On this morning let me say, from the bottom of my heart, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays in any way you celebrate.

The PITT Blather has been a part of my life for years first as a reader, then as a commenter and now as a contributor.  The most important thing to me is all of the other people on here who take the time to discuss one of our favorite things – PITT sports.  We are a unique breed I believe and I’ve met all kinds.

We will rejoice when good things happen, commiserate when bad things do and debate issues with vigor and respect.  Who else does those things you may ask?  Good friends do.  That is what I consider all of you to be, no matter how emotionally we may argue about a subject.

In my opinion it is better for us to not have the type of football team that does nothing but win all the time with a coach who stays for 800 years and that has a fan base which is so completely aligned with one another that they march in lockstep.  Wins are great and I do want as many as we can get, but as a fan I enjoy the reality and drama of the 360 degrees of our football program because it gets all of us much more involved in conversation.

I think we all got a holiday gift with Paul Chryst and while results will be measured over the course of next season it feels right to me… regardless of how well we do in his first year.  We will be involved emotionally, excited and apprehensive, disappointed and content.  In other words, we will be fans.

I wake every morning, get a big cup o’ joe, settle behind the computer and start going down my routine football sites, always saving The PITT Blather for last in case I may find something interesting to share with you.  It is a routine I have and one I like.  Then we start talking, all of us.

To me that is a Christmas gift each and every day and I thank you.

So, on this special morning let me pass my best wishes to all of you and my hope that you and yours are safe, happy and healthy this holiday season and that you enjoy life as much as I.  To our friends in the military, here and deployed, let me stand and salute you on this day as I do on every day, look you in the eye and tell you that my respect for you has no bounds.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!