‘Twas the night before Christmas, up in the press box
The announcer wore red and stinky old green socks;
He studied his rosters while sipping some tea
In hopes of pronouncing all the names correctly
He glanced to the sky at the stars and full moon,
Wondering if a silhouette might pass by quite soon,
Of eight tiny reindeer and a big giant sleigh,
With jolly ol’ St. Nick getting well on his way;

When down on the field there occurred such a loud noise,
He rose from his chair to see which girls and which boys;
Players in their helmets trotted on with such flair
While cheerleaders shook their poms high in the air;
He reached for his mic with copy in hand,
To welcome parents and patrons freezing in the stands;
“Happy Holidays!” He belted in that sonorous tone,
Echoing back and forth and into each team’s end zone;

From anthem to the kickoff he felt a great stir,
That something so magical might just occur;
He settled back in his chair, grasping on to his mic,
Binoculars in hand on a night so dreamlike,
He monitored numbers and officials so scrupulously,
To announce every down, tackle, flag and t. d.;
He spoke each player’s name so crisp and precise,
Only a boon could have made him sound truly this nice;

And then, a clunk, clank and bonk came from above,
Driving his eyes to the ceiling from his labor of love;
He scanned the room for notice by anyone but him,
But not one soul blinked, perhaps it was only a whim;
Still, he pondered, debated and put in great thought,
About the noises on the roof Christmas Eve has just brought;
Might it be that sleigh and all those reindeer,
Pausing to watch the game and hear his voice amidst the cheer,

He considered in that moment his wife, children and dog,
Sitting by the warm fire which needed one more log;
His house twinkled with lights of red, green and blue,
While their tree awaiting Santa already had a present or two;
He smiled then announced, “First down and ten”,
After a big pass, he proclaimed it again;
Another clop suddenly came over his head,
He hoped the old man enjoyed the game from his sled.

Then, he declared, “Touchdown!”, the crowd unleashed such a scream,
That the announcer barely heard what he decided was a dream;
He thought he discerned clips and clops and a drag,
Of reindeer tugging off ol’ St. Nick and his bag;
But, the dream became reality as snow began to fall,
Because a silhouette crossing moonlight was just what he saw;
He jumped to his feet, grasping his microphone tight,
And announced to the crowd, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”