One of the best things about this blog is that people all
over the world read it and many of them comment, too. And so at this time of
the year, while I realize that many people who do not celebrate Christmas are
reading, it gives me the chance to celebrate the traditions of many of our
players and also the country they play in, as well as my own. For me, Christmas
is so much more than a religious holiday. It’s about forgetting yourself and
spreading goodwill and, just for a day or two every year, seeing the humanity
in one another.
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| Charlie Brown always asks the important questions... |
So with the
derby on Sunday, it’s quite clear that our players were unable to give
us what we really wanted for Christmas. In fact, this whole year seems like our
favorite club gave us coal in our stocking over and over and over again. And
then maybe evicted our family on Christmas Eve and repo’d the family car and
maybe even more. Which means that all we have left is each other, and our
inexplicable love of AC Milan.
As much as we’d like to have all of our Christmas
Wishes filled, like we talked about on the last podcast with Derek, the
prognosis is not very good. But Christmas isn’t about what we get, anyway, it’s
what we give. So this Christmas, let’s give each other the
kind of support that only Milanisti can give to one another. Let’s see
if we can find any good things about this year and share them here. It may be
the only Milan gifts we get this year, we are just re-gifting them in the
comment section.
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| This is what Christmas looks like at Milanello |
So dig deep, think hard, and tell us what you think the best
Milan things are that happened this year. And I’m not talking about Traore or
Antonini leaving. I mean good things that happened. Like Kaká’s first goal back
at Milan. Or De Jong’s amazing return from injury. We may have to dig a lot
deeper to find the good in things, but I believe in all of you. In fact, all of you are one of the very best things about Milan for me. Sharing Milan with all of you this past year is definitely the best Milan thing that happened to me this year.
And when you’re done helping us reminisce, feel free to
spread the love in the rest of your life – with friends, family, or even
yourself. Certainly you deserve a little extra TLC this year – have a nice
meal, a treat, a drink, or whatever gives you a little happiness. And then try
to spread a little of that happiness to your neighbors or maybe even strangers.
After all, it really isn’t as much about what you get (although you can share
that here, too!) The most important part of Christmas is sharing goodwill with
others. We may not have a lot to be happy about with our club, but we can be
happy together. After all, that’s what Christmas is all about.
Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!
This post inspired by the music of
the Vince Guaraldi Trio