Reflections on Phil Jackson and Christmas Games

I thought it was rather interesting when I heard the latest comments from Phil Jackson, head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.  He was addressing the media this week about playing on Christmas Day.  He starts out rather innocently by saying "It used to be two teams.  It used to be Phoenix and L.A. and New York and Boston or New York and Philly or somebody on the East coast. Now I see that they have like six games on Christmas."  (it's actually five games this year)

He then goes onto say this:  "I don't think anybody should play on Christmas Day.  Soccer teams don't play this time of year, they take a break.  I don't understand it.  When I was in the CBA, we had a commissioner who had a Christmas Eve game.  I had to call him up and say that's the holy time. ... You just have to keep reminding them that this is a special day."

The one quote that actually stood out was the following:  "It's like Christian holidays don't mean anything to them anymore.  We just go out and play and entertain the TV. It's really weird."  This stood out for several reasons.  One, this comes from a man who follows Zen Buddhism.  Two, in the article, it mentions that he is the son of a minister (which I didn't know).

My thoughts on this:  I don't necessarily have a problem with what he's saying per se.  Growing up there was really only one NBA Christmas Day game.  It was special.  Now it's almost like any other slate of games for a day/night.  There are actually more than double the games on Christmas Day than Thanksgiving Day (only two games).  There are more people who will be working on Christmas than Thanksgiving this year in several NBA cities.

As a follower of Jesus, I am glad for Christmas.  It is a reminder of the birth of Christ.  We should not forget that importance.  Even more so, we should not forget the importance of this death and resurrection.  For those who are working on Christmas Day, including players, coaches, staff, arena workers, I hope that in the midst of working that the are reminded of for lack of a better phrase "The Reason for the Season".  And I would love for Phil Jackson to not just recognize the time of the year but to also recognize Jesus as his Lord and Savior.