CHARLOTTE -- People in every corner ... relatives by the dozen carrying bowls of food ... egg nog by the gallon ... tacky sweaters on every torso. These are the sights of a typical, full-scale, hometown family Christmas.
Most NFL players don't get to experience this during their playoff careers. Perhaps their parents and or siblings might visit from far-flung locales, or they might be married with their own children, a nuclear family sharing the holiday. The massive family gatherings? They're held somewhere else, somewhere "back home," proceeding without the one member of the family who, as an NFL player, actually has to work on Christmas, whether playing or practicing.
But since wide receiver Kenneth Moore plays where he was raised, all these trappings and more are his to squeeze into a week still filled with full-scale game preparation.
"We usually do something real big every Christmas or Christmas Eve. It's a family tradition. Auntie, aunt, grandpa and grandpa, cousins, everybody comes over to the house," Moore said. "That's the blessing of playing for the hometown team."
It's a full house, but not too full for anyone who doesn't have family in town.
"They're definitely invited," he said. "I'm not sure I can hold all of them at my house, but anybody who wants to come and spend time with Mama and get some of her cooking, they're always welcome."
LINEBACKER NA'IL DIGGS isn't a Charlotte native, but he has traditions to uphold and a duty to perform -- that of dessert sampler.
"Well, it's either sweet potato pie, apple pie or there's a red velvet cake. It's usually a piece of each," he said. "I've got to taste everything; I've got to make sure it's done right. I'm the taste-tester.
"I get a little crazy ... I don't eat much dinner; I just get stupid with the dessert, just flat-out bad."
RUNNERS STILL HURTING: While
SPLIT SECONDS: Quarterback
