We have a new NFL-themed Hallmark movie this year. It's called Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. Of course it's about the Chiefs, because Hallmark is in Kansas City. Here's the set-up: Alana Higman is a 20-something woman whose parents met when their parents both bought season tickets to the Chiefs back in 1967. The two families have been obsessed with the Chiefs ever since, and they own a store that sells Chiefs memorabilia. (It's called "KC Corner," and it has this really cool sign where the "KC" looks like the KC on the Chiefs' helmets), along with two arrowheads.
Anyway, Alana is going to take over the store. She tells her family that there's someone coming to the score on Tuesday that she wants everyone to meet. They all think that she's finally met a guy -- but no, it's someone from the Chiefs' Fan Engagement operation. The family is up for Chiefs Fan of the Year -- if they win, they get a special tour of the stadium and sideline passes. The family is excited.
Now we go to Chiefs Headquarters, where we meet Derrick Taylor, the Director of Fan Engagement. He gets called out by someone -- a manager of some kind -- who believes that his office isn't festive enough. And then he talks to some of his co-workers, who give him a hard time because he has no social life.
ReplyDeleteThis is PHENOMENAL! I've got to go find this movie.
DeleteI'm going to spend the whole movie thinking that this guy's name is Derrick Thomas, not Derrick Taylor.
ReplyDeleteOf course.
DeleteAnyway, Derrick's friends tell him he should go to Independence, and have barbeque at Norma and Nic's. Now we know that this place is owned by Alena's grandparents, and sure enough, both her grandparents and her parents are in the restaurant when he arrives. (The greeter is played by Travis Kelce's mom.)
ReplyDeleteDerrick's never had Kansas City barbeque before, so Alena's mom and grandmother start talking to him. Alena then walks into the restaurant, and the mom and grandmother run off so they can talk to each other.
ReplyDeleteNow the grandmother is back with famous banana pudding.
ReplyDeleteNow Alena and Derrick are doing "Light the Street," where the folks on this block in Independence decorate the whole street for Christmas. All of this is taking place on the Saturday before the Tuesday where the person from Fan Engagement is supposed to come out and interview them all for Fan of the Year.
ReplyDeleteThey go to KC Corner, but Derrick can't tell them he works for the Chiefs -- it's already been established that if anyone in Kansas City hears that you work for the Chiefs, they'll befriend you in hopes of getting tickets.
ReplyDeleteNow the family explains to Derrick that they have a magical Chiefs hat.
ReplyDeleteIn 1969, one of the grandfathers made a big donation to a Salvation Army Santa, and in exchange, Santa gave him the hat -- and said that if he wore it on Christmas, his wish would come true. He wished for the Chiefs to win the Super Bowl -- and sure enough, they did!
ReplyDeleteI also want a prequel, "Holiday Hat: A Chiefs Giving Story," set in 1969.
DeleteThen a store employee accidentally sold the hat, and it was lost to the family for 50 years -- until 2019, when a customer wanted to sell them a vintage Chiefs hat. It turned out TO BE THE SAME HAT! So, of course, the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2019. And then they went back to the Super Bowl in 2020, 2022, and 2023. (The hat only gets the Chiefs to the Super Bowl -- it doesn't win it for them).
ReplyDeleteDerrick asks about 2021, when the Chiefs lost to the Bengals in the AFC Title game, and they tell him that nobody wore the hat that year. They do not explain why.
ReplyDeleteWhoa!
DeleteThat's all for now -- I will come back to this later.
ReplyDeleteDerrick expresses skepticism about the magical power of the hat, and the mood in the room goes cold. Up to this point, the whole family has been encouraging him to be friendly with Alena, but now they all turn on him, and Alena asks him to leave.
ReplyDeleteNow it's Tuesday, and Derrick has returned to KC Connect. The family is unhappy to see him, because he is not a True Believer and because they are waiting for the guy from the Chiefs who is supposed to interview them for Fan of the Year. Alena tells him to go, and of course he explains that he cannot go because he is, in fact, the guy from the Chiefs who is supposed to interview them for Fan of the Year.
ReplyDeleteNow Alena is enraged because he didn't tell them that he worked for the team. She doesn't believe that this is a coincidence, and she doesn't trust him.
ReplyDeleteAlena: "My family literally exists because of this team." Derrick: "Show me."
