SP2: THE RULES

  • The Survival Pool 2 Rules are designed to eliminate entries quickly and in larger numbers. Since we're starting in Week 8, that gives us only 11 weeks of regular season to use, so the quicker the exits the better.

  • How do you play?
    Each week you pick one NFL team to win their game (no spreads used). If your teams wins, you "survive" and get to participate in the following week. If your team loses, you are out (ties are considered a loss). Game, set, match!

  • The catch?
    You will only be allowed to select a team from 5 randomly picked games each week and...

    ...you can only use each team in the NFL once for the entire season. So, for example, if you pick the Patriots to beat the Jets in week eight, and the Pats win, you cannot pick the Patriots as your team again this season.

    NOTE: The random games you get to pick from are selected by pulling them from 'a hat.' To make things more difficult the highest favorite's game will NOT be put into the hat. Five games each week gives you 10 teams to choose from which will all but guarantee that there is at least ONE team you have not used yet (thru Week 18). You may not like who you are forced to use, but there will be a team available.

    NOTE:With a 17th game added to the NFL schedule (2021) and in turn an 18th week to the pool, there is an ever so small chance that, going into week 18, an entry could have used all the random teams available. If that happens, a 6th random game will be added to the list of games to choose from for the week.

  • Since SP2 starts half-way thru the season there is less time to eliminate 600-700 entries, and the likelyhood of several people making it to the end of the season increases. What happens if 25-30 people make it thru week 18, which would make each persons winnings hardly worth the $5 entry fee?
    If 10 or more entries make it to the end of the season, Survival Pool 2 will continue into the playoffs. If there is at least one playoff team that each entry has NOT used (in each round) then the same rules apply, you cannot pick a team you have already used. If there is at least one entry that HAS used all the playoff teams already, then the picks will reset for everyone, all teams will become eligible (and the normal SP2 rules apply). If 10+ Survivors remain going into the Super Bowl then the spread WILL also be used.

  • What if I forget to submit my pick?
    THEN YOU ARE OUT!!!!! There is NO DEFAULT PICK for Survival Pool 2. No reminder messages. Failure to submit a pick will result in elimination.

  • **COVID-19/Damar Hamlin RULE**
    What if an individual game is cancelled last minute (or suspended)?

    Those participating, go into this with the understanding that if a game is cancelled at the last moment due to COVID (or anthing else for that matter), there's nothing we can do, your pick will be eliminated if it's not updated. Same goes for any game suspended after play has started. If the game is moved to a later date in the same week, then you're OK. But, like what happened with the Pats (in WK5, 2020), if they insert a by week for a team due to 'reasons,' that will eliminate your pick if you don't update it.

    Picks cannot be updated after their respective deadline. Even if it's to game that has yet to be played (like late Sunday games or the Monday night game), if it's not updated by the deadline, it cannot be changed.

  • How much to play?
    It's $5 per entry, maximum of 15 entries (paid + free entries) per person. As a bonus, for every three new people you recruit to play (and pay) you get one free entry. A new person is defined as someone who DID NOT play in SP1 (2023), SP2 (2023), & SP1 (2024).

  • You cannot win if you do not pay your entry fee(s). Once the pool ends, whether that be the NFL season ending (including playoffs and Super Bowl if necessary) or there is one person standing at any point, any Survivor(s) who have not paid their fee(s) are immediately ELIMINATED. If this elimination knocks the remaining Survivor(s) out of the pool, the $$ will be awarded to those who lasted the longest prior to this elimination.

    If you have not paid your entry fee(s) for SP1 (if you participated) you cannot participate in SP2. All submitted picks will be ignored.

  • How much do I win?
    The amount you win depends on the number of paid entries. Winner take all. If there is a tie the $$ will be divided equally.

  • When is my pick due each week?
    Your pick is due by 12:00pm on Sunday. All picks received after that time will be disregarded and you will be eliminated!

  • What about Thursday and Saturday games?
    If there is a Thursday game, and you are going to use that game as your pick, then you must submit your pick 1 hour prior to game time (otherwise it will be assumed you are not using that game and will pick from the Sunday/Monday list).

    If there is a Saturday game (towards the end of the season), the same applies as Thursdays. Pick due 1 hour before game time, otherwise it is asumed you will pick from the Sunday/Monday list.

    NOTE: If you are using the Monday Night game, that pick is also due by the first kickoff on Sunday.

  • What if I submit my pick, but it gets lost somehow, and I am eliminated when I shouldn't have?
    Unfortunately this can happen. Sometimes emails get swallowed up by the Internet Gods and never reach their destination. The only defense against this is to make sure you let at least one other person (in the pool) know who you are picking so they can vouch for you in the event of a disputed pick.

    Email logs are not valid proof of a pick as they can be manipulated.

  • Can I see who everyone has picked each week?
    Yes, the entire pool will be tracked at http://www.pllfirefly.us. All picks will be posted after the Sunday deadline each week (never before, to prevent others from basing their pick off everyone else).

    Submitting your pick

    2024 is year number 24 for this pool, and each year the number of entries has increased significantly. We've gone from 20 entries in 1999, to nearly 500 last season. As you might guess it's a lot of work to log everything. To make it easier for me, you should submit your pick in the following manner.

    FAILURE TO SUMBIT YOUR PICK CORRECTLY WILL RESULT IN BEING ELIMINATED. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

    In the SUBJECT field of your email, all you need is the following. SP2, WK#, YOUR NAME, YOUR PICK. You need not put anything in the BODY portion of the email. By having everyone just enter their pick into the email subject/heading it saves me the time of having to open 300+ messages each week, instead, all the picks are in a nice list on one screen.

    SP2 = Survival Pool 2, which is the 'marker' my email looks for to filter your message to the Survival Pool box I have set up. If you do not include this marker with your pick then it is condidered invalid and the entry WILL BE ELIMINATED.

    WK# = The particular week number in the NFL season. Since we start SP2 in week 8 the first week should be WK8, second week WK9, etc...

    Example:

    Since all the info I need will be in the SUBJECT, I will not be opening any of these emails. If you need to contact me to ask a question, please send a 2nd message with a different heading.