Dec. 25, 2008

As part of www.niuhuskies.com continuing coverage of the Northern Illinois' football team's trip to the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., we asked several Huskies to answer our "Question of the Day." Today's question (December 25, 2008), in honor of Christmas :

WHAT IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT THAT YOU EVER GAVE OR RECEIVED?

Chad Spann, Soph., TB, Indianapolis, Ind.
"I am the youngest of four children - and when I was in the eighth grade, my mom and dad gave the four of us a car. It was a Dodge Stratus, a nice car and I drove it all through high school - we all did."

Landon Cox, Soph., WR, Calumet City, Ill.
"Love."

Jason Schepler, Fr., TE, Sycamore, Ill.
"A few years ago, I gave my mom an I-pod nano and she still uses it today, so it must have been a pretty good gift. I had to load up all the music on it."

Josh Allen, Sr., LB, North Chicago, Ill.
"Actually, that's a hard different question for me because my mom and grandma are Jehova's Witnesses and so we didn't celebrate Christmas. We celebrated with the other side of my family though and we always got together with family at this time of year. But my mom is great, she made sure I had what I wanted - she'd be sure to take me shopping around that time of year."

Alex Krutsch, Sr., DT, Schaumburg, Ill.
"My drum set is definitely the best gift I ever got. I got it about nine years ago, in the sixth grade I think and I still have it, still play it all the time. It's the real deal, a nice set. Me and Andy [Dittbenner] get together and play - he plays the guitar."

Eddie Adamski, Jr., C, Kildeer, Ill.
"Probably my scooter that gets me around campus. I got it two years ago and it was a pretty big surprise."

Dan Nicholson, Sr., QB, Chicago, Ill.
"When I was little, I got the game Golden Eye 007 for Nintendo 64. I remember I wanted it SO BAD, and I remember that my dad punk'd me too. He acted like they didn't get it for me and gave it to me about 30 minutes after we finished opening presents. "

Spencer Williamson, Jr., S, Elkhart, Ind.
"I was in middle school and I wrote a poem for my mother. I typed it up and put it in a picture frame. It made her cry. She still has it up in the house."

Yesterday's question (December 24, 2008), in honor of the Christmas holiday:

WHAT IS THE FAMILY CHRISTMAS TRADITION THAT YOU WILL MISS THE MOST THIS YEAR?

Jason Onyebuagu, Jr., OG, Indianapolis, Ind.
"Usually, my whole family is together and we play cards - for quarters. It's my mom, my aunties, cousins. We play a game called `Tonk' for hours and hours. The games get pretty intense. I'd say my mom does pretty well usually - she's a wiley veteran."

Tim McCarthy, Sr., LB, Neenah, Wisc.
"Just being with my immediate family. Usually my family gets together for dinner and we'll go to church Christmas morning. There are grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - probably about 15 of us all together."

Larry English, Sr., DE, Aurora, Ill.
"Being together with my family, having Christmas dinner at my grandparents house or at our house. I don't really have a favorite dish or food, I love it all. It's kind of weird here with the warm weather, it's doesn't feel like Christmas."

Chandler Harnish, Fr., QB, Bluffton, Ind.
"Spending time with my whole family and then on Christmas Day, we have a scavenger hunt for the `big present.' My dad writes up clues and we go from one room to another to find it."

Bradley Pruitt, Sr., CB, Chicago, Ill.
"Going to see my grandparents [on my mom's side] on Christmas. The whole family goes together. They live about 30 minutes away, but they don't get around too well anymore so we go to them. We exchange gifts, eat a meal together."

Brandon Beal, Sr., TE, St. Louis, Mo.
"Just being at my grandma's for the holidays with my whole family. We have family from all over - Boston, Alabama, Rockford - and it's the one time of the year that everyone gets together. We sing, we laugh, we eat. I've missed it a couple of times over the last few years. I also miss the food, especially my grandmother's duck and my mom's potato salad on Christmas Day."

Kyle Skarb, So., FB, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.
"I'll miss the white elephant gift exchange with my family. We find weird gifts around the house that you wrap up. We actually have a white elephant - like a little statue. And no one wants to get the white elephant. If you get it we put your name on it and keep a record of it. So we wrap it in weird boxes so no one can guess that it's in there to make people pick it."

Jerry Kill, Head Coach
"We always go back to my hometown of Cheyney, Kansas - which is a town of about 2,000 people. During the holidays, all the guys I went to high school with and our families all get together at one person's house. Anytime I go back, that's what I do, and they're going to do that, but also a couple of them are coming to this game so I'll get to see some of them."

-- NIU --