Tomorrow is the day all of us get up early and rush to the living room to see if Santa has left us all the gifts we have asked for. I, for one, believe Santa doesn’t just deliver toys to all the good girls and boys but special sports seasons to the crazed fans.

Yes, it is true sports fans are a strange but loyal bunch who dress up like any sort of character to support their teams.

Anything is done from ringing cow bells to painting one’s face and weaing a multi-colored afro wig.

Nothing can be done for this sad lot of individuals.

Tolerance is the best medicine and of course a winning season gift wrapped from old St. Nick.

As a self described sports nut, I figure it wouldn’t hurt to write Santa a quick note and ask for a few things myself.

Dear Santa:

Thanks for all the good toys you brought last year. I’m still getting plenty of mileage from the NFL Blitz video game.

My sports Christmas wishes are the following:

Please breathe some live in to the tired old arms and legs of the Utah Jazz players and allow them to finally get the elusive NBA championship. For two seasons, Michael Jordan and the mighty Bulls stood in their way.

Now their star players are in the twilight of their careers. I can’t think of two player more deserving of a title than John Stockton and Karl Malone.

It would be nice if the two hall of famers retired the same year. When they entered the hallowed halls in Springfield, Mass., Stockton could hand Malone the award. It would be his final assist to the Mailman.

I have two football wishes.

Let the Packers surround Brett Favre with players who can make plays.

It is painful to see this proud team the put the word &uot;title&uot; back in Titletown slowly fade from serious playoff contention.

My second wish would be to let the Big-3 coaches sign some prize recruits and continue the good fortunes of USM, MSU and Ole Miss.

Santa keep the baseballs coming because I expect to see Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to keep cranking them out of the park.

These two guys could almost single handedly keep a baseball manufacturing plant running.

My final football wish is a huge one. It is one I have been asking for for a long time. It has become more of a habit than anything else. The poor fans of the Saints have been getting a lump of coal each year sinct the team was formed. I’m sure plenty of fans would appreciate it.

Please send some good luck and some football sense in the direction of the New Orleans Saints.

This hapless franchise is over 30 years old and has yet to win a playoff game.

The NFL has expanded and teams half the age of the Saints are already contending for the Super Bowl.

Give the Saints some football sense. Let them hire a qualified manager of player personnel and an innovative football coach.

A head coach like Denver offensive coordinator, Gary Kubiak, would be a step in the right direction. A few players who can actually make plays.

Hopefully I’ve been a good boy and will see some of these sports wishes come true.

If not, I’ll settle for a brand new shiny football to thow with my son.

We can create some memorable sports moments of our own.

Merry Christmas to all.

Tim Isbell is creative director at The Democrat. He can be reached at 446-5172 ext. 233 or by e-mail at tim.isbell@natchezdemocrat.com.