In the car, Griff confessed that the Gator Bowl invitation, which Coach Elway had just received on behalf of the team, would steal Christmas Day for pre-game practice. But there was good news. "Dad is sending us tickets to Calgary for the time that we have before Christmas," he said as he drove slowly towards San Francisco in the post-game traffic "-- after your grades have been filed and before I have to leave for Jacksonville".

"In the hopes that this might happen, I’ve already asked Mom to send me the skates that I keep at home for Christmas skating," she replied. “Can you skate?”

"My Mom had me in the rink when I was two years old. We can skate together on the pond that's near my Dad's house. If we practice first, we can amaze my Mother."

Both Griff and Caydance were aware that his knee might limit the extent of imagined pairs skating. But skating together on Canadian ice was a Christmas dream, and they were happy.