It used to be that New Years Day capped the end of the holiday season, but it really doesn’t seem that way any more. Back in the day, the big four bowl games were all on January 1, and once they were complete, it was back to the grind until Thanksgiving of the New Year. Then along came the Super Bowl in late January, which helped to extend the holidays. Now the big game is in February, and who knows, it may one day be played during baseball spring training. Then more “holiday creep” began with the BCS taking over the big bowls. Some of them are now played on the days after New Years Day, and the BCS “National Championship” game is played a week after that.
I’ve probably slept through more New Year’s ball droppings than I should admit to. I swear that I really am not an old “fuddy-duddy,” but in some ways, December 31 and January 1 seem to be just days on a calendar. It wasn’t always like that. Right after college, I went to a New Year’s party at a friend’s apartment, and I imbibed too many adult beverages. (To this day, lime daiquiris make me ill.) Rather than foolishly driving home drunk, I spent the night there and slept in the roommate’s bedroom. I called my parents to let them know I was behaving safely and not driving, and that “conversation” has become a classic around my family. I can still remember it verbatim: “Hello Mom? Hi, it’s Brian. Look I’ve had a little too much to drink, so I am spending tonight here in Nancy’s bed. But, don’t worry, Nancy is out of town!” (Which was true.)
That’s probably the “wildest” New Year’s Eve I’ve encountered. I can remember a few years earlier in 1972 going to a party in college and being bored out of my mind. During college holiday break the year before, I went to visit a classmate in Hutchison, Kansas. I flew up to Wichita around New Years, and then we drove back down to Dallas a week or so later. When the New Year dawned in 1974, I faced it as a college graduate, having completed my degree a few weeks earlier—and I had a job at my alma mater, which considering that 1974 was a big recessionary year was an accomplishment.
Probably my best “young” New Years came when I was a senior in high school. As some of you know, I spent part of my childhood in Southern California, and my best childhood friend Herb and I loved to take train trips. That year, he flew from L.A. to Dallas to visit, and we flew up to Oklahoma City a day or two before New Years Day 1970 to take Santa Fe’s Texas Chief from there back to Fort Worth. The train was packed with football fans from Notre Dame who were travelling to the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. This was the first time that Notre Dame had played in a bowl since 1925, so it was a festive and memorable ride.
Speaking of Cotton Bowls, I attended the 1969 game with my father. Darrell Royal’s Texas Longhorns defeated the Tennessee Volunteers. That day was sunny and cold. In 1975, I saw Joe Paterno’s Nittany Lions from Penn State defeat the Southwest Conference Champion Baylor Bears. That day was miserably cold and wet.
I paid special attention when 1999 turned to 2000. All day I spent watching the Y2K coverage on television, and toward evening, it was time to breathe a sigh of relief that humanity had survived the onslaught of the computer age. By midnight here in Dallas, I was thinking “no sweat” and was watching the local celebrations from downtown. (My wife, Tina, has absolutely no interest in any New Year’s “to do” and had already gone to bed.) Imagine my surprise when the power shut down five minutes into the new millennium. Turns out it was a minor glitch with power being restored shortly, but it did give me pause.
Another unique New Years happened when I was living in Portland, Oregon. Tina had gone back to Indiana to see family, and I was watching New Years Day football. Out of the blue late that morning, I heard a huge explosion and wondered what in the world was happening. The evening news reported that a poor soul had committed suicide by blowing up his house with natural gas.
As you can see, my New Years have been a mix of the bitter with the sweet, yet I’ve always looked at the upcoming year as a new beginning. I’d LUV to hear some of your memorable New Year’s memories, so leave a comment below. From all of my Southwest Coworkers, we wish you a very Happy New Year.
