Startup phone app Your Call Football was made with the idea to "let anyone with a smartphone pick the next play that would be run in a real, live football game," and the company "already has run several scrimmages to test its technology," according to Scott Kirsner of the BOSTON GLOBE. On each down, the user is "shown three play options" and they "pick one." With a live game, the coach on the field would "select those three options using a tablet, and also note which one he’d run in the situation." After the fans are "given 10 seconds to vote, the play picked by the majority is relayed to the quarterback." If it does well, everyone who chose it "gets points." But if it fizzles, you can also "earn points if you picked the same play the coach did." Your Call Football President Julie Meringer said, "It's like the video game 'Madden NFL' in real life." Your Call has "run scrimmages at the Latitude sports complex in Peabody and at Worcester Polytechnic Institute." Next spring, Your Call will "organize three or four games in Vero Beach, Fla., ideally broadcast on television with a partner." The goal is to "get a few hundred thousand people to download the app." Your Call eventually "hopes to generate revenue from advertising, sponsorships, and premium features in its mobile app." The entire project has been "funded by one individual" -- Massachusetts-based Forrester Research CEO George Colony (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/25).
