Every few years, the NFL competes with Christmas and New Years leaving us to wonder if the schedule should be changed or if football is part of the holidays. Thanksgiving and football on TV go hand-in-hand every year in most American homes; hundreds of thousands of fans attend the games instead of being at home doing more traditional things.
We recently saw tickets for today’s Browns game selling for six dollars. Six dollars! Yes, the Browns definitely stink, even worse than usual. But, six dollars for the experience of going to a NFL stadium, seeing the game played live, being caught up in the excitement (or frustration) of the crowd, is a small price to pay. A family of four could reasonably go spend the afternoon at the stadium without breaking the bank. On Christmas Eve? A day of family gatherings, church services and Christmas festivities doesn’t seem like the perfect time to attend a football game, or does it?
Let’s face it. American’s are much less traditional than they were even a few years ago. Families live far apart, work schedules invade the holidays and some people are just tired of the commercialism surrounding what is meant to be a Holy Season. Living almost a thousand miles away from my family has taught me that Christmas is more than a specific day. It is whenever we can all be together, no matter what day of the year.
Tomorrow, on Christmas Day, the NBA also plays. The Cleveland Cavs will take on the Golden State Warriors mid-afternoon. Don entered a contest to possibly win tickets to the Christmas Cavs game, and we are both glad he didn’t win. Deciding between front-row Cavs tickets and spending time with family is not a choice Don wants to have to make. It would be an easy decision for me – sell those tickets to pay for Christmas!
Families with sports fans will undoubtedly have football or basketball in the background at some point over the weekend. We have a diehard Steelers fan in the family who has already said he will be watching Pittsburgh play – during Christmas dinner. Does this bother any of us? Heck no. We love him…even though he is a Steelers fan through and through.