Tom Brady is holding a turkey leg. Thanksgiving in a picture. Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
I lose track of where I’ve said what across the internet. I can’t even begin to imagine what personal insights of mine I have bestowed upon our Puckett’s Pond readers or what I said when I started my writing journey a handful of years back as a high school sophomore.
One thing I will always claim is that I love Patrick Reusse. Reusse is my guy, he can tell a hell of a story and is one of the best writers in town. If you don’t agree with that, I don’t care and the perception is that Reusse doesn’t care either.
Thanksgiving morning for some Minnesota sports fans is more like that of Christmas morning for little children. Thanksgiving morning is when adult males will run to the front stoop and grab the Star Tribune sports section to see who Reusse and ‘the committee’ crowned as the year’s ‘Turkey of the Year’.
I love this column, but it presents a problem to me. How do I compete with the Turkey of the Year? The Turkey of the Year has decades of exposure and love throughout the Twin Cities sports reading community. I have two and a half months as editor of this website. Reusse has 20,000 Twitter followers, I have 225. I have some catching up to do.
So what can I do that is Thanksgiving-themed that isn’t Turkey of the Year? I think I have my answer: The Cornucopia of the Year.
The Wikipedia article for cornucopia has this as the description: The cornucopia, or horn of plenty, is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form.
The Cornucopia of the Year will be going to the person who has given us nourishment, who has made our cup runneth over and kept us happy and satisfied. A person who makes us thankful, basically.
This is no easy task when it comes to finding a deserved Twins player or personnel member. It can probably be validly argued that we shouldn’t be heaping any praise upon anyone on a team who has lost 90 games continuously, but it’s officially the holidays and I feel generous.
I have no committee like Mr. Reusse. I have myself, a can of Dr. Pepper, Bruce Springsteen on my iPod and the 2 A.M. rerun of SportsCenter making this decision. The decision on a victor for the Cornucopia of the Year was a tough one, but a deserving winner. That winner is Minnesota Twins closer Glen Perkins.
Perkins not only had a very successful year out of the bullpen, notching 36 saves this past season, but was also a very gracious asset to the local media which many bloggers and talkers thank him for. Candidness and cooperation are a lovely thing.
Most importantly, whenever Perkins is in the ballgame, it typically signals that a Twins victory is virtually sealed and we can all appreciate that. Life is better when your team is victorious and Glen Perkins makes that happen.
Congratulations, Glen Perkins. You just won an award that I made up.
Now go forth, eat your turkey, enjoy your football or college basketball, save me some stuffing and pumpkin pie and give your cornucopia a wink.