It's the most magical time of the year, right? Umm, wrong. The end of Fall term has consistently been the least enjoyable time of my Dartmouth career. You mean to tell me that I'm supposed to go home for a week and then come back and head right into finals? No thanks. Sure, we've got an extra week of post-Thanksgiving class this year, but it's not helping much. My solution? A second Thanksgiving-themed column. And I promise, I'll try not to make it too cliche.
There's not a lot to be thankful for in the world of sports these days. Whether it's tragedy or scandal or Boston, I can't help but be depressed each and every time I turn on SportsCenter. Surely, there has to be something I'm thankful for, though. Otherwise, why bother with sports? Well then, without creating even more anticipation, here's what I'm most thankful for today:
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The 2008 Beijing Olympics are less than nine months away. You read that right -- only nine months. Hey, it's not like I've had much to root for as of late, so give me a break. And with the resurgence of the NBA this season, I can't wait to see the team formerly known as "Dream" take back Olympic gold. Overall, I'm giddy.
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Johan Santana being wrapped in pinstripes for the holidays. Okay, maybe I'm jumping the gun here. But when your team has a chance to acquire the greatest pitcher alive for a handful of works-in-progress, don't you have to jump at the opportunity? So long as the Yankees hold onto Joba, I can live with any prospective deal.
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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I've spent more time playing this video game the past month than I've spent playing all video games the past few years. It's simply mind-boggling.
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The Green Bay Packers. I'm as big a Brett Favre fan as exists, and there have been few developments this NFL season as heartwarming as the sight of Favre having fun again. And if the Packers can knock off the Cowboys in tonight's game that none of you will be able to see, they'll be in the driver's seat for NFC home-field advantage. Want to play at Lambeau in January? Didn't think so. In other news, the NFL Network is certainly on my list of things I'm not thankful for.
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Snow. While most people probably dreaded waking up to a couple of inches of fresh powder last Tuesday, I couldn't have been happier. I got my first ski day in over Thanksgiving break, and it was fantastic. Not to mention the best motivation for getting a paper done quickly is the chance to get out to the mountain, so here's to hoping more gets dumped on us in the next week.
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Battlestar Galactica: Razor. Now, I don't know how many of you I just lost, but what a treat that was. I needed a Galactica fix and I needed it in a bad way. Waiting until 2008 was simply too much to handle. Other BSG fans probably don't need me to elaborate, so for the uninformed, here's a little holiday advice: do yourself a favor and watch this show. Watch it from the beginning. Start with the mini-series and you can run through the end of season three within a matter of days. You won't be disappointed.
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I can ... graduate? It's official: I've completed my PE requirement. Unfortunately, this also marks the end of an era. But where one era ends, another begins. Yep, I'm officially a retired PE athlete. I thoroughly enjoyed my playing days, but I know when it's time to hang up your pads and call it quits.
So there you have it. Even when so much seems to be going wrong, we can all find a silver lining. And we should all take a minute while stuck in the library wallowing in self-pity the next few weeks to consider what we're thankful for. And here's a start to your list -- you'll get columns from me next Monday and Tuesday. Try to contain your excitement.
