Always at this time of year, the song “Please Come Home for Christmas” echoes through Tom Graham’s Denver home.
The song has long been a holiday tradition for the Graham family, but never have the words of Charles Brown’s 1960 bluesy Christmas hit been more appropriate.
For the first time in about two decades, Graham’s five children and 13 grandchildren will be together in Denver for Christmas, a reunion made possible in part because of a football schedule that has Graham’s son Daniel — a Broncos tight end — in town and off the field for one of his family’s most special holidays.
“That’s a special blessing for me,” said Tom Graham, who played linebacker for the Broncos from 1972-74 and has made his home in Denver since.
The Broncos have played on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day the last four seasons, leaving football families like plenty of others with loved ones forced to work through the holidays. The team is 3-1 in those Christmas games but lost last year, 23-3 at San Diego on Dec. 24, and had to endure a somber plane ride back to Denver while the players’ children waited for Santa.
For the Grahams, there have been plenty of Christmases apart with Tom and Marilyn’s four sons and one daughter and their families living across the country, including as far away as Boston, where Daniel spent five years playing for the New England Patriots.
Holidays were celebrated whenever was convenient and with whoever could be there. Not this year.
Making the rounds
Tom and Marilyn are planning to travel around the metro area to see Phillip, 40; Jason, 35; daughter Ebony, 33; Josh, 30; and their families early in the day. And later, the family is hoping to have a large gathering at Daniel’s home once he’s done with Broncos practice and meetings.
“It does make it difficult because sometimes you don’t know if you’ll have the whole day off, or if you have to go in, get half a day off,” Daniel Graham said. “I think football is really tough and takes the Christmas spirit out of me.”
Denver coach Mike Shanahan, with consultation from assistant coaches and team captains, decided not to alter the team’s schedule this week because of the holidays. Sunday’s game at San Diego, with the winner claiming the AFC West title and a playoff spot, is just too important.
“You’ve got family, you’ve got Christmas coming up and you’ve got kids and relatives, but if you’ve got a mature football team, they understand that when they’re here, they’ve got to focus,” Shanahan said. “We had one of our better practices today. I was real pleased with the concentration level. Hopefully, tomorrow we’ll have the same type of concentration even though both teams will be dealing with a lot of distractions, which is typical of the holidays.”
Veteran wide receiver Brandon Stokley, who played in Baltimore and Indianapolis, said he and his family have grown to expect the holiday season to be a little different for them. They have grown accustomed to alternative celebrations, and his two young sons seem fine with it, “as long as they get presents,” Stokley said.
“When you get in this profession, you understand that holidays — Christmas, Thanksgiving — are not going to be normal, and that’s the way it goes for all of us,” Stokley said. “It’s not going to be a normal day.”
It’s been a new adjustment for younger players on the Denver roster, several of whom are spending their first holiday season away from their hometowns.
Royal family visit
Rookie receiver Eddie Royal said a sister, brother, niece and possibly his mother, Pearl, will be joining him in Denver by today to help make the transition easier.
“I don’t even have a tree yet,” Royal said. “It’s great that they’re coming out here to support me. They’re going to come cook so I’m not alone here.”
But few Bronco family celebrations should be able to match the Grahams.
Daniel Graham, a self-described Grinch, is reveling in the fact that he can spend the holiday with his 3-year-old daughter Jaida.
“My mind-set is on work. I’m not really worried about Christmas,” Graham said. “I do like to see my little girl smile, though.”
That will certainly be the case when she receives her present from Dad — a talking doll house that he searched hard for and finally found.
After the presents are opened and the Christmas songs are played, the Graham family will fulfill another tradition by watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
It will be a much different holiday than watching Daniel on television, playing many miles away.
“I think it means a lot because this is the first time we’ve all been here in a very long time,” Daniel Graham said. “You know, I can’t even tell you the last time we were all together on Christmas. So this is special.”
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
