For many, this is the most wonderful time of the year. We have the holidays to look forward to, what with finals being over and winter break beginning.

However, in the sports world, this can also be the most depressing stretch of the year.

Across the board, fans are seeing their teams’ playoff hopes die or spiral out of control.

For baseball fans, this means seeing last season’s aces and All Stars hit the trading block at winter meetings to see if they can find bigger contracts elsewhere. For Brewers fans, this has been especially painful as their biggest star (both literally and figuratively), CC Sabathia, is trading in his barely-worn Brewers uniform for Yankee pinstripes and heading for New York to the tune of $160 million over seven years.

Sadly for the Brewers, things might get worse quickly. There have been talks with often-injured ace Ben Sheets, who is looking for more money and stability in his contract, which the small-market Brewers just can’t afford.

As baseball players are put on the hot stove in Las Vegas, the professional football season has begun to wind down and the feeling of defeat is finally settling in on much of the nation. In the NFL, division titles are being secured, the Wild Card picture is becoming clear and, if you are a Lions fan, you’re finally close to being put out of your misery.

But unless you are from Phoenix or Nashville — whose teams have already clinched a division championship — you still have to go through the agonizing pain of watching your team try to make the playoffs, leaving the question of what is worse: being so close then not making it or not even being close at all?

For those whose teams miss the playoffs, the pain can be overwhelming. Not only do you not get to watch your team get to the promised land of the Super Bowl in January, but you also have to suffer by watching countless games and analysts discuss why your rivals are so good and how far they will go.

While the football regular season ends, the fantasy football playoffs begin. This year, the fantasy world has seen a huge shake-up. For the lucky four or six in each league, this means scrambling for free agents or setting your lineup for the run for the money. However, for those of you not making your fantasy football league playoffs, the thought of losing your hard-earned money (or pride) can be intolerable.

Finally, there is the bowl season. Ads have run on the networks calling this season “the most wonderful time of the year,” but all we really begin doing is reflecting on how bad the FBS bowl system really is. Just ask Boise State or Texas Tech fans.

Before the FBS national champion is crowned, there are a multitude of games played around the country by teams who almost made it to a major bowl but got snubbed because a computer thought they didn’t win by enough points or didn’t think their schedule was difficult enough.

Some of the programs who make Christmas-season bowls, such as Northwestern or Navy, are just happy to be playing a 13th game. However, for teams like the Red Raiders, Broncos or even Texas, their post-season appearance is just like finishing in second place. All of their hard work and big wins come to playing in the pre-show to the BCS Bowls.

While these early bowls might be good for the programs as a whole because of the money the school gets and the national exposure some small programs receive, nothing can hurt a fan’s morale worse than seeing a rival make a New Year’s Day bowl game because a computer thought you weren’t good enough.

So when all of you are at home during break, cheering your team in the playoffs or spending your fantasy championship money on a new game for the Xbox 360 you got for the holidays, remember there are those less fortunate than you. Keep their feelings in your heart, and remember not to rub your goodwill in their faces too much.

Ben is a senior majoring in journalism and history. If you need counseling for your holiday sports angst, e-mail him at [email protected].