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One more game. That was all that stood between them and the Super Bowl. A cursed franchise had bred a cynic within Daniel, but the Lions were only One. Game. Out. 

The party that was planned for this occasion was vast, Daniel barely had the space to accommodate all his friends and their plus ones or some with their plus however many. He had gone to the store, bought an endless amount of traditional football fare, and all that was left was to wait on the guests. 

Over a week ago, Daniel had also texted everyone to download the new app, Call It, to crank up the festivities an extra notch. Winner would get 100 bucks and bragging rights.

The doorbell rang. Showtime.

Over the next several hours guests trickled in, beer cans popped, and conversation was flowing- about the game of the hour of course. Who would be the star of the show? How would the offense show up? Worries, concerns, excitement, predictions, all of it hummed through Daniel’s house like a hive. 

15 minutes before kickoff.

Daniel made sure all the guests were logged into the private contest on Call It, helping to troubleshoot some of the more technically challenged members of the party. It was close, but in the end everyone was ready, waiting for that first kickoff. 

Lions/Touchdown/50

He was starting off aggressive, but if it paid off he could lead the pack by a fair margin. After just several plays, Williams broke off a big one- 42 yard rush for a TD. The party went crazy. Hollering, whooping, pure excitement. After everything calmed down Daniel checked his score- he was third place. Out of over 30 players this wasn’t too bad, but a couple die hards had gone all in and were leading by a healthy amount. 

As the first half continued, it was all smiles for the Lions fans. Daniel and just a handful of others had pulled away in the Call It game, and it seemed, at 24-7, that the Lions had pulled away from the Niners as well. 

Things began to take a twisted turn in the third quarter, however. The lead had shrunk to a mere 7 points with 5 minutes left in the third. The very first offensive play of the Lions saw a fumble give excellent field position to the Niners. Every Lions fan’s heart sank, they knew this script. A few minutes later, the game was tied, and all the momentum was in the Niner’s favor. 

As a valiant but too little too late attempt at a comeback ensued, and the clock wound down, Daniel seized his opportunity. Dejected faces were everywhere, and he counted on this fact distracting them from the contest. 

Niners/Time Expired/All In

While his heart was heavy, Daniel knew his wallet would be happy. 100 bucks is 100 bucks right?

It was a crisp Sunday afternoon in the heart of December, and the excitement in the air was palpable. Mark, a die-hard Browns fan, had invited a group of his closest friends over to his cozy apartment- it was game day. The smell of freshly popped popcorn and the sound of clinking bottles filled the room as the friends settled onto the comfortable couches, their eyes fixated on the large flat-screen TV.

Mark couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. He had been looking forward to this gathering all week. The atmosphere was electric as cheers and friendly banter filled the room.

Before the game kicked off, Mark introduced his friends to the Call It app, he had just discovered it a few weeks ago and was trying out all the features before bringing it up to his friends. In no time at all the group had set up their profiles and enrolled in a private contest, with minutes to spare before kickoff.

During halftime, the friends refueled with snacks and refreshments. Laughter filled the room as they swapped stories, debated plays, and, due to one of his friends being a Steelers fan, indulged in good-natured trash talk. The scores were near dead even, with Mark holding a slight edge over his Steeler friend. 

The second half brought even more excitement, and the tension in the room escalated as the clock ticked down. 

457-430 was Mark’s lead over his friend. The rest of the group had fallen appreciably behind but had somehow talked the competitive narrative of which team was better to the result of the contest between the two leaders. 

As the game reached its climax, Mark’s living room transformed into a mini-stadium, echoing with the cheers and groans of every updated score. The Browns had already clearly pulled away from the Texans, but the Steelers/Browns contest was locked in down to the wire.

670-655

Mark was down, there was only one drive left in the game. 

Texans/Turnover on Downs/200

He knew it was a bit risky, but it had to be done, he had to win, for his other buddies.

11 tense plays later, Mark hit paydirt. Cheers, crying, hugs, and laughter ended a perfect, fun afternoon.

It was going to be a tough one. The year had been up and down for the Bills, but this game could really make or break their season. The Cowboys were riding a 5 game win streak and seemed to be among the NFL elite. The Bills? Hit and miss all season long, and sitting on the playoff ledge. 

Francis sat nervously on his chair, his finger hovering over the kick off button. The opening ceremonies had concluded and the game was set to begin. 10 seconds and 25 bonus points later, the game and the contest were underway. 