ReplyDeleteMissouri!
DeleteSo they go into a portion of the store that serves as a "Fan Cave." They have framed jerseys of Len Dawson, Ed Podolak, and Willie Roaf. And they start to explain about Len Dawson. Derrick claims to know all about Len Dawson, but we know that he spent most of his childhood in Europe and that he hasn't lived in Kansas City for very long, so Alena doesn't believe he's a Real Chiefs Fan.
ReplyDeleteBut we interrupt this movie for the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa, where Florida and Tulane are playing for the Unofficial College Football Championship.
ReplyDeleteTulane and Florida were both in the SEC from 1933 through 1965, but they only played each other 10 times during that stretch -- and they haven't played each other at all since 1984. Florida leads the all-time series 13-6-2, the Gators have won the last 11 meetings, and Tulane hasn't beaten Florida since 1946. This is the first time they've ever met in a bowl.
ReplyDeleteAt the half, Florida leads Tulane 6-0.
ReplyDeleteWait I thought there was some movie out there about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce?
ReplyDeleteMaybe they figure prominently in the remainder of "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story."
ReplyDeleteFlorida won the Gasparilla Bowl 33 to 8, so they retain the U.C.F.C. The next U.C.F.C match will be on Saturday, August 30, 2025 in Gainesville, Fla. It will feature the Florida Gators and the Long Island University Sharks.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, XM Radio's 70's on 7 is playing Casey Kasem's countdown for December 18, 1976. On December 18, 1976, Kentucky lost for the first time in Rupp Arena -- they were beaten 70 to 68 in the finals of the U.K.I.T. by Utah.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in State College, Pennsylvania, the Penn State Nittany Lions are hosting the Southern Methodist Mustangs in a First Round matchup in the NCAA Football playoff. The winner here goes to play Boise St. in the Fiesta Bowl on December 31.
ReplyDeleteIt is 25 degrees in State College.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Notre Dame crushed Indiana in South Bend last night. The Irish won 27-17, and the game was not that close. I watched it -- it was like watching a game between LSU and Kentucky.
ReplyDeletePenn State is wearing white helmets with numerals on them. To most people, this will look strange -- but they were wearing helmets with numerals on them the first time I saw Penn State, back in the early 1970's. So, to me, that's what Penn State is supposed to look like -- I've never gotten used to the blank helmets.
ReplyDeleteIt's bright, sunny and cold in State College -- just perfect for late December football. It's a white-out day, so all the fans are wearing white. SMU has white jerseys with blue numerals and white pants, with the red mustang logo on the helmet. Penn State has navy blue jerseys with white numerals, white helmets with navy numerals, and white pants. Both teams look great.
ReplyDeleteSMU throws a pick-six, and Penn State leads 7-0 with 6:08 left in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteI like this weekend of playoff games -- it reminds me of the 1970's, when the NFL used to have playoff games around Christmas time. I also like having the four quarter-final games around New Year's Day -- that's also like the 1970's, when there were four major bowls.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'll spend that much time thinking about the semi-finals or the final, although I'll probably watch them. For me, college football season ends on January 1.
ReplyDeleteSMU throws another pick-six, and now they trail 14-0 with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
ReplyDeleteSMU drives down to the Penn State 12, and THROWS ANOTHER INTERCEPTION. At least this one isn't returned to for a touchdown, but it really doesn't look like SMU's day.
ReplyDeleteHere are the passing stats for Kevin Jennings, the SMU quarterback:
ReplyDelete6-11, 54 yards, 0 TD's, 3 INT's (including two pick-sixes)
Penn State takes the interception, drives the length of the field, and scores to go up 21 to 0. It looks like the Nittany Lions will be going to Tempe, Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl against Boise State.
ReplyDeleteOf course, we now have a lot of folks on the Internet complaining that SMU and Indiana should not have been in the playoff -- and then we have the type of people who really wanted SMU and Indiana in the playoff complaining about the complainers.
ReplyDeleteHere's my view: of course SMU and Indiana aren't going to be competitive with schools like Penn State and Notre Dame. But it's been obvious for years that we were going to have to give all these schools their shot -- and if we get a big upset every five years or so (like we do in basketball) that's probably worth it.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm tired of arguing with all the folks who insist that Indiana, SMU, and Boise State are just as good as Georgia and Ohio State. It's a lot more fun watching them be embarrassed when Indiana gets blown out than trying to convince them that Indiana isn't on the same level as Notre Dame.
