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Every year, crucial memories are made during the Christmas season, especially for children who eagerly wait to see what might be under the tree on Christmas Day.
For NFL players, they are still in work mode even during the holidays. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t reminiscing about their favorite Christmas memories while hanging out with family.
Raising Cane’s featured NFL stars helping impact kids across the country during its sixth annual holiday bike giveaway, where they gave away more than 4,000 brand-name bikes and helmets to charitable youth organizations.
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Tee Higgins does push-ups with a boy from the Boys & Girls Club during the Raising Cane event. (Raising the cane)
Seeing the joy of having a new bike, players like Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown couldn’t help but think of one of their “peak” childhood memories of Christmas when he received a great gift.
“Looking back, getting my PlayStation 2 from my parents was everything to me at the time,” Brown told Pak Gazette Digital. “I got the NCAA, one of those games with the Texas Longhorns on the cover. It was very impactful for me and it stuck with me. It was one of those highlights as a kid that stood out to me.”
In Cincinnati, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins was all smiles when he showed up at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati to see all the kids he was helping impact with his new wheels. Growing up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Higgins went through the Boys & Girls Club, which is why events like these are so special to him personally.
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And when it comes to Christmas memories, he always thinks about that gift his father gave him that was a little more powerful than a simple bicycle, literally.
“My favorite gift was the first dirt bike my dad gave me. I rode that dirt bike for about 10 days straight,” Higgins told Pak Gazette Digital.
But Higgins also remembers the first set of wheels he got, which was through the Boys & Girls Club.
Josh Metellus and Andrew Van Ginkel of the Minnesota Vikings pose with a child at the Raising Cane bike giveaway. (Raising the cane)
“When I was your age, I remember my first bike at the Boys and Girls Club. That made me smile, so it made me the happiest kid in the world,” he added.
And sometimes, it’s a gift as simple as a basketball that can have a big impact. Growing up in North Miami, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Josh Metellus told his mother how badly he wanted a new basketball to improve his away game in hopes of making the high school team.
“It’s funny, I found a photo not too long ago because Netflix was asking for it,” Metellus told Pak Gazette Digital. “I bought a basketball when I was a little bit older, maybe in middle school, right before high school. The fact that my mom was willing, I kept telling her, ‘I want a new basketball.’ That she went out of her way to use it as my gift, knowing that would make me happy instead of just giving me a toy or something that any high school kid would want. All I wanted was a basketball so I could play and try to make the high school basketball team. My mom, like many times, showed me that she loved it. She cared about what I thought and was willing to do anything to make me happy. That was a really cool moment.
“I saw the photo with the basketball and I remember how happy I was and how much it stuck with me. I once got a phone for Christmas and it was really cool, but the basketball stuck with me because it was coming out and I was able to play right away.”
While receiving gifts, especially those that make an impact, is great this time of year, what really matters is the spirit of giving back and helping those in need.
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“I think life is much bigger than football and us as football players,” Metellus’ teammate Andrew Van Ginkel told Pak Gazette Digital. “So any way we can get back into the community and just be there for kids who have been through a lot and need that extra hope that can help them get through these tough times.
“For me, Christmas is about giving thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ and it means a lot to give back and do good deeds in the community. It’s a small part of who I am and want to do as a person and the impact I want to make.”
