As the blazing hot days of summer come to a close, fall creeps in, and with fall comes MLB playoffs, football, and the Annual Jesuit Pick ‘Em League. In its fifth year of existence, the league offers students the chance to predict winners of various NFL and NCAA football games through weekly “quizzes.” The Jesuit Pick ‘Em League brings an even more competitive attitude to the Jesuit community as team managers select their picks for the upcoming weekend jam-packed with football, football, and more football. Participants in the Jesuit ESPN (Extracurricular Sports Prediction Network) Moodle page analyze games and determine who will win, and in the process they battle for bragging rights to the title of Pick ‘Em League champion.
The league is led by the two Commissioners, Nick Wageman ’13 and Grant VanKirk ’13, who are the driving forces behind the quizzes that aim to challenge managers each week. A lot of analysis and thought goes into the creation of these quizzes. Nick Wageman ’13 described how he constructs the quizzes: “I choose the most competitive games on paper, [thus] making the pick more challenging,” a difficult task that must be completed on a week to week basis.
Contrary to the notion that quizzes are great time consumers, the quizzes of the Pick ‘Em League do not take very much time at all and are found to be greatly enjoyable by most students. Co-Commissioner Nick Wageman ’13 remarked, “the quizzes take less than a minute for most students to complete,” which can be a nice break for the often stressed and always studious Jesuit student.
Although the competition is just for bragging rights, some students find themselves “talking trash” and becoming extremely competitive. A more casual participant, Chris Muller ’14, explained, “The community of Jesuit strengthens due to these fun and competitive quizzes.” The Jesuit Pick ‘Em League creates an opportunity for students of different grade levels to bond and interact more with each other, while also providing a constructive outlet for the innumerable competitive and overzealous football fans at Jesuit.