ReplyDeleteSMU goes for it on 4th and 3 and don't make it. Penn State takes over, drives 38 yards in seven plays, and scores to go up 28 to 0 with 1:03 left in the 2d quarter.
ReplyDeleteLater today, UK will play Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic. This will be the third time the Cats and Buckeyes have met in this event. On December 19, 2015, OSU beat UK 74-67 in Brooklyn, N.Y. On December 21, 2019, OSU beat UK 71-65 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kentucky leads the all-time series 11-10.
ReplyDeleteOSU has eliminated UK from the NCAA Tournament on five different occasions: 1945, 1961, 1962, 1968, and 1987. UK eliminated OSU in 2011.
ReplyDeleteUK's record in the CBS Sports Classic is 5-5. Here's the breakdown by opponent:
ReplyDeleteUK is 1-2 against UCLA.
UK is 0-2 against Ohio State
UK is 4-1 against N. Carolina
UK is 6-8 in the Champions' Classic:
ReplyDeleteUK is 2-3 against Kansas
UK is 2-3 against Duke
UK is 2-2 against Michigan St.
On December 18, 1976, "You Are the Woman" by Firefall hit number 9 on the Billboard Top 40.
ReplyDeletePenn State rolls, 38 to 10, and they will play Boise State on New Year's Eve in the Fiesta Bowl. Now we go to Austin, Texas, where it is 62 degrees and the Texas Longhorns lead the Clemson Tigers 14-7 with 10 minutes left in the second quarter.
ReplyDeleteFor the third time in a row, we have a playoff game that is effectively over at the half. Texas leads Clemson 28-10 at the half, and it's hard to see how the Tigers get back into this one.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Chiefs beat Houston 27-19 in Kansas City to run their record to 14-1.
ReplyDeleteWell, the Tigers have gotten back into this one. Down 31-10, they have scored two touchdowns in a row. Texas now leads 31 to 24 with 11:43 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteTexas responds with a 77-yard TD run. Longhorns lead 38-24 with 10:48 left in the game.
ReplyDeleteClemson is stopped on 3d and goal at the 1. And then Clemson is stopped on 4th and goal at the 1. And Texas takes over leading 38-24 with 7 1/2 minutes left.
ReplyDeleteTexas rolls over Clemson 38-24, and the Longhorns will meet Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on New Year's Day.
ReplyDeleteSo far, we've had three walkovers. Now Ohio State and Tennessee play the last first round game -- the winner gets a trip to the Rose Bowl to play Oregon.
ReplyDeleteOSU crushes Kentucky 85 to 65, and that result will send the Cats tumbling down Ken Pom's rankings.
ReplyDeleteK-Pom thought the Cats would win this game 83-79. Last week, on a neutral court, Auburn beat OSU 91-53. The Buckeyes also lost 83-59 at Maryland on December 4. So they aren't very good. But apparently they looked good against the Big Blue.
DeleteAnd they're looking good against the Big Orange. OSU leads Tennessee 14-0 with 8:09 left in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteIt's really funny that so many people from Tennessee spent hundreds of dollars, and drove up to Ohio so that they could sit in the cold and watch the Vols get stomped. OSU leads 21-0 with 3 minutes left in the first quarter.
ReplyDeleteKentucky falls all the way down to 26 in Ken Pom's rankings. They are 10-2 on the year. They are ranked 10th in offensive efficiency and 60th in defensive efficiency. They are 112th in luck. K-Pom now thinks they will finish 20-11 overall and 9-9 in the SEC. That would put them in seventh place in the SEC at the end of the year, behind Auburn, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi St., and Texas A & M.
ReplyDeleteArkansas is ranked 42 in Ken Pom. They are 10-2 on the year. They are ranked 62d in offensive efficiency and 24th in defensive efficiency. They are 88th in luck -- Cal's best luck score in many years. K-Pom thinks they will finish 19-12 overall and 8-10 in the SEC.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, OSU leads Tennessee 21-3 with 6:39 left in the 2d.
ReplyDeleteThe Vols are fighting back. With 20 seconds left in the first half, they score to pull within 21-10.
