The San Diego Chargers delivered an early Christmas gift last night. They made a national television appearance in a do or die game against the San Francisco 49ers. It was extra special for me because I was sharing the experience with our two sons. We nickname December "Philcember" in honor of our beloved quarterback, Philip Rivers, who always saves his best performances for the Holidays. During the first half I thought to myself, is Santa sending me coal for Christmas? It looked like the whole team was on the naughty list. They were dropping like flies. Rivers turned on his shiny red nose and convinced his head coach, Mike McCoy, he could lead all the reindeer to a victory despite his sore back and ribs. He looked more like the Grinch who stole Christmas. Suddenly, the game was 21-0, 49ers over the Chargers. Advent is supposed to be a time of joyful preparation. I needed the spirit of Christmas past to find Philip Rivers in the locker room at half time and remind him this is his month.
Everything changed in the second half. Bells were ringing. It was the entire defensive line earning their wings. And the offense found a way to protect Rivers long enough to complete two miracle 4th down passes with time running out in the 4th quarter. With :26 seconds on the clock, Rivers did it again. He found a receiver in the end zone and sent the game to overtime. The defense recovered a fumble in overtime and gave the ball back to Rivers and company. Jolly old St. Nick Novak kicked the game winning field goal to keep the Chargers playoff hopes alive. Yes, it truly is a time of joyful preparation. As for me and my family, we will keep the faith. We're Charger fans. This is what we do. Our favorite time of year is Philcember. Merry Christmas to all the believers.
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