Wildcard Weekend Player Spotlight

The upcoming weekend was a big one for James. As a Bengals fan, his team was very much alive in the Call It playoffs, even if the actual team had been eliminated the previous week. Squeaking in as the 14th seed, it was going to be an uphill battle to make the playoffs. With a date with the Buccaneers, a win would pit them against the Seahawks in the divisional round- a team that had more distance between themselves and second place, as second place had between them and the Bengals. In short, no one expected the Bengals to go very far. But it all started this weekend vs the Bucs.

James had invited several of his friends over, all of whom were ready to contribute to the Bengals. Usually the playoffs would be fun even if your team was eliminated, but with the way the Call It playoffs worked, your team could not make the playoffs while the fanbase still did. This was a new way for fans to actually contribute to their team’s success.

One by one, his friends arrived, seats filled, snacks on the coffee table, and the popping of beer tops all signaled that kickoff was near. James had set up a small screen next to the T.V., and had ported an old phone to display the Call It information concerning the matchup so they could all see the updated results after every drive.

Bengals @ Bucs, 0-0

Everyone timed their kickoff button for the extra 25 points, and the game was underway. The first few drives saw several lead changes, indicating that those fans down in Tampa were also taking it seriously.

Bengals 5330 – 5147 Bucs

Bengals 10828 – 11004 Bucs

Bengals 15200 – 14993 Bucs

All eyes darted to the screen after every drive resolution. Groans and cheers filling the air after each update. While the game held close, by the end of the third quarter the Bucs had clearly pulled ahead.

Bengals 45222 – 52798 Bucs

As the game winded down, the Bengals were still down by almost 8000 points. Among their group of 5, the highest point total was hovering around 500. James had an idea- a bold hail mary of an approach. Giving his most inspiring tipsy speech he could muster, he suggested they all go all in on a fumble. After some deliberation it was agreed that they would hedge bets on interception as well. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as they watched what was likely the final drive of the game.

Interception.

It happened. Whoops and hollars filled the house, more bottle caps were popped as the cheers continued. Then, one by one the chatter went silent as eyes darted to the screen, eagerly awaiting the updated numbers.

Bengals 79923 – 80234 Bucs

Hearts sank. To come so close and fall short, to almost single handedly save all the Bengals fans from elimination, it was devastating. But then, almost inexplicably, the numbers on the board changed.

Bengals 80401 – 80234 Bucs

Puzzled, James looked at his points. They had gone up almost 500 points! It was a correction from the system! As he enlightened his comrades to the news, the celebrations resumed. The Bengals were alive- at least for another week.