COLUMN: It’s the most wonderful time of the year for sports
I hate Christmas music.
Seriously, I can’t stand the stuff. It’s too boppy, too festive and includes far too many rhythmic clarinet solos for anyone to have to endure.
The only thing that may annoy me more than Christmas music during the holiday season are those select few – you know who are – who have the gall and diabolical moxie to play Christmas music months in advance. Oh yes, they’re out there. And they’re evil.
That being said, I took a look at the sporting calendar for Utah State University and I can’t help but have the most wonderful feeling.
I speak of course of those few special months when, harmoniously, beautifully and even miraculously, football and basketball come together in the most romantic and electrifying of ways to bless us with the most blessed sports weekends we could ever ask of an athletic accolade-hungry community.
It’s football in Romney Stadium, it’s basketball in the Spectrum, it’s music and magic and wonder all in one joyous bowl of jelly. God bless us, everyone.
No matter how you swing it, it’s a beautiful thing. What makes this all the more beautiful, however, is this sport holiday season has the potential to bring us the most plentiful amount of holiday gifts we may have ever come across in recent and even not-too-recent history.
We’ve talked to death and life and death again about the newfound prowess of the USU football program. It’s been a joyous occasion for the most part and it only gets better as time goes on.
The now bowl-eligible Aggies look to have caught a second wind after two strong near-trouncings against San Jose State and New Mexico State, and that will build momentum as the squad runs into two future tests in Texas State and Louisiana Tech. There is something fun about expecting a bowl game. In fact, it’s a gift.
But it doesn’t stop there. With all the power and glory that comes with a football season that may not have been expected a decade ago, there is an added gift that brings everything to the ceiling.
The Spectrum is back.
There is a sweetness in the smells, sounds and emotions of college basketball, and after a men’s basketball season deemed not-so-sweet, recent recruiting has shown us there are sure nectars afoot.
Think I’m lying? Just get on Twitter. There is a loud, roaring buzz about the large and athletic squadron and a great deal of morale. This team is young, this team is hungry and heaven knows they are full of surprises. Couple that with a crowd which rivals any sporting venue around and you find what any successful college basketball team needs to get to the next level: magic.
This new-look band of hoopsters has so much potential to be magical that the potential in itself is already drenched in magic. It’s really something. In fact, it’s a gift.
As we travel on into the Cache Valley sports Mecca, a happy sports holiday season to you. We won’t know until we get there exactly what lies in store for these guys, but the energy is there and the drama is enough to promise something big is on the way.
One way or another it’s not something to miss, and if you are smart you will be excited.
It’s holly. It’s jolly.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
– Steve Schwartzman is a senior studying communication studies. He has had just about every job in sports writing, including blogs, analysis, statistics and fantasy football tips, but he especially loves making bold picks. Got any comments? Let him know: steve.schwartzman@aggiemail.usu.edu.