ReplyDeleteOSU leads 21-10 at the half. ESPN gives the Buckeys an 87.3 percent chance of winning.
ReplyDeleteOSU kicks off, stuffs the Tennessee offense, takes the punt, drives straight down the field, and goes up 28-10 with 9:16 left in the third quarter. I hope the Vol fans enjoyed their trip to Columbus, because they are not going to Pasadena.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really poor performance from Tennessee. I thought they'd probably lose, but I thought they'd be competitive.
ReplyDeleteIn the regular season, UT only played four true road games. They won at Oklahoma (25-15) and Vandy (36-23), and lost at Arkansas (14-19) and Georgia (17-31). They were 8-0 in all other games.
ReplyDeleteWith 4:38 left in the game, OSU leads Tennessee 42-10. The Vols are going to lose by a bigger margin than UK's basketball team did today, and the Cats lost by 20.
ReplyDeleteProps to OSU for completely shutting down two of the most talkative fan bases in all of college sports. Today was a great example of why you don't tug on Superman's cape.
ReplyDeleteOSU crushes Tennessee 42 to 17. All year, it's been strange seeing UT be so resilient at the NCAA Tournament and the College World Series. This game, where Vol fans beclown themselves and the UT is humiliated on National Television, is more the UT experience that I'm used to. But don't worry, Vol fans! You still beat UK and Vandy.
ReplyDeleteThe Eagles are just humiliating Washington over in PG County. The Eagles are up 21-7 early in the second quarter, and it hasn't been that close. I don't know if the Eagles can win it all, but so far this has been the best Eagles team I've ever seen. They smashed the Ravens, they smashed the Steelers, and now they're just hammering Washington.
ReplyDeleteJalen Hurts has gone out with an injury, and that allowed Washington to right the ship. At the half, Philadelphia leads Washington 21 to 14.
ReplyDeleteThe Eagles, with Hurts out and Kenny Pickett at QB, add two field goals in the third quarter. But early in the fourth quarter, Jayden Daniel throws his third touchdown pass of the day and Washington pulls to within six points -- 27 to 21 -- with 13 minutes left.
ReplyDeleteWashington holds, and Jayden Daniels leads Washington on an 87-yard drive to TAKE THE LEAD! Daniels throws his fourth TD pass of the game, and Washington leads 28-27 with 9:06 left. They can feel it in Landover now.
ReplyDeleteHere come the Eagles. Kenny Pickett converts two huge fourth downs in a row, and Philly is at the Washington 35 with 5 1/2 minutes left.
ReplyDeletePhilly kicked a field goal to go up 30-28. Then Daniels threw an interception that appeared to seal the game for Philly. But the Eagles had to settle for a field goal to make the score 33-28 with two minutes to go.
ReplyDeleteBut then here came Jayden Daniels. He got Washington to a second and goal on the Philly 10 with ten seconds left. And then Daniels THREW HIS FIFTH TOUCHDOWN PASS OF THE DAY. Washington makes the two-point conversion, and Washington LEADS 36 to 33 with six seconds to go.
ReplyDeleteWhat a win for Washington! Biggest win for them in many, many years. Felt like a real NFC East game -- first one I can remember since at least 2012.
ReplyDeleteOf course the Eagles would have won if Hurts hadn't been injured. But putting up 36 points against Philly's defense -- on a day when Washington had five turnovers -- is still very impressive.
ReplyDeleteJayden Daniels: 24/39, 258 yards, 5 TD's, 2 INT's, 9 carries for 81 yards
ReplyDeleteSaquon Barkley: 29 carries for 150 yards and 2 TD's
It was a great game -- the best regular season game played in D.C. for years and years.
OK, now back to the movie. You will recall that Derrick had gone to KC Connect, and the family is showing him their Fan Cave. When he claims to know about Len Dawson, Alena challenges him to name three facts about Len Dawson. He says that's not necessary, and she rattles off a bunch of facts about Len Dawson.
ReplyDeleteThen Alena jumps all over him for growing up in Europe. "You must be a soccer fan, right?" Derrick (who is an American, even though he grew up in Europe) cops to liking soccer, but says he also likes football and appreciates it more now that he works for the Chiefs. Alena says he isn't fit to pick Fan of the Year and that the Chiefs should send someone else to interview them.
