Step aside, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Beyonce.
“But Christmas is our day.”
As the noted NFL fan finished his thought, he pointed down to the court and skipped away.
While the NBA used to own Christmas from a sporting perspective, the NFL has changed its strategy on Santa’s big day in recent years.
This marked the fifth year in a row the NFL has played at least one game on Christmas, but the 2024 plan was the hardest to execute with the holiday falling on a Wednesday — traditionally a football off-day.
To make it work, the NFL had four teams — the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers — play two games last Saturday and then return for two more games on Christmas.
The NFL went big, too, recruiting Beyonce to play in her hometown of Houston at halftime of the Texans-Ravens game. Like the NBA, the NFL rolled out the stars on Christmas with Jackson and Mahomes as headliners.
But while those two quarterbacks delivered excellent performances in wins, neither NFL game was competitive.
The Lakers-Warriors game, on the other hand, went right down to the wire with the Lakers prevailing on a final-second layup after Curry hit a pair of ridiculous three-pointers.
The NBA, as has been the case in recent years, had five games on this year’s Christmas docket. James was playing on Christmas for a record 19th time.
Next year, Christmas falls on a Thursday. Expect both leagues to be open for business again.
