Sitting around, basking in the decibels of holiday music coming from the mu­sic box (a.k.a the radio), I got to thinking, what brings people together more than the holidays?

Whether for good or bad, there’s something magical about the period from that fourth Thursday in Novem­ber to that final day of the year.

The warmth, mystique and pure joy – for most – are unheralded at any oth­er point in the year. Its un­matched excellence con­sumes us all at some point, even if just for that split second, where we get that realization of this most wonderful time.

And then the light bulb flicked on and it came to me: there’s one other mo­ment, or moments, that bring us together in a simi­lar way to emit from us a juxtaposing set of feelings. It happens in sports.

Now by no means am I belittling the holidays and how they bring families to­gether, and I also have no in­tentions of putting sports on a pedestal because of my po­sition.

But with the Southington winter season in full force, you can just look around and feel the sense of com­munity that mirrors those holiday feelings.

In sports, whether watch­ing or playing, passion is a key element - the passion for what one is partaking in or what one is observing. You feel so strongly connected to this one idea. In turn, fans and athletes alike are brought together in harmo­ny. Now compare this to the holiday season. Passion to­wards this one true ideal brings masses together, heals and connects us all.

It’s that idea of all coming together for a common pur­pose that wipes away what­ever “bad tidings” had been present before, and in turn, brings forth “glad tidings.”

Sports can certainly have this effect and as for the hol­idays, well, glad tidings are a common theme in numer­ous songs.

The idea of healing is also a recurring theme. It seems evident how the holidays heal, soothe and make all better. Healing in sports is a deeper idea. How many times after a tragic death in the world of sports do you see, hear or watch an athlete excel or simply say, “Our teammate would want us to go out there and play.”

During one of the tough­est times in this country’s history, 9/11, those New York sports teams took the field of play and in turn, slowly began to heal a city.

You hear of players losing their parents, but playing, with emotion, and healing as they move along through fields of green grass, or glis­tening ice, or illuminating hardwood.

In fact, this week’s Citizen features a young man who in scoring a touchdown, for that moment in time, felt healed from his cancer diag­nosis.

Ahigh school student, just like those students at Southington High, dealing with a life-threatening dis­ease, felt immortal and eu­phoric as he strolled across the goal line.

That’s sports, and that’s also the holidays.

The opposing thoughts are ones of bitter and de­spair.

The ideas also synony­mous with the holidays are stress, tension, anxiety.

There’s always the, “I can’t believe we have to see those relatives we don’t like,” or maybe the memory of tragedy, around a time that should evoke only grace.

Like sports, in defeat, there is sadness. In prepara­tion, there is fear, stress, nerves and thousands of other emotions that go hand-in-hand with the holi­days.

So even in those weaker, less-memorable moments, sports and the holiday sea­son are magically inter­twined.

But as all of these mo­ments, good and bad, come to fruition, the final feeling you get is serenity.

Serenity when you made it through a meal with your relatives and you’re remi­niscing about old times and all those previous, less-de­sirable ideas have been whisked away. When the game is finally over and you know, looking back, you gave it your best shot.

Or for the good, when you see someone, after days, hours, years apart, and em­brace in that eternal display of compassion. When the game is won, and you stand atop the mountain that took all your effort to climb.

Serenity is peace and peace with yourself and what’s around you. A peace that penetrates even that which is impervious. A peace that defines both ideas I’ve talked about.

And there is one more word that binds both holi­days and sports, that I have yet to use, but needs no ex­planation. That four-letter word is, simply, love.

Happy holidays.

Contact Michael at: sports@southingtoncitizen.com

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