A Holiday Poem Redux

Long after Christmas,
Santa'd got all his rest.
It takes a few months
To get back to his best.

The toy making over,
And gifts all delivered,
He now had some time
For TV and Twitter.

He remembered he'd predicted
Way back in December
That one group would be
A team to remember.

"I can't quite recall
What I said at the time"
But the elves were there
And quick to remind.

But Santa was ready
For such loss of spirit
“Don’t be so whiny!
I don’t want to hear it!”

“So do not despair
As all will be fine!
It’s not 2008 that counts
But April 2009!”

At that, Santa laughed
And he jiggled like jelly
"I guess I should check them
Out on the telly!"

So then Mrs. Claus
Brought some snacks and a brew,
And Rudolph tuned the tube
To ESPN and ESPN2.

Over the next two weeks
The North Pole embraced March
And followed the Cardinal
On their way to the Arch.

They watched the team focus,
Their intentions precise and clear
As they worked hard together
Like eight tiny reindeer.

As each team was conquered
The elves made a scene
They changed to wearing Cardinal
Instead of red and green.

While Santa was happy
and cheered with each hoop
He offered a caution
To all in the troop.

"It's been a great ride
Of that, I am certain!
But let's not plan to celebrate
Until the final curtain!"

"For this is a team
With much more to do!
They're off to the Midwest
And need to win two!"

With that, the room hushed
And, after some thought,
"Santa's right!", they cheered
"There's more dreams to be caught!"

And then Santa chuckled
And let out a Ho Ho Ho
And packed the sled for St. Louis
While cheering "Go Stanford! GO!"