ReplyDeleteAlena's parents are embarrassed, and Derrick leaves -- saying that he has everything he needs for the Fan Engagement Team.
ReplyDeleteNow the family is trying to cheer up Alena. She's upset with herself, and her mom thinks that Alena is disappointed that she thought she had a connection with this guy. Alena's dad thinks that Derrick had good reasons for not telling him that he worked for the team, but Alena says that she's more annoyed that he doesn't believe in the hat. She wants to be with a guy who believes in Fate -- someday. But her grandfather says don't wait for Someday, because it may never come. Then they have a group hug.
ReplyDeleteThis movie presents the people of Kansas City as friendly -- but also somewhat combative. They have an almost Tennessee-like quality, combined with a big more Midwestern nice. It was written by Julie Sherman Wolfe. According to her Twitter profile, she grew up in San Francisco, is a big Niners fan, and now lives in Connecticut. She's done a good job with the football stuff so far, and for all I know her image of Kansas Citians may be correct.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I did see a Christmas movie this year that was set in Nashville, and it was so realistic that I found it exhausting and had to turn it off. I made it to the part where the whole family was sitting around the table arguing over what the Bible says about whether to drink wine, and that was as much as I could take.
DeleteDerrick is presenting his findings to the Fan Engagement Team. They're very interested in our family, and they want him to go back and talk to them again.
ReplyDeleteAlena is shopping, and Derrick shows up. They sort of apologize to each other. He says that the team wants to do a feature on her family in the run-up to the Christmas Game. She's very happy, and then she finds an old Chiefs ornament from the 1990's.
ReplyDeleteA little girl wants Chiefs tickets, and Derrick lets them have his. Alena is impressed.
ReplyDeleteThe feature on the family has come out, and KC Connect is packed. The Fan Engagement Team wants to sponsor a Chiefs-themed gingerbread contest at Norma and Nic's -- which is also packed. But Alena's Mom is staying focused on building a connection between Alena and Derrick.
ReplyDeleteDerrick goes into the kitchen to help Alena, her mom, and her grandmother make cookies. Her grandmother has an apron that says, "Forget Milk and Cookies -- Santa Wants Ribs."
ReplyDeleteAlena and her Mom are still talking about Derrick. Her mom says, "You can't let fear rob you of hope." But Alena isn't convinced.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, it's "Alana," not Alena.
ReplyDeleteDerrick goes to visit one of the other competitors for Fan of the Year, and then somehow he ends up running into Alana's family, who are sitting in the front yard (around a fire) and getting hammered on egg nog.
ReplyDeleteAlana is still giving Derrick a hard time about the magical hat, and he says that he needs to see some of that Christmas magic for himself. And then it starts to snow -- the first snow of the year. A sign! The family sings, drinks egg nog, and sings "Up on the Rooftop." Kansas City seems like a wacky town.
ReplyDeleteNow Alana is all dolled up because Derrick is taking her to the Chiefs' Staff Party -- all three Fan Families have been invited. So now Alana is at Arrowhead Stadium, which honestly does seem very cool.
ReplyDeleteAt the Staff Party, Derrick's fellow workers want to know if the Hat is so magical, why weren't they wearing it when the Chiefs lost to the Bengals in 2021. I've been wondering that myself, but my guess is that it has something to do with the fact that Alana's grandfather (played by Ed Begley, Jr.) is a widow.
ReplyDeleteAlana and Derrick run into Trey Smith, and he dazzles her with his knowledge of Trey Smith's career. She accuses him of studying up since the Len Dawson debacle. He takes her into the bowl of the stadium, and she shows him her family's seats. They're at the 30 yard line. She tells him that she has great memories even from the Chiefs' losing years because the real fans show up even when the team isn't winning.
ReplyDeleteAlana tells Derrick that the reason no one was wearing the hat in 2021 was because her Grandfather (Ed Begley, Jr.) had had a heart attack and was in the hospital. That's why her family believes that you don't know how much time you've got and that someday is right now. And so they kiss and we go to a commercial.
ReplyDeleteBack from the commercial and they are going ice skating. He lived in Denmark for three years, so he's all about the ice skating.
ReplyDeleteApparently they're at some sort of Kansas City street fair that takes place during Christmas. They run into Trent Green, who challenges them to a game where they have to throw footballs into rings. Alana wins, and she tells him that her dad never told him that girls can't play football.
