George Ferguson Column: Doing what I do, it's kind of like Christmas every day

When it comes to Christmas, I’m hardcore. Just ask my wife. It’s seems like every year, I put the lights on the house and the tree up a little earlier than I did the year before. And I still make an extensive Christmas list, though now it’s usually filled with golf and tennis items, instead of G.I. Joe’s and Star Wars toys.

Yes, Christmas has always been special to me. As a student at St. Jude’s and Havre Central, I looked forward to the church being decorated, the Nativity, all of the awesome things that came with Christmas going to school there, and like every other kid, I looked forward to Christmas break.

As an adult, I still attend Midnight Mass, but Christmas has evolved, too. I love surprising my family members with gifts Christmas morning, I love decorating my house with as many lights as I can get up, and I love watching movies like “Home Alone” and “Bad Santa” late into Christmas Eve.

So, forgive me if I’m overly excited and happy when Christmas season rolls around.

And yet, one thing I’ve come to realize, while doing what I do for a living, and living where I live, is the feeling and anticipation I have for Christmas isn’t really out of the norm. In fact, I kind of get to live that feeling out almost every day of the year.

That’s because I’m a sports editor, a sports junkie and a coach. I get to feel like it’s Christmas every day because I live and work in a town where sports are so important, so fun, and ever changing. Yes, with every MSU-Northern or Blue Pony basketball game, with every wrestling meet, with each football game or track meet or swim meet, or golf tournament, or rodeo, and whatever else comes up, there’s always something exciting, and therefore it’s kind of like Christmas morning every day of the year.

I’m fortunate in that regard. I get to do awesome things like cover and write about Northern wrestling the mighty University of Iowa, or Bobby Hauck coming back to the Griz, or Marc Mariani’s career from middle school to the NFL. I’ve gotten to watch thousands of kids from Turner to Chester make their dreams come true just simply by playing sports. And, I’ve gotten to tell all of you about it.

Yes, it goes without saying, I Iove what I do for a living, but it’s not just about sports or being a sport’s writer. It’s about where I do it. I was born here and have spent 42 Christmas’ here. I am a Havre Blue Pony, and, after going to the University of Montana, I also attended MSU-Northern. I'm a Light and a Griz, too. I met my wife here. Her family is here, my family is here. We all live within a few short miles of each other. It's special.

I also wrote for the Havre Daily News while I was still in high school and again in college. I love our paper. It’s where I got my start in my chosen profession. I love that I work there now. We have great people working at the HDN, and it’s a great place to have a career.

And, I consider my career special. I get to cover my hometown and the Hi-Line. Many times, I’ve had a chance to leave throughout my career, but there has yet to be a job, a paper or a position that has held something beyond what I already have. I’m so grateful for that.

Then there’s coaching. I get to teach the sport I truly love, I get to help kids fall in love with it, too, and most of all, just like working for the Havre Daily News, I get to do it in my home town. To be a Blue Pony in high school was a true honor, and it’s something I’m proud of. To coach Blue Ponies is a dream come true and one I can barely put into words.

I feel that both being a sports writer here and a coach here, where I grew up, is a true blessing. And that especially rings true at Christmas time, when we’re all counting our blessings.

And, because the sports are so great in Havre and all over the Hi-Line, because there’s always something new, because there’s always something exciting, and the same can be said for coaching tennis, for me, it’s kind of like Christmas morning every single day of the year.

So with that said, from someone who is so honored and so proud to be doing what he does, in his hometown, a belated Merry Christmas to all of you, and a Happy New Year.