2012-13 Pledge Season

Note: at the bottom of this post, you’ll be able to submit your pledge. We will post the form in several places, but you may always return to this page to pledge. We will make it a permanent link on the Blogroll to the right. –>

WHAT
Unless you’re new around these parts, you’re familiar with the Pledge Games we’ve proudly hosted leading up to both H2H and H2H2. In two years’ worth of fundraising, your pledges have accounted for $12,536.06 of the nearly $20,000 that the group has been fortunate to donate to Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Once again, you’ll have the opportunity to pledge your donation dollars. In years past, we’ve gotten some magnificent pledges and we look forward to hearing yours this year. Whether it’s $20 for a Red Wings win, $10 for a Pavel Datsyuk goal, $35 for a Jimmy Howard shutout, or anything in between, we’re anxious to add your promise to our spreadsheet and collect a few bucks here and a few bucks there until the total is something we can all be proud of.

If at all possible, we respectfully request that your pledges are based on something quantifiable — and preferably quantifiable by the post-game statistics. Shots, goals, plus/minus, penalties… all of that is fair game. But when we get into the more bizarre pledges (how many times Larry Murphy mentions hot dogs, second-period shots if the team is losing, etc), it becomes insanely difficult to keep track of everything. We’re going to enlist all of the help we can get in counting phenomena, but it would really help us out a great deal if your pledges were based on something easily countable.

Also, let’s try to keep the pledges to things for which there will be no disputes. For example, we may count 4 “Datsyukian Dekes,” but you only saw 3. No one has ever claimed we were trying to gauge them for more money (and I can’t imagine anyone would, since it’s going to a good cause), but the very last thing we want is for someone to feel as if their generosity has been taken advantage of. Some folks can give a dollar, some can give much, much more. But we’re grateful for every last dime and have no interest in stretching you thin.

WHEN
Leading up to H2H, we hosted 11 pledge games. Prior to H2H2, we hosted 12. This year, we’re increasing the number a little bit in hopes that we can double the amount we’ve been able to forward to the charity that’s eventually selected (to be announced in the very near future). For any (or all) of the following games leading up to the Holidays and the Winter Classic, you may place your pledge.

• 11/17 at Minnesota (featuring Ryan Suter, who thinks he’s too good for you)
• 11/19 vs. Pittsburgh (and a team full of people nobody likes)
• 11/21 vs. St. Louis (a division rival that’s accomplished exactly nothing but acts cocky anyway)
• 11/23 at Florida (lol Tomas Kopecky)
• 11/24 at Tampa Bay (how ya doin’, Stevie Y)
• 11/27 vs. Phoenix (several post-season match-ups make for good hate)
• 11/29 vs. Los Angeles (defending Stanley Cup Champions)
• 12/1 vs. San Jose (featuring Brad Stuart… how many pledges will be about his being booed?)
• 12/4 vs. Colorado (it may not be 1996, but I still hate them)
• 12/7 vs. Washington (Semin-stained)
• 12/10 vs. Boston (they keep stealing Griffins captains)
• 12/13 vs. Phoenix (see above)
• 12/15 at Nashville (featuring Shea Weber and The Head Slams)
• 12/18 vs. Los Angeles (defending Champs… again)

DETAILS
We will NOT be handling donations this year. Once the pledge games are completed, you will receive an e-mail with detailed instructions on how to get your donations into the right hands. From that account, we will be delivering a (hopefully huge) check during the Winter Festival, so you’ll have to pay promptly.

You may use the following form (we’ll be pimping it all over the place) to submit your pledge.