Rigging the Football Squares

Hint: You Can't Rig Football Squares (Day 70)

The other day, my sister reached out and asked if I could contribute toward my nephew’s fundraising for some sport related thing or another. Both my nephews are athletes. Baseball. Basketball. Horseshoes. Race Car Driving. Bull Riding. Who knows. They can do it all.

One of them is 10 feet tall. They are both ruggedly handsome and they play musical instruments and also cook. It’s ridiculous. My sister and brother-in-law should write a parenting book.

She wanted to know if I’d donate via a game called Football Squares which cost $20 a square. Each square was numbered with the two teams, one across the top, one to the left. I’ll happily donate $20 to my nephews’ pursuits, of course, but this football squares thing was new to me.

You see, I’m the opposite of my nephews. Unathletic. Not handsome. Can’t cook. Ugh, what a mess I am.

Anyway, I figured if I was going to donate and maybe win a little money (which I’d likely just give back to the boys anyway) then I ought to learn enough to make an educated decision.

Since each square had a number, and I somehow got it in my head that I’d win if the two teams somehow reached that number, I did a little research and discovered that the most popular final score in professional football history is 20-17. Twenty plus seventeen equals 37.

“I’ll take 37,” I told my sister proudly, “because that’s the most popular score in football history!”

“The square you pick is not the number you get for the score,” she told me. “I did give you 37 though. Good luck.”

My sister will get the better of me till the day I die.

Anyway, she’s right. There’s a random placement of numbers and then you cross count the numbers and add them up during halves or the end score, and blah blah my eyes glaze over and I stop caring.

It’s fine. My nephews will get a little donation and I’m sure there are friends of the boys placing bets that will actually know what the heck is going on. I won’t be one of them.

If I DO win, however, you can bet my sister’s gonna hear about it!