WWSD?

Time to try and luck out again with football pool picks this week. Here is the email I sent to Pete "I'll sell your home, any home for $39.95" Bruinsma:

Pete,

Merry Christmas,

Here are my picks... It being Christmastime, I asked myself, WWSD? (What Would Santa Do?)

Since there are no NFL teams (yet) at the North Pole, I figured Santa would be rooting for the northernmost teams in each of this weekend's lineups.

For my data, I relied on The NFL Stadium Guide for an address of where each team's home stadium actually resides. For example, Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium is actually not in Buffalo, but in Orchard Park, NY. Giants Stadium is in New Jersey, etc.

Once I had a solid location for each team, I Googled for their latitude, which if you recall from Geometry class, tells how far away from the equator you are. The equator would be at 0 degrees latitude, and the more north you go, the higher the latitude. Santa at the North Pole would be at 90 degrees north latitude. Thus he will be cheering for the team with the higher latitude in each of this weekend's matchups.

Okay, here we go!

Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) is 44 degrees 53 minutes North
Green Bay, WI is 44 degrees 29 minutes North
Pick: Minnesota!

Kansas City is 39 degrees 7 minutes North
Oakland is 37 degrees 49 minutes
Pick: Kansas City!

Denver is 39 degrees 45 minutes North
Tennessee (Nashville, TN) is 36 degrees 7 minutes North
Pick: Denver!

Pittsburgh is 40 degrees 30 minutes North
Baltimore is 39 degrees 11 minutes North
Pick: Pittsburgh!

Detroit is 42 degrees 25 minutes North
Chicago is 41 degrees 50 minutes North
Pick: Detroit!

Cincinnati is 39 degrees 9 minutes North
NY Giants (East Rutherford, NJ) is 40 degrees 49 minutes North
Pick: NY Giants!

Indianapolis is 39 degrees 44 minutes North
San Diego is 32 degrees 44 minutes North
Pick: Indianapolis!

Jacksonville is 30 degrees 30 minutes North
Houston is 29 degrees 58 minutes North
Pick: Jacksonville!

Tampa Bay (Tampa, FL) is 27 degrees 58 minutes North
Carolina (Charlotte, NC) is 35 degrees 13 minutes North
Pick: Carolina!

New Orleans is 29 degrees 59 minutes North
Atlanta is 33 degrees 39 minutes North
Pick: Atlanta!

New England (Foxborough, MA) is 42 degrees 13 minutes North
NY Jets (East Rutherford, NJ) is 40 degrees 49 minutes North
Pick: New England!

Buffalo (Orchard Park, NY) is 42 degrees 56 minutes North
San Francisco is 37 degrees 37 minutes North
Pick: Buffalo!

Washington (Landover, MD) is 38 degrees 56 minutes North
Dallas (Irving, TX) is 32 degrees 51 minutes North
Pick: Washington!

Seattle is 47 degrees 37 minutes North
Arizona (Tempe, AZ) is 33 degrees 32 minutes North
Pick: Seattle!

Miami is 25 degrees 48 minutes North
Cleveland is 41 degrees 24 minutes North
Pick: Cleveland!

St. Louis is 38 degrees 45 minutes North
Philadelphia is 39 degrees 53 minutes North
Pick: Philadelphia!

Tie breaker will be Philly's latitude of 39