How The NFL Stole Christmas

…The fan favorite college football bowl game will now have THREE mascots at the game, but only one will be eaten by the winner. Whoever wins the game’s MVP will choose which flavor, and hopefully he picks the mystery flavor.

The game of Paige Bueckers roulette is over, and the Dallas Wings hold the first pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft! Arike Ogunbowale couldn’t be happier, while Sparks fans (and maybe Paige herself) are distraught she won’t be in LA. The only question now is: Which designer is dressing Buckets for Draft Night?

LeBron is keeping up with the Kardashians as his production company SpringHill merges with the company that produces the hit reality show, Fulwell 73. Maybe we’ll see a crossover event between the two powerhouse families?

The magic of 2000s Manchester United is long gone, an era The Athletic claims can be partially credited to…playing SOCOM on PSP? We played with Paul Pogba on Warzone during lockdown, and it didn’t help that era much.

Paris Hilton has the aux cord in the new Meta Quest reality fitness app. She’s the first host of “Guest DJ”, where she’ll be playing tunes while you break a sweat. Expect a lot of icons in her set, including herself!

The NFL is back on Christmas, and it’s making a hard push to make football as synonymous with Dec. 25 as Santa Claus. An incredible lineup of games on Netflix just got a bump from… A BEYONCÉ HALFTIME CONCERT IN H-TOWN.

Let us get this straight. We get Lamar Jackson, CJ Stroud and Beyoncé (with potential surprise guests!) all performing under one roof? This could be the biggest day in NFL regular-season history.

What a diabolical move by the NFL, which has typically ceded Christmas to the NBA and its noon-to-midnight slate. The ruthlessness of the NFL’s complete takeover of the NBA’s corners is not going unnoticed.

Whatever truce existed between the leagues has been violated like a Sunday morning in The Wire. And we haven’t even mentioned that Mahomes, Kelce, Wilson, Ciara, and the inevitable Swift cam are the other game. 

The only question is whether Netflix’s servers are ready for all this jelly? Technical issues during the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight turned the buffering symbol into a viral celebrity. The stakes are massive. Just ask Howard Stern. 

If Netflix can pull this off, Christmas will never be the same. Football already owns Thanksgiving, and now it’ll have the whole holiday season like a good eggnog. 

The action in the stands is just as exciting as the field, with WAGs becoming the most famous celebrities at games thanks to their aura and unforgettable fashion statements.

They’re become their own influencer class. The latest custom jacket worn by Simone Biles to support her husband, Jonathan Owens, can become a must-have item overnight. The only thing hotter than KAT at MSG is when his girlfriend Jordyn Woods shows up to steal the show.

Fashion doesn’t just want to be part of the tunnel walk, they want to be a part of the WAGs repertoire. Kristin Juszczyk and her famously designed custom outfits have an NFL licensing deal. It was one of the biggest trends in the W last season as women like Lala Ronay served looks courtside while cheering on her fiancee, Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale.

And the obsession has stretched across the pond, too. Gone are the days of Victoria and David Beckham filling back pages at England matches. Now, it’s Tolami Benson, who became a household name wearing a custom Bukayo Saka leather jacket at the Euros. Saka and Benson tried to keep it quiet, but now Benson goes viral making jollof rice and plantains after an Arsenal loss.

This phenomenon is creating a ratings boom for sports leagues like the NFL, which enjoyed its highest female viewership last season. Fashion and pop culture are taking cues from WAGs ditching stereotypical pink jerseys for retro designs worn by their favorite influencers.