Francis typically only played public contests, as much as he enjoyed Call It he wasn’t one to spend much money on games in general. Still, prior to today’s game he couldn’t help but be intrigued when a in app private game invite was sent- by someone named “Randycrush1982”. He was sure it was an incorrectly typed username, but he liked spontaneity at times and so accepted the invite. To his surprise he wasn’t kicked out of the group. 

After the first drive, the leaderboards came out, Randy was on top, but in second place out of 5 players Francis held a close second. The Bills pulled away in the first half, and the other three players were left in the dust as Francis and Randy become locked in an ever changing struggle for first place. 

By the fourth quarter, the Bills had all but sealed the deal, up 31-3, but Francis and Randycrush1982 were separated by a measly 25 points. There wasn’t going to be many drives left, and Francis realized he had to do something. Cowboys were about to get the ball, and he knew that they would be throwing the ball all over the yard to try and catch up. On the other hand, he also knew that the Bills would likely play prevent defense and allow the Cowboys to score if it meant the game clock would suffer. He decided to hedge his bets:

Cowboys/Touchdown/25

Cowboys/Interception/20

Cowboys/Offensive Score/20

Cowboys/Turnover on Downs/25

It was an odd set of predictions, but realistically only a defensive stop would really set him back. Francis sat back and watched.

The Cowboys struggled to move it. After a very laborious first down, they couldn’t move it more than 5 yards. 

2nd and 5.

3rd and 5.

Francis muttered under his breath

4th and 5.

They were not going to punt, he knew this. Still, a turnover on downs was the last result he wanted of those that he picked. Francis held his breath.

Interception.

Francis stood up, dancing around the bar, unable to contain his excitement. Opening up the app, he kept refreshing the page, waiting for the score update.

He was up. By 500 points. Both games now basically over, Francis sat down and ordered another beer. 

“I got you Randycrush1982”, Francis smiled. Perhaps these private contests are worth it after all. Maybe next week, he thought, I’ll get my friends into this.

With a Bills win and a perfect buzz, Francis had all he wanted for the perfect ending to a weekend.

“I miss 2015”

Twisting the cap off, Tom’s brother sat down next to him.

“Yeah that SB was something else”

Tom dodged a harmless smack in response to his tongue in cheek retort.

“Well it was still better than whatever this season has been”

His brother wasn’t wrong. The Panthers were in contention for a number one draft pick. While nothing was expected this season, it was always nice going into a season with some hope. That had been completely snuffed out, and at 1-11 the season had been over for a long while. 

“But today is the day even the score”

Tom chuckled. Ever since the two of them had stumbled across the Call It app a couple months back, they had decided to make a game of the season. Instead of watching the abysmal record of their team, they had a 250 dollar bet on who would finish the season in Call It with a better record. Although Call It didn’t explicitly have a head to head record tracker, he and his brother had been tracking who won each weekly contest. Tom was up 5-4. It was like fantasy football, but more in the moment and so, in Tom’s opinion, more exciting. 

“May the best man win”

And just like that, the kickoff ensued and the game began. 

*Panthers/Punt/50*

*Go big or go home*

Several plays later, Tom was up 176-128.

“Jeeze Tom”

His brother was not thrilled, a loss today would put him 2 games back with only 3 weeks to go. By Tom’s estimation, this game was critical for both of them. The next several drives saw the point difference close quickly. 

189-155

145-167

234-247

It was a battle for the season, and the tension was palpable. As the game continued, the Panthers continued to play in unsurprising fashion, but neither brother could care less. With just under 4 minutes remaining in the game, the Panthers took over, down by a mile. The brother’s scores near dead even. Tom knew the Panthers would have to go for it, he also knew the Panthers were…the 2023 Panthers.

*Panthers/Turnover on Downs/50*

It was a massive risk, but he had to put the nail in the coffin right then and there. The Panthers quickly drove the field but, as predicted, stalled in Saint’s territory. 

Incomplete pass, 3rd and 2

Sacked, 4th and 13

Incomplete.

Tom stood up sharply, glanced down at his phone. Refreshing constantly. 1625 points! Just as he saw that his brother let out a holler.

“I’ve won I’ve won!”

Tom frowned, looked at the standings again, his brother sat at 6076.

“All in on turnover on downs baby!”

