Season’s Greetings from Tarpon Springs.

Two weeks ago we mentioned that the University of Tampa women’s soccer team made it to the final round of the NCAA Division II national tournament. And we lamented the dearth of local media attention paid to such a worthwhile story.

Judging by what we’ve read, it was wild tourney for UT full of interesting sidebars. More on that below. Before going any further, though, congratulations to the 2007 National Champion UT Spartans!

Well done, ladies.

Local media woke up, sort of, to report the semi-final and final rounds. Read their coverage here, here and here. Pretty sterile for the most part, we’re sorry to say. We think they might have missed a chance to tell one of those colorful underdog-triumphant-feel-good stories that sports in general give us every so often.

This season, for example, was just the tenth for women’s soccer at UT. The Spartans had to beat last year’s tournament nemisis, Grand Valley State University, in order to advance to the 2007 championship game. Read about that game here. GSVU entered this year’s semi-final game with a virtually unblemished record of 21-0-1. So, David took on Goliath, again.

The championship game was decided by a shootout (which we despise as a way to decide championships but that’s a subject for another post). That goes down in the record book as a shutout for both teams’ goaltenders. By reading TampaSpartans.com we learned that it was the 14th shutout of the season for Spartan goaltender Shannon Aitken, a senior from Land O’Lakes, and the 40th of her college career.

Aitken is a hometown-kid-done-good sidebar for you, if there ever was one. It’s so stinking obvious that we think we probably just missed it in our search but we couldn’t find it, which makes us think it doesn’t exist. If not, that’s a shame. Thousands of girls just a few years younger than her play soccer in this area. We suspect she’s a worthy role model for them. The fish wrappers missed a chance to score points with some younger readers on that one.

While we’re on the subject of collegiate soccer, congratulations also are in order for the USF men’s soccer team, which made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division I national tournament before losing this past weekend to the Connecticut Huskies 5-0. USF won 14 games this year, lost six and posted two draws.

Well done, lads.

Our Telford, Pennsylvania relatives Jimmy and Emily hosted Thanksgiving dinner each year in their lovely Bucks County home. The annual family gathering began early in the afternoon and usually united the entire clan under one roof.

Women filled the kitchen, combining their efforts to make the holiday meal. Cold weather was typical outside with snow-frosted scenery and ice-glazed barren trees. Children took command of the grounds, engaging in snowball fights, sledding and other winter activities. Adults sought refuge indoors. Men watched football or caught up on events of the past year. This annual reunion would be their only opportunity to spend time with the entire family. Cheerful conversation brought much laughter and backslapping, as each relative tried to outdo the next at recounting events of the year and old family tales.

When the dinner bell rang, children were ushered to the den where they were seated on folding chairs around card tables. Adults filled the dining room and overflowed into the living salon. The compact house wasn’t large but homey. I remember a field-stone fireplace, black slate floors, oriental area rugs and a wonderful picture window overlooking the lovely grounds. And Schnitzel, a dachshund that quietly meandered from guest to guest in search of treats.

With everyone in place for dinner, all eyes turned toward me for my annual address. I would stand and say what I had said each year since my second Thanksgiving gathering: “Every year we meet here for dinner, and it’s the same thing - turkey, turkey, turkey.”

Laughter and applause erupted, followed by bowls filled with soup, plates loaded with salad and corn and breads followed by roasted turkey, ham, stuffing, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, candied yams, cranberry sauce, asparagus, the fixings and gravies. Minted iced tea was a popular beverage as well as wine.

With dinner underway, the only audible sounds were movements of forks and knives and an occasional clatter of dishes as large plates of food passed from hand to hand. The afternoon meal began at 4:30 and typically concluded about 7 after we polished off an array of desserts. Then the odor of percolated coffee filled the house.

The women handled cleanup as most of the men sought out places to snooze. They might lay about on a comfy couch or large chairs or perhaps collapse on a bed filled with winter coats. Some would tolerate the icy weather and relax on large porch chairs to smoke. By 8:30 families would gather up children, express appreciation to their hosts and head home - until next year.

So many are gone now; the hosts, Jimmy and Emily, died years ago. I still remember the tearful call they made when their beloved Schnitzel died at 17. There were divorces and other deaths, too. Children grew up and moved away. The annual banquet faded into history.

Somehow, Florida’s winter season leaves one unfulfilled. Cold spells come along but I haven’t seen snow-covered pines, iced-glazed barren trees or packed snow to belly-flop on. Still, a Florida Thanksgiving kicks off the holiday season and lifts spirits for a new year. Most important, it brings together families scattered about the country as did the Thanksgivings I recall.

In fairness to Florida, I prefer seeing the snow and ice in a bucolic photograph rather than up close and personal. And I might add that one of our neighbors will load children into a horse-drawn sled, adapted with wheels, to tour around our small community this Thanksgiving. Nice touch.

Our Floridian Thanksgiving dinner involves the children but rarely other relatives, who are having their own festivities far away. The traditional feast has been replaced by more heart-healthy alternatives. Roasted turkey appears on the table but the fixings and other foodstuffs are served in lesser quantities and dinner concludes in less than an hour. Our property is smoke-free and there is no risk of getting beaned by a snowball or slipping on ice. But I’d give a lot to see Jimmy and Emily again, along with that array of crazy relatives, wild children and, of course, Schnitzel, in some corner of the house, chewing a bone.

My best to you for the holiday season.  MJY

Dr. Marc Yacht is the former director of the Pasco County Health Department. He is the editor in chief of the Florida Medical Association quarterly magazine, serves as Vice President of the West Pasco Habitat For Humanity board, volunteers at the CARE’s Senior Clinic and blogs at GoToTell.com.