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A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR SOME
Nothing Says Christmas Like Family and Football
Is this true for you?
I heard this blasting out of my kitchen TV this morning as I fumbled with the remote, seeking my local ABC news channel.
When thoughts of Christmas flood my mind, football is not included. I see Christmas trees and hear familiar carols, religious and secular. I am singing The Twelve Days Of Christmas to my ginger cat while writing this.
Of course, I see beautifully wrapped presents under the tree. The ones I wrapped would be layered in scotch tape, no bows. Perhaps snow makes dreaming of a white Christmas a reality. I can’t forget our family whiskey-infused plum pudding, traditionally made the day after Thanksgiving and aged until served with hard sauce on Christmas Day. All of this and more, but no, positively, no football.
My hometown, south of Boston, didn’t have a football team when I was in high school. We did have basketball and baseball teams. The earliest online record I can find is from the 2004–2005 season, but the program likely started years before. More searching revealed my high school team was one of the worst teams in the area. No wonder. We were not an ardent sports town back in 1959 when I graduated. We concentrated on furthering our education or learning a…