Tom cursed under his breath, in all the tension he had neglected to use one of his peeks to see what his brother was up to, and it cost him a relaxing end to the season.

“Well done bro, just remember, we still have 3 games left”.

Yes, the Panther’s season may have ended early, but for Tom and his brother, the playoffs had truly begun.

It didn’t seem like a winnable game. Heck it didn’t feel like a winnable season. The Rams sat at 5-6 and although they were just outside the playoff picture looking in, their remaining schedule looked brutal. The Browns were 7-4, fighting for the playoffs and perhaps the division.

Ron lifted his glass and eyed the fluid line incredulously.

“Another please”

Opening the Call It app, he prepared for kick off. 5 minutes and an extra 25 points later, the game was under way. This wasn’t Ron’s first Call It game, but it was his first contest against a celebrity. The immersive view was different, with his name and points being shown head to head against the celebrity.

*Browns/offensive score/25*

*I mean if we are going to lose I may as well get some points right?*

11 plays later the Browns methodically drove the field, punching it in and rewarding Ron. He checked the score, he was leading by 17!

A cynical prediction of punt for the Rams was whiffed when they made it a 7-3 game with a field goal, and by the end of the quarter the Rams led 10-7 and Ron trailed 165-207.

While feeling good about his team’s performance, Ron was less so about his contest. He loved chasing achievements, but had yet to earn “Diva”, the achievement for beating a celebrity. He needed this celebrity win. As the game progressed the contest score was kept relatively close, and something needed to change.

With just under 2 minutes remaining, and Ron trailing 256-302, he made a bold move.

*Browns/10/safety*

*Browns/75/Defensive stop*

He didn’t have the safety achievement, it was an extremely elusive one to get. But he knew the Browns were behind and would need to pass to score. By hedging his bet with a large investment in Defensive Stop, he stood a chance to take the lead regardless of the safety.

First snap incomplete

Second snap incomplete

Third snap sacked for a 13 yard loss on the Browns 1 yard line

Ron leaned in, this just got interesting. One snap later and the unicorn had been secured. Somehow Donald had penetrated and in one single play, Ron won his contest, got two achievements, and his Rams upset the Browns and vaulted them into the playoff picture.

Today was a very, very good day.

The world was upside down. How fast a year or two could change what had become an expected performance of excellence for decades? The NFC North had always belonged to the Packers, as far back as he could remember. 

This Thanksgiving didn’t feel the same.

Paul sniffed the air. The unmistakable scent of turkey in its early stages of roasting wafted through the house. Yes, it smelled like Thanksgiving, but it didn’t feel like Thanksgiving. The Packers were 4-6, Rodgerless, leaderless. The Lions? 8-2, the class of the NFC North. This had a disappointing Thanksgiving performance written all over it. The doorbell rang, and Paul opened it to be greeted by 15 or so relatives, all decked out in Packers gear. He smiled, invited them in, as they all eagerly placed themselves in strategic locations relative to the T.V.

“Buster is hosting everyone!”

One relative’s voice pierced the chatter. Paul thought this odd, as clearly he was the one hosting. 

“What’s this all about?”

“He’s hosting the private contest in Call It!”

Paul raised his eyebrow inquisitively, sensing the confusion, his relative continued.

“It’s a game where you predict the outcome of a drive as the game is happening. You risk points and get points if you are right, the less likely the outcome the more points you win! Whoever has the most points at the end of the game wins, and we already have a prize in mind!”

Paul had never heard of this game, “Call It” as they referred to it. It sounded fun.

“What prize did you have in mind?”

“First place gets first crack at the food, and wins the title of Thanksgiving 2023 Champion (to be contested next year), last place has to upload a social media post of themselves dressed in a turkey suit”

His relative then revealed the said turkey suit, it was…appalling to say the least. This sounded like just the kind of distraction Paul needed.

“Just get me set up and let’s do this!”

Several minutes later, everything was good to go on Paul’s phone, and the game was just minutes away from kickoff. 

Paul began the game predicting pessimistically. To his delight, he was wrong, and 4 drives into the game the Packers led 20-6 including a fumble recovery for a TD. Drinks were flowing, and spirits were high- unfortunately Paul was also dead last in the private contest, as his faith in his Packers wasn’t that great. Sensing the urgency, Paul made a bold prediction.