ReplyDeleteSo they have a successful date, and now he's with Alana's family watching the Chiefs play the Packers on Thursday Night football. The Chiefs lose to the Packers, and the family goes through a complicated bit of dialogue about how the Chiefs could miss the playoffs if the Dolphins, Browns, and Texans all win on Sunday and the Chiefs lose to the Eagles on Christmas Day.
ReplyDeleteNow it's another day, and the family is waiting to see if they've won Fan of the Year. They are nervous wrecks -- this is a high maintenance family.
ReplyDeleteThey're waiting for the text -- and Derrick shows up in person. They won! Norma and Nic come in with a big cake saying "CONGRATULATIONS CHIEFS FANS OF THE YEAR." Someone asks what they would have done if the family lost, and they hold up a small cupcake labeled "Oh, well."
ReplyDeleteNow we learn that the Dolphins, Browns, and Texans all won -- so the Chiefs must beat the Eagles on Christmas Day. Alana wasn't worried, because they still have the Christmas hat. But she brought the hat to a Chiefs event -- and it has disappeared!
ReplyDeleteAs a Kentucky fan, I have to say the idea that there is a family somewhere in Kentucky that keeps losing the item that helps UK get to the Final Four actually makes a lot of sense.
DeleteMeanwhile, Alana is freaking out. The hat is gone, and now everyone is going to blame her family if the Chiefs lose on Christmas Day. Derrick tries to calm her, but I promise you that I would in fact blame her family if the Chiefs lost after she lost that hat.
ReplyDeleteDerrick tells her that her family has taught him that things have a habit of working out. But of course, Derrick doesn't really understand what superstition is like. I do understand what it's like, and Alana is in a very bad place right now.
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, churches should do more to warn people about the dangers of superstition. Most people are immune to it, but if you are not, superstition can be very debilitating.
ReplyDeleteNow they're having a Christmas Eve-Eve-Eve event, and Derrick shows up with a gift. It's ORIGINAL SEATS FROM MUNICIPAL STADIUM. Not just that, it's the EXACT SEATS THAT GRANDPA PAUL USED TO HAVE. The family is extremely moved.
ReplyDeleteOh, no. Now the mom gave Derrick a knitted hat that looks like the original hat -- and when Alana acts so relieved, the rest of the family realizes that the original hat has been lost. So now we have a crisis.
ReplyDeleteThe actress playing Alana is actually very good at playing a stressed-out fan.
ReplyDeleteLike, you can see that she really believes in the significance of this hat.
DeleteEd Begley says that if the hat is meant to turn up, it will turn up.
ReplyDeleteNow Ed Begley is sitting in his seat from Municipal Stadium, missing his wife. So he tells Alana and Derrick to make their own memories.
ReplyDeleteOK, it's a few days later. The real hat hasn't turned up -- although Derrick still has the other hat that looks like the real hat. Alana says that they can't pass off Derrick's hat as if it were the real hat, and now she thinks that they should not introduce her family at the game. "I don't want the entire Chiefs Kingdom blaming us if we don't make the playoffs."
ReplyDeleteSo now they have a big fight over the hat. Alana says that if everything with the hat is a coincidence, then everything in life is a coincidence, and nothing is meant to be. See, this is why superstition is so spiritually bad. This is why the Bible constantly makes the point that God is in control. Because if God is not in control then either no one is in control (Alana's fear) or Superstition is in control. Alana prefers to live in a world governed by Superstition to a world that has no meaning, but watching her you can see how cruel Superstition can be to its adherents. When Jesus says, "My yoke is easy," he was telling the literal truth. Christians don't have to keep track of magic hats.
ReplyDeleteDerrick says, "You have more faith in a hat than you do in me. I thought I was finally where I was meant to be. I guess I was wrong."
ReplyDeleteDerrick walks away, leaving Alana alone with her Superstition. That's what bad theology will do to you.
ReplyDeleteNow it's the next day, and Ed Begley confronts Alana. He says that life will go on whatever happens to the Chiefs. That's what he learned when he had his heart attack. Alana says that heart attack is what showed them that the hat was the real deal. He says, no, the heart attack showed him that even if the Chiefs lose, he still has everything that matters: family, friends, love. See, that's much better theology.
