This is the seventh and final installment in Armchair Pool's seven part series on how to manage a hockey pool. For a summary of the entire series, see the blog post entitled "How to organize a hockey pool. A seven part series".
So your pool is almost over and you are currently out of the prize money. You go through the motions each night. You check your scores, do some optimistic math, but deep down you know that a 60 point gap can not be closed in 3 weeks.
Your team may be done, but don't let your sour attitude bring down the pool. Poolies return to pools that are fun, so if you want your friends to sign up again next year, buck up and finish your pool in style.
Here is a checklist that will keep all of your poolies happy right to the end.
1. Update your trophy
Don't have a trophy? Well get one! You don't have to break the bank. Glue a hockey puck and a Chris Pronger bobblehead to a traffic cone and name your trophy "The Pylon". Or stick a Todd Bertuzzi hockey card on a piece of driftwood and name it "The Floater". You get the idea. Then just make sure there is some way of attaching poolies names and winning year to the trophy and present it at the end of the year.
2. Hand out the prize money
Bragging rights and the trophy are the most important prize. However, the prize money is a close second. So make sure you hand out the appropriate prize money in a timely fashion. No one likes the guy who never gets around to paying people back. Likewise, a pool administrator who takes all summer to hand out the prize money is not popular. Martin - I don't want to hear it. The cheque's in the mail buddy.
3. Have "special" prizes
Not everyone can win, but a lot of people deserve a prize. You could give out an old doorknob to the, well, the doorknob who made the worst pick of the draft. We had someone take Ziggy Pallfy two years after he retired. He deserved the doorknob award. You could have an award for the funniest team name, the best point total in one night, the team with the most injuries, the list is endless.
4. Get together
Let's face it, hockey drafts are about drinking beer and pizza. So what better way to send off another successful pool than with beer and pizza. Get your poolies together at a pub or your favorite rec room for "Awards night". Hand out the prizes, watch some hockey and make plans for the next pool.
