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Fun Files for Football Fans

Get the most out of the football season with these shareware games, office-pool managers, and game predictors.

By Linda L. Grubbs, PCWorld   

1. NCAA Football 99: Suit up, grab your helmet, and get out on the field for the last 2 minutes of the 1999 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game between Michigan and Nebraska. This action-packed game has many easy-to-use features that appeal to both seasoned gamers and rookies. Pick your team and go head-to-head with your computer, which acts as the opposing team. I liked the real-life touches; for example, you have 30 seconds to snap the ball or you face a delay-of-game penalty. The playbook had a good selection of offensive and defensive plays to choose from. And if a particular play doesn't work, you can view an instant replay to make sure you won't make that mistake again.

2. Madden NFL 2000: This demo features two pro teams, the Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos, in a visually rich arcade-type game. The game lets you play at different skill levels, such as Rookie, Pro, and All Pro. Another nicety: you can modify the rules to suit your own preferences. (I chose Rookie, and because I'm partial to quarterbacks, I increased the penalty for roughing the passer to 20 yards!) On the downside, the game takes some getting used to: Keyboard shortcuts let you control the action, but it took a couple of trial runs before I got used to them.

3. NFL Fever 2000: The Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos face off at the Georgia Dome in this action-packed game, which features current NFL players. Keyboard options allow you to control the action, and as in real games, you get to call the coin toss, select plays, and call time-outs. But what I liked most about the game were the 3D graphics and sound effects: Hearing shouts from the huddle and the crunch of players being tackled made me feel like I was actually on the field. Instant replays and different camera angles enhance your view, but unfortunately, you'll have to wait until the opening shots of the stadium are over before the action begins.

4. Mr. NFL 2000: Mr. NFL 2000 uses statistical wizardry to help you predict the outcome of NFL games. It's fun to use, but your results may vary. The tool displays statistics such as average number of points, passing yards, and sacks for each team in an easily readable chart. You can make predictions based on formulas that you can create and edit, or give each team a power rating and rate their schedule strength. Mr. NFL 2000 can download new stats each week (a 1-KB file) for free. I'm a Monday Night Football fan, so I used the single-game option and picked Dallas over Washington with a seven-point spread. The program predicted that Dallas would win, but foretold a greater point spread (11.3). I also tried the Smart Predict feature, which lets the computer do all the predictions for the week. The program didn't do a great job of predicting the wins, however, garnering eight wins and six losses. Mr. NFL 2000 is a slick little program, but I wouldn't bet the house on it.

5. Football Pool Manager: Running the office football pool can be about as much fun as a tongue-lashing from NFL coach Bill Parcels. But this little program can help. I found it very easy to use. Each week, members of the pool predict which team will win and assign confidence rankings (points given to each team) to each team based on rules assigned by the pool administrator. If the predicted team wins, the pool member gets the confidence rankings points added to their overall score. After the winning game scores are entered, the program calculates all of the member's points to determine the weekly winner. Pool Manager includes options for handicapping, adding teams, printing reports, and managing pool members. It can be installed on a network so that each user can enter their weekly picks online.