*Lions/Fumble/20*

Four plays later, his gamble paid off and vaulted him back into the competition. As the game unfolded, and it became clear that the outcome of the game was never in doubt, Paul shifted his focus to the private contest. He was in third place, just 127 points behind. With under 3 minutes remaining, the Lions got the ball back, down 29-14.

*This is obvious, its time to give up a garbage time TD*

*Lions/Touch Down/100*

Using his peek, he checked the two ahead of him, neither had a TD predicted. Paul smiled. Fourteen plays and 2 minutes of game clock later, the Lions punched it in, and with it, Paul’s almost assured victory. Shortly after, groans filled the room as Paul’s triumph was realized. 

“It was a good game”

Paul turned to see his nephew congratulating him.

“Yes, it was a great game, and I think this is the start of a wonderful tradition”

A bead of sweat ran down George’s face. He was unsure if it was the beer or the fact that the Dolphins were only up 14-13 at half time against the Raiders. His Call It score wasn’t much better, trailing his friend by 125 points – 215-90. The bet? 50 bucks, 25 if the Dolphins win, and 25 for the winner of the Call It game. He was in danger of losing both. George felt a firm grip around the back of his neck.

“Whoo whee what a half eh?”

His friend sat next to him.

“What do you say we make this a little bit more interesting?”

George shrugged, trying not to show his annoyance at the situation.

“What kind of interesting?”

“If one of us wins both wagers, we also buy the other person’s beer”

George rolled his eyes. Clearly his friend had had a bit much if he thought taking that he would take such a deal considering the situation. But then he got an idea.

“I’ll tell you what, seeing as you have the clear advantage, I’ll accept but if I somehow win both, you have to pick up next weeks bar tab as well”.

His friend thought about it a moment, and, perhaps in a lapse of judgment, accepted. 

“Now say it to the camera”

His friend repeated, and once George was satisfied, they continued to watch the game. 

*Dolphins/Defensive Stop/50*

The very next play Tua threw a deep pick. George groaned. Sure it helped his points a bit, but the momentum seemed to be swinging back the Raider’s way. As the game progressed, it seemed the Dolphins could do very little on offense, but they held the Raiders back remarkably well, and by the start of the fourth quarter, the Dolphins lead was extended to 20-13. Things remained this way until the two minute warning, however, George’s Call It game still remained stagnant, 135-250, and he realized he needed to do something drastic.

*Raiders/Interception/100*

It was an all or nothing approach. If he failed this, he could at least try to put his last 35 points on a time expired to catch his friend unawares. The Raiders began their drive, moving the ball bit by bit, as was the clock.

40,39,38

Down to the Dolphin’s 40 yard line

32,31,30

O’Connell wound up, 2nd and 10, taking a shot deep into the end zone. Flying out of nowhere, Ramsey cut it off, making the game sealing grab. George stood straight up, knocking his beer over in the process, letting out a hollar. His friend sighed, opening up the Call It app in the hopes the bets at least off set. No such luck. 

“Damn dude what did you do?”

George grinned

“What do you mean?”

“The game? Your score? How were you that lucky?

George thought about it for a minute.

“I just…knew. I had a feeling. I totally called it” 

*why am I even here?*

Ken thought to himself as he settled in at the bar. The season was over for the Cardinals, it had been for awhile. Sitting at 1-8 on the season, a win would basically be counter productive for the only thing the Cardinals were still in contention with- a first round pick. But Ken had been a Cardinals fan for decades, and regardless of how his team was doing, he had to watch the games. After ordering a beer, he settled in for what he was sure would be a pretty poor performance.

Shortly after the start of the second quarter, the Falcons scored a 2 yard touchdown to make it a 6-3 game. A burst of cheers and applause erupted from across the room. Turning his head, Ken was surprised to see a cluster of Cardinal fans all high fiving each other. He grabbed his beer and went over to investigate.

“We celebrating our path to the number one pick?”

The group chuckled, one of them turned to him.

“Nah man, we’ve been playing this new app for awhile now, and since the season is basically over we decided to have some fun with it. It’s called ‘Call It’ and it allows you to make predictions on drives and win points. End the game with the most points to win!”

Ken was intrigued.

“Where do I go to sign up?”

To his surprise, the man whipped out his phone, tapped a button in the app and extended it to him.

“Here just scan the qr code”

Ken scanned the code, and in minutes had an account set up. After some tinkering around, he was enrolled in the Falcons Cardinals game, and ready to go. As Ken waited for the half time to end, he explored the app, finding out it had a lot of cool features like achievements, private games, and tracked your statistics. He then preset his opening second half drive prediction.