ReplyDeleteMore Ed Begley: "The magic is not in the hat. The magic is in what the hat represents: The fact that we are part of something bigger then ourselves -- knowing that we have each other's back, no matter what."
ReplyDeleteSee, Alana keeps wanting to believe in Fate. But the Ancients knew that the Fates are the most deadly things in the universe -- as you can see in the musical Hadestown. Whatever you do, never trust yourself to Fate. Or Superstition.
ReplyDeleteNow it's Christmas Day. The family is supposed to get introduced, but Alana doesn't want to go in there. The rest of the family doesn't want to go without her, but she's too embarrassed about what she said to Derrick.
ReplyDeleteWait! Alana has had a brainstorm and she's heading somewhere in a cart. Meanwhile, Derrick is going to look for her. They run into each other just outside the stadium.
ReplyDeleteDerrick brings Alana on to the field, and the families are introduced to everyone.
ReplyDeleteAlana can't take it. She tells the stadium that they don't have the hat, but that they don't need it -- because the Christmas magic doesn't exist in this one hat -- it's in all of us.
ReplyDeleteAnd then the P.R. person says: "Chiefs Kingdom, please look under your seats for a surprise Christmas gift." And the fans look under their seats -- and everyone has a vintage sock hat like the one Alana's family used to have. Huge cheers!
ReplyDeleteDerrick tells Alana that the story of the hat isn't over -- it just has a different ending, and "we don't know what that ending is yet."
ReplyDeleteAlana says, "I know it's a happy won, no matter what happens in the game." Derrick says, "But we do need to win -- the Chiefs are my home team now."
ReplyDeleteThey start kissing, and then Coach Andy Reid comes out to say, "We kind of need the field now."
ReplyDeleteDerrick says that the Hunts have invited them to sit in the Founders' Suite, but they are going to sit in their usual seats. Derrick says, "Is that because of the superstition?" And they say, no, it's where they belong. But they have an extra seat in case Derrick wants to join them.
ReplyDeleteNow they're all sitting together, and Derrick asks why they have an empty seat in their row. Alana says it used to belong to Grandma Patty (Grandpa Paul's widow) and she doesn't know why no one ever bought it. But Ed Begley (playing Grandpa Paul) says that he never sold it, because he knew that one day the right person would come along to fill it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, as you can imagine, there's a ton of Chiefs gear in this movie. But for this scene, Derrick has the best piece of gear: a Chiefs jacket. The left front of the jacket is red with the arrowhead logo up where a pocket would be, and the right front panel of the jacket is yellow with "chiefs" in the old 1970's script running vertically, as if it's an old end zone.
ReplyDeleteI looked online, and I couldn't find that jacket anywhere.
DeleteAnd at this point, Santa Claus leans over from the row in front of the family -- and he has the original hat, which he gives back to Ed Begley.
ReplyDeleteBut they're not going to wear the hat, because -- as Alana says -- they've got all the Christmas magic they need.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the end of the movie -- so we don't know if they beat the Eagles and made it to the playoffs or not. But, in a way, that was the whole point.
ReplyDeleteHoliday Touchdown has a rating of 6.4 on IMDB, which is relatively high for this sort of thing. Here are my thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. They didn't make any football mistakes, which I thought was really good. I was very pleased, for example, that they made sure that the teams that won on Sunday to put the Chiefs' spot in the playoffs at risk were all AFC teams.
2. The two leads had good chemistry, and the other actors (including Ed Begley, Jr.) did great.
3. For most people, the worst part of the movie would be how Alana freaked out over the hat, but that part actually made a lot of sense to me. If anything, I would have played up the superstition angle even more, and had the team go on a losing streak once they started watching the games with Derrick. That would have really given Alana something to think about.
Kentucky beats Brown to finish its non-conference schedule with a record of 11-2. The Cats are ranked number 24 on Ken Pom. They are 9th in offense, 56th in defense, and 131 in luck. Ken Pom thinks they will go 9-9 in the SEC and 20-11 overall.
ReplyDeleteArkansas beat Oakland 92-62 to finish its non-conference schedule with a record of 11-2. The Razorbacks are ranked number 37 on Ken Pom. They are ranked 54th on offense, 25th on defense, and 104 in luck. Ken Pom thinks they will go 8-10 in the SEC and 19-12 overall.
ReplyDelete