As the holiday season approaches, sports fans across the world will turn into world-class shopletes. Monday morning quarterbacks, internet ironmen and armchair athletes will rush to the stores, hurdling, spinning and side-stepping their way to last-minute Christmas deals.
Others will navigate websites with Peyton Manning-like precision, click with the speed of RG3 and catch spectacular online deals like Blake Griffin soaring through the heavens for a vicious omgdidujustseethat-garnering alley-oop finish.
We go the extra mile for our loved ones at Christmas to put a smile on their faces and appreciation in their hearts. Then after a hearty meal, we plop in front of the television and watch our favorite athletes compete for our entertainment pleasure (and dollars).
This year, in the light of the recent tragedies both inside and outside the sports world, I’m challenging readers to take a holiday hiatus of the rabid-maniacal-sports-fan disease from which we all occasionally suffer and simply support the men and women who entertain us on a nightly basis. Let’s give the gift of holiday cheer to those who put their successes and failures on the line in prime time every night.
Sure there are a few spoiled, overpaid, annoying people in the sports world, but there are also plenty in the ‘regular’ world too. They make life more interesting. For every one of them, there are countless hard-working, dedicated athletes that rarely see the court, field or ring, nor the fame and acclaim.
In Kansas City, Jovan Belcher could not suppress the demons or personal pressure and committed senseless acts that will permanently affect the lives of his family. In Dallas, St. Louis native Jerry Brown lost his life from the passenger seat of a drunken driver. In Newtown, Conn., 27 were killed when a shooter expressed his grievances by opening fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School. On a personal level, I lost a friend, Darryl Wells Sr., this week after he suddenly and unexpectedly passed away following a pickup basketball game. These people have families and friends whose lives will never be the same.
These are instances of life and humanity. While we toss around terms like “do or die” and “desperation,” we lose sight of the true value of life. Don’t get me wrong, sports are an important part of our culture. They help us to build teamwork and camaraderie. Sports often provide an escape from the harsh realities of the world. The mere sight of a familiar hat, T-shirt or jersey can create a bond between two people who may have never otherwise spoken.
But remember, these are games. They are entertainment. They are a business.
Let’s honor those whose lives have been lost by pouring positivity into the holiday season. Let’s applaud the teams and athletes that spend their lives creating joyful memories for us. I’ll always remember moments like “The Tackle,” Ozzie Smith’s “Go Crazy” HR, David Freese’s Game 6 walk-off in 2011 and many more. Each one of us has great sports memories that will last us a lifetime.
It’s easy to jeer and criticize sports figures and has even become a profitable business model. But just for a short time, I challenge you to cheer for everybody on the field/court, wish them well, pray for their success and thank them for the memories they create every day.
If I can rock a Kobe Bryant T-shirt, sport LeBron James’ shoes and tweet a sincere “Merry Christmas” to Floyd Mayweather Jr., certainly you can put a kibosh on your sports gripes for a few days. Let’s show our children that it’s not all about winning or losing, it’s not even about how you play the game. It’s about life, camaraderie, sportsmanship, entertainment and building great memories in the name of sport.
God bless you all, and I pray you have a bicker-free, holly, jolly and Merry Christmas!
