14-13

Final score. Needham 14, Wellesley 13.

During my senior year of high school, our football team won just one game. But it was the only one that mattered. Our annual rumble against our crosstown rivals. On Thanksgiving.

First held in 1882, this gridiron clash is the oldest public high school rivalry in the country. We weren't expected to win that year. In fact, it was the only win the team had all season. No matter. The glory of a Turkey Day victory lives on forever. Despite the expanding waistlines and wrinkles that inevitably mark middle age, the memory of that sweetest of wins remains.

On the cusp of this year's feast, I am grateful for all the traditions this time of year brings. A tart cranberry sauce. The smell of pies baking. Even 5K runs and the requisite polishing of silver. 

And those two numbers. 14-13. 

"When you win, nothing hurts." - Joe Namath (NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback)