By Michael Haag | Sports Writer
There is nothing like watching professional or collegiate sports all day long on a national holiday. Whether it’s Thanksgiving and you’re tuning into the Detroit Lions routinely losing, or Christmas Day and you’re checking out the highlight-reel plays from the best teams in the NBA, you are guaranteed an exciting time as a fan. Holidays are joyous occasions and should be celebrated with the people you love, but there is no doubt in my mind that pro sports help bring families together. In my eyes, the holiday season is much more enjoyable spent watching sports with your loved ones.
Every sports fan has a holiday to look forward to during the year. You can’t go wrong with NFL on Thanksgiving, NBA on Christmas or college football on New Year’s.
That holiday sports lineup is the equivalent of looking at a legendary trio like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and James Worthy in the Showtime era of the Los Angeles Lakers. Even baseball fans look forward to watching their team play on the Fourth of July and Memorial Day — the options are limitless. The fun that viewers get out of these events will continue to bring families together and encourage those group gatherings.
Sports are another reason to get everyone together for the entire day. On these major holidays, games run all day long by starting in the early afternoon and carrying on into the late evening. This allows for the entirety of the day to be spent with the people of your choosing, while having something to watch. The matchups never fail to disappoint either, as leagues make it a point to schedule their best teams to ensure high viewership.
Sports can also be a great distraction during the holiday season. For most, this time is a break from work or school, and it can be nice to just kick back and root for your favorite team on a holiday with people you enjoy spending time with.
The holiday season has always been filled with sports in my household growing up. You can catch my family and I tuning into ESPN, FOX or whatever other network is covering the big-time games. While not everyone is as into sports as myself — I am a sports writer after all — I feel like even if you aren’t deeply passionate about sports, you can’t deny that they help people connect with one another during family gatherings over the holidays.
