Front Office Pool Addiction (Holty’s Blog)
“I give up. I’m out. I’m terrible at these things,” – Condors Team President Matthew Riley.
The “these things” he’s referring to, is the somewhat new craze sweeping through the Condors front office – pools and fantasy tournaments on various sports. It started with picking NCAA Football bowl games over the winter and is continuing this weekend with a draft of Kentucky Derby horses.
I’m not sure if Riley is out of the pools entirely. He’ll probably want in once he thinks about it. I mean, they’re addicting. We’re competitive by nature up here in the front office and tournament season has only highlighted that fact.
It’s not something that I’ll put on a resume, but “Pool Commissioner” has been a pretty fun aspect of being in #Condorstown. (Look for a Front Office Forum tomorrow on Condors.TV) We do it for fun and wager tiny amounts sometimes. We don’t do it for the money necessarily. Instead, they’re done to bring the office together in a competitive way, whether you know what bracket or sport you’re filling out or not. It’s fun to check the standings in the morning and see the brackets lining the walls of the office.
Things didn’t start well for us though. The first two pools we did, the NCAA football bowl pool and the March Madness pool, both were won by Nick Wynne of the SMG Marketing dept. (Well, credit to Brad Urbani for at least getting a split of the bowl win)
So, to alleviate the problem of having “outsiders” winning the pool, I’ve banned him and his cronies. I’m the commish. I make the rules.
Then we moved on to a fun one, the NCAA Frozen Four brackets. We let the players in on this one too and lo and behold, Chris Kushneriuk took it home. OK, players, now you’re banished. Boom.
We have two going on currently, with a fantasy pool for the NHL playoffs where we pick players and accrue points based on how they’ve done in the post season. Andrew Crutcher has overtaken the lead from Kevin Bartl, who led after the first round of games.
Our other brackets currently on the wall are for the ECHL playoffs. I’ve long been eliminated along with El Presidente both due to our finalists bowing out in round one. (Thanks Ontario!)
But, others are still flying high and it has come down to Condors Head Coach Matt O’Dette and VP Justin Fahsbender. O’Dette takes the win if the Las Vegas Wranglers take home the Cup, while Fahzy is looking for the Kalamazoo Wings to win it all. Good luck to both.
Tomorrow we’ll draw numbers out of a hat to see which horse we’ll be rooting for on Saturday.
Speaking of the Kentucky Derby, did you know I was born on Derby Day in 1988? Winning Colors won that year, one of only three fillies (that’s a young female horse for those out of ‘the know’) to ever win the Run for the Roses.
My birthday isn’t on Derby Day this year, it’s on Monday. May 7th. Mark it down. Presents are more than welcomed. Checks as well.
If I was a betting man, and I am, I’d take the “8 Creative Cause” and box him with the “19 I’ll Have Another” and the “15 Gemologist” (Todd Pletcher can’t win the Derby.)
Do you have Derby picks? Does your office get in on the pool fun? Let me know! Email me, rholt@bakersfieldcondors.com
Ryan Holt is the Manager of Media Relations and Broadcasting entering his second season in #Condorstown. He placed his first bet at the racetrack at the ripe ol’ age of five. His blog comes out every Thursday. Follow him on Twitter @BroadcastHolt.
