It’s the time of year for family and friends. It’s the time of year for love.
We have been counting our blessings for weeks now, giving thanks for all that we have in our lives. Most of us count our blessings every day, all year long, but this has been the “Season of Thanks,” evolving into a time of deeper appreciation.
Christmas brings people together. Christmas helps us realize just how much those we love mean to us. And with this season of giving, we tend to express our feelings in many loving ways. It’s a time for good, and it is especially a time for love.
This is also a special time of year for sports. The college football post-season is well underway. The bowl season is the college equivalent to pro football’s playoffs, except these college football bowl games are not “win and advance” scenarios.
The four-team championship playoff is less than three weeks away, but there are still plenty of college football post-season games to come before then.
Bowl games are rewards. They are a reward for playing well during the regular season, well enough to be rewarded with an extra game. That added game puts one in that special category of “bowl participant” and, what the heck, “playoff” team and post-season participant.
Some might say, since it is that time of year, that these bowl games are Christmas presents. These extra games are earned, not everyone gets one, but still can be considered presents.
The Wyoming Cowboys will be opening their Christmas present next Friday. The Pokes must wait five days, they won’t be unwrapping their gift until Dec. 30 in Tucson, Arizona. The Arizona Bowl is their gift, and the Ohio Bobcats are their challenge.
And isn’t it nice to have a team in the pile of Christmas gifts this year? It’s always nice to have a Cowboy team on the bowl list of Holiday giving!
’Tis the season for new beginnings in college basketball as well. Most teams are finishing-up the pre-conference portion of their schedules and getting ready to start their all-important league schedules.
You can put the Cowboys and Cowgirls into that group.
The Cowboys have concluded their pre-conference schedule and will begin Mountain West play next week. The Pokes will open their first Christmas present on Dec. 28 in Fresno, California, against the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Wyoming will “gift” their own fans on New Year’s Eve. I guess you could call it a late Christmas gift and New Year’s Eve party, all in one, when the Cowboys host the New Mexico Lobos in the Arena Auditorium. It’ll be a most welcome and highly anticipated gift from the Cowboys.
Wyoming will not have played in the Double A for three weeks when they take on the Lobos on December 31st.
The Cowgirls got a big win their last time out, over Wichita State in Kansas. That’s just what you want, as the Cowgirls will head into conference play on Thursday.
Wyoming will play the Lady Rebels of UNLV in Las Vegas. After that game on Dec. 29, the Cowgirls will hustle home to the Double A for their first Mountain West Conference home game on New Year’s Eve. The Cowboys and Cowgirls will stage a home doubleheader that day. The Cowgirls will host Fresno State.
Yes, ’tis the season.
’Tis the season for bowl games and basketball games. We’ll continue to enjoy those gifts for a while.
’Tis the season for giving. And we’ll be opening presents for weeks.
And it is the season for love.
Let’s continue to spread plenty of that around this Christmas season, and all year long.
Merry Christmas!