*Falcons/25/punt*

Several plays into the third quarter, Ken’s hopeful prediction paid off. He smirked-

*maybe this app can take some of the sting out of this season*

As the game was winding down, Ken’s Cardinals trailed the Falcons by 2, with only 2 and a half minutes remaining. This was it, his moment to pull ahead and the moment for the Cardinals to shine.

*Cardinals/200/field goal*

11 plays later, the Cardinals lined up at the 7 yard line for the game winning kick with only 3 seconds remaining on the clock. As the ball sailed through the uprights, Ken couldn’t help but smile. His Cardinals may have damaged their draft pick rankings, but it was ok, he had found something that would make every game he watched just a bit more interesting.  

This was a defining moment in the Eagle’s season. 1.5 games in front of the Cowboys, and the Eagles were trailing 14-17 at half time.

Henry took a big gulp of beer, he could tell he was going to need a few more of these to make it through the second half. Opening his iPhone, he launched the Call It app- a game he had been meaning to try earlier but was only recently launched to the apple platform.

10 points left.

He had to admit he thought the Eagles would do a bit better than they did. The cowboys hadn’t really played anyone of consequence, it was only logical right? His score suggested otherwise.

Second half kickoff, Henry placed his next prediction-

Cowboys/Touchdown/10

If your team can’t win at least get some points out of it right?

Several plays later Henry’s points hit 0. Shrugging, Henry downed the last of his beer. It had been a fun game.

“Is that Call It?”

A male voice came from behind Henry. Turning, he saw a Cowboys fan, decked in gear and holding his phone out.

“I also play! Care for a friendly wager?”

“Out of points”

“Same. Restart?”

Henry sighed

“How much you want to bet?”

“2 beers?”

Henry nodded. Tapping the restart, the two of them started a brand new ballgame. Much to Henry’s delight, the Eagle’s scores two unanswered touchdowns to take a commanding 28-17 lead in the third quarter. Coincidentally, Henry had also predicted Touchdowns and held a healthy lead over his new Cowboys “friend”. A few field goals by the Cowboys kept it close, but in the end the Eagle’s pulled away with the win, and Henry got his two beers as well.

“Good game mate”

The Cowboys fan said as he fished his card out of his wallet.

“Do you come here often?”

“Every week”

“Want to do this again next week?”

Henry grinned.

“Sure man”

“Yessss”

Ben muttered under his breath, fist pumping the air. Sure, his Broncos were only up by 4, but given the circumstances it was huge. After another abysmal start after the blockbuster Wilson trade, it was almost a certainty that today would end 2-6, another lost season, another lost opportunity. The Chiefs were 6-1, top of the food chain, an NFL darling favorite. It had taken 6 weeks for the Broncos to record their first win- a win that seemed like a fluke at the time. But here they were, up 4 on the defending SB champs, and recovering a fumble near middle field.

Ben quickly opened his phone, loaded the Call It app, and made his prediction.

*Broncos,touchdown, 50*

He had started the night pessimistic, an all too familiar feeling as a Broncos fan these days. While his performance wasn’t terrible, he held a middle of the pack score at 125 points, good enough for middle place between his two buddies. .

*That’s about to change*

Four quick plays later, and Ben’s point total was 257, and his Broncos were up 14-3. First place and beating the Chiefs by 2 scores? That’s something he could live with. The next several quarters featured efforts in futility for both teams, but Ben was playing it safe, making conservative offensive score and defensive stop predictions, enough to maintain his lead but not enough to gain any significant ground. By the time the Broncos kicked a field goal with 34 seconds remaining in the game, the Broncos led with a score of 24-9, and Ben clung to his lead at 298 points.

*Chiefs,Defensive Stop, 25*

Ben watched as the clock ticked to 0, it was over, and his Broncos had stunned the world with their toppling of the Chiefs. Smiling, Ben opened his phone to check his points, and frowned. He was sitting in second, but perhaps more perplexing, his buddy sat in first with a score of 1103! Just then Ben’s phone vibrated, it was a text message from his friend.

“All in time expired babeeee”

Ben groaned. “Not really a gentleman’s sport I guess”. It didn’t matter, his team had won and he had had a great time with his buddies. Tonight was a great night.