My apologies to everyone for not writing over the last week or so, but I just had so much to do to get ready for the holiday season. It’s pretty ironic that once Christmas Day is here, I finally have a chance to sit down, relax and get some thoughts down. I only have a few minutes though as I’m scheduled for three Christmas meals today. I have some roast pork waiting for me at my parents place for lunch, then an awesome dinner with Rosalie’s parents and then a pot luck late-night dinner with my core group of friends while watching Die Hard. Awesome!
So, Christmas Day is here and in about an hour from now, I could conceivably watch 13 straight hours of NBA basketball. I’m not going to because I have so many places to be, but the option is there. Even if I was home all day in front of my couch and was going to do nothing but watch sports, I could even watch an NFL game as Arizona takes on Dallas. Hell, even last night, I was watching a few minutes of the Aloha Bowl between Hawaii and Tulsa before I had to just shut it off.
I’ve always felt uncomfortable watching sporting events on these two days. I’ve always felt like Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are the perfect two days for people to slow down and remember that friends and family should be the most important things in life, not work, money and status. For those who are participating in these sporting events, they don’t even get a say on whether they want to slow down or not.
Scotty Mac always makes it a point of letting people know that the athletes we watch are human beings as well, full of emotion and feelings just like you or I. Why is it that we as an audience just assume that they should be willing to give up their time with loved ones for our entertainment? I understand that they make a lot of money, but why should professional athletes be robbed of an ability to see their loved ones at a special time of the year?
I guess as a society, we’ve become so accustomed to having everything at our fingertips and entertainment is certainly no different, but would it really be that big of a burden on society if things just stopped for two days instead of just one?
Maybe I’m being hypocritical because as someone that talks sports on a daily basis, my job is a lot easier when things are constantly moving, but I would be willing to make it more difficult on myself if I knew that every single athlete had a chance to celebrate the festive season as much as the masses do.
Speaking of celebrating, my stomach is demanding that I celebrate a little bit more. Enjoy the day today with your loved ones and try to remember a little bit of the festive season as you fight for great shopping deals tomorrow on Boxing Day. Thanks to all who read this blog, listen to Sportscall and have supported me in the past year on the Team 1200. Merry Christmas!