I suppose:
TheArbitrary led all with three wins outright,
Followed closely by PatientZombie, twice biting just right.
Funemployed, OutdoormanNowActuary,
And Ezekial_Cumberland — sturdy and canny.
Single crowns went to many deserving sorts:
1695814, Carrie’s Carebears, Jahiegel of sports,
trondogss, JUICE, YetAnotherCareerChanger, too,
sam10gle, all etched into Pick’em lore true.
Each season a chapter, each winner a verse,
Some triumphs poetic, some losses perverse.
And then there were Awards — oh, awards galore,
Which complicated things nicely, then complicated them more.
The famous Change One Future Pick, or COFP by name,
Turned certainty slippery and chaos into a game.
There was A Student’s GroupThink, collective and sly,
And Jables’ Home Field Advantage, worth points you could buy
(At least metaphorically — accountants relaxed).
Numbers’ Nudge gave arithmetic teeth,
While Random Poster’s Lucky 7 defied disbelief.
The Arbitrary Award was, well… fittingly so,
And these named honors kept Jables’ spirit in tow,
Long after he’d gone wherever posters all go
When they log out forever and refuse to say so.
Through it all stood the Host — calm, prepared, dignified —
And beside him, the Intern, where blame could reside.
If a pick went astray, or a tiebreaker groaned,
If a spreadsheet hiccupped or a result lagged alone,
The Intern stood ready, chin out, to declare:
“Yes, that was me. I pressed something. Somewhere.”
He was blamed for the errors, the typos, the slips,
The missed COFPs, the phantom extra picks.
If awards went unused or deadlines got fuzzy,
The Intern was cited (correctly or buzzy).
And yet, through the jests and the ritual shame,
He stayed — for the people, the patience, the game.
Because this contest was never just wins or the board,
But kindness, and banter, and trust restored.
Disagreements handled with humor and grace,
Stats debated, then dropped, with a smiley-face.
A place where being right mattered less
Than enjoying the ride — and forgiving the mess.
So here’s thanks, sincere and overdue,
To each participant, veteran and new:
For patience when things weren’t quite right on first pass,
For camaraderie rare on the internet en masse,
For kindness that outpaced the snark and the math,
And for fun — the true point of this winding path.
And if there’s a moral (Ogden Nash would insist),
It’s this, gently phrased, and hard to resist:
That games are best played with good humor in view,
That rules matter — but people matter more, too.
And if something goes wrong, as it surely will do,
Well… there’s always an Intern to blame it on, too.
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As always, thanks again for running! Both the Intern and the Host are always appreciated… and if this is a true retirement it’s well deserved.
Keep an eye out for my NCAA games which take about 1/1695814th of the effort to produce!
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If any of you actually do want to take this on (or just want to be witness to the genius that was my boss) I’d be willing to share the monstrous excel spreadsheet where all the magic happens.
Just send an email to fspintern42 [at] gmail.
Intern issues? Asking for friends Patience and The Arb.
I believe the Intern has held fast on their declared retirement… this may be the end of the era.
At least he didn’t wait until his sons $2.3M (AO dollars) contract kicked in…
Do we have a crew who is still interested in this? I might be shooting myself in the foot here, but I’d run a slimmed down version of this if we have enough interest.
I’m in!
Might I suggest…a slimmed down version could go back to the basics. Make your picks and you’re done. No COFPs or other bonus rewards. Just pick, sit back, and see how we all do.
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I’m always in! Any format is fine by me.
I’m in.
And “ultra-simplified” game of no rewards is a great idea!
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I’ll play any game I can and appreciate however you want to run it
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I’m in also for however it is done
This covers my thoughts as well!
Ok, let me see what I can pull together. I’m thinking some sort of rewards but WAY slimmer version and no race to the get them in ahead of others, take your time and make your picks right before the season. Get those last second ACL tears into your rankings…
But… I thought half the game was getting your picks in before UA!!!
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