There was the game on Super Bowl Sunday. And now there’s the big game, “Last Man,” when players challenge each other to see who can go the longest without finding out which team captured the Vince Lombardi Trophy. In a world of push alerts, social media noise, newspapers, and chatty co-workers, it’s a nearly impossible task but one that players of the game, now in its ninth year, take seriously.
Last Man players set up filters on their social media, avoid taking crowded elevators, and avert their eyes when passing televisions and newsstands, all hoping to avoid “the knowledge,” the lingo Last Man gamers use to describe the outcome of the Super Bowl. Players who are still in the game are said to be “running from the knowledge.” The prize for the Last Man? Bragging rights.
The key to the #lastman in my mind is to simply TRUST NO ONE/THING. #TheKnowledge will be out there, especially in the places you think are safe, and it wants to be found.
— Last Man 2021 (@findthelastman) February 3, 2019
The day after the Super Bowl is usually the toughest for players, who regularly tweet about the tactics they are using to avoid the knowledge, any potential close calls, or announcing how the outcome of the big game was spoiled for them.
Just got notification from ESPN app on my phone. At this hour??? What else could it be? Could not figure out a way to swipe down with eyes closed and get rid of it, so I rebooted my phone. Voila! Still safe. #lastman
— James Squire (On Mastadon @[email protected]) (@StlVUFan) February 4, 2019
https://twitter.com/jeblucas/status/1092469951888150535
To all my #lastman comrades: the first 24 hours are the hardest. If you can last a week, a month is not so hard. Past that, it’s pretty smooth sailing. But death comes for us all in the end. 💀
— Ampersandroid (@ampersandr0id) February 4, 2019
As of Monday evening, 11 players were out of the running, according to the official Last Man spreadsheet, which lists the way each player had the knowledge spoiled for them. The causes of death so far include a New England Patriots Snapchat filter, a push notification, and a guy in line at the gas station getting a milkshake.