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Core memories are made every year during the holiday season, especially for children who anxiously await to see what might be under the tree on Christmas Day.
For players in the NFL, they are still in work mode, even during the holidays. But that doesn’t mean they don’t reminisce about their favorite Christmas memories while hanging out with the family.
Raising Cane’s had NFL stars help impact kids across the nation during their sixth annual Holiday Bike Giveaway, giving away over 4,000 branded bikes and helmets to youth charities.
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Tee Higgins flexes with a Boys and Girls Club kid during the Raising Canes event. (Repeal of Cane’s)
Seeing the joy of getting a new bike, players like Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown couldn’t help but think of one of his “peak” childhood memories at Christmas when he received a big gift.
“When I think back, getting my PlayStation 2 from my parents at the time was everything to me,” Brown told Pakinomist 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 the highest moments as a kid that stuck out to me.”
In Cincinnati, Bengals receiver Tee Higgins was all smiles when he showed up at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati to see all the kids he helped impact with their new wheels. Higgins grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and 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 of the gift his dad got him that was a little more powerful than just a bike—literally.
“My favorite gift was my first dirt bike that my dad got me. I rode that dirt bike for 10 days straight,” Higgins told Pakinomist 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 Canes bike giveaway. (Repeal of Cane’s)
“When I was their age, I remember my first bike at the Boys and Girls Club. It made me smile, so it made me the happiest boy alive,” he added.
And sometimes it’s a gift as simple as a basketball that can make a big impact. Growing up in North Miami, Minnesota Vikings linebacker Josh Metellus told his mom how much he wanted a new basketball player to work on his game outside the house in hopes of making the middle school team.
“It’s funny, I found a picture of it not too long ago because Netflix asked for it,” Metellus told Pakinomist Digital. “I got a basketball when I was a little bit older, maybe middle school, right before high school. The fact that my mom was willing — I kept telling her, ‘I want a new basketball.’ For her to go out of her way to use it as my gift, knowing that it would make me happy instead of just giving me a toy or something that every middle schooler wanted. All I wanted was a basketball so I can play and try to make this high school basketball team. My mother, as many times, showed me that she cared what I thought and was willing to do anything to make me happy. It was a really cool moment.
“I saw the picture with the basketball and I remember how happy I was and how much it stuck with me. I got a phone for Christmas once and it was really cool, but the basketball stuck with me because I got to go outside and I got to play right away.”
While it’s great to receive gifts, especially impactful ones, this time of year, it’s the spirit of giving back and helping those in need that really matters.
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“I think life is much bigger than football and us as football players,” Metellus’ teammate Andrew Van Ginkel told Pakinomist Digital. “So any way that we can get back into the community and just be there for kids that have been through a lot and need that extra piece of 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 society. It’s a small piece of who I am and want to do as a person, and the impact I want to make.”
