Happy holidays despite an unhappy Aston Villa

Let's get this out of the way: 2015 was absolutely miserable for Aston Villa. Yes, we advanced to the FA Cup final, but once there we got absolutely trounced. And other than that, what was good? A few wins? Barely avoiding relegation? I mean, it felt great at the time, but that's hardly a memory you tell your children about. And so we enter the waning final days of a year that is charitably described as forgettable and realistically described as piss-poor.

But even with that it's not impossible to find some things to be thankful for. Aston Villa are looking more and more likely to be relegated at the end of this season, and we're likely getting more and more fed up with their play. But nevertheless, we keep coming back week after week. Because no matter how bad the football is, we're all part of this community together. We're all fans. We all would rather watch a bad Aston Villa than do most other things in our lives.

And that's pretty damn cool. The fact that we can gather here, on twitter, at Villa Park, or in a pub to talk with others who wear the claret and blue and forget some of the problems in the world. Because remember, even if Aston Villa have had a bad 2015, the world, by almost any measure, has had a worse one. We need escape. We need a chance to forget the problems that we all have to deal with. And Aston Villa provide that, for better or for worse.

And for that, I appreciate this club. I love it. I can't imagine supporting any other team and I bet you can't either. So I'm thankful. And I'm thankful, too, for everything that I get to do as a result of this team. Writing this blog. Interacting with you readers. Working with the absolute best writing staff in existence.

I've been writing about Villa non-stop for over a year, and realistically probably longer than that. Earlier in 2015, Aaron Campeau and Kirsten Schlewitz left the site that they founded, and they left me in charge. And I've done everything I can to make it something that they could be proud of and that I am proud of. But it's been tough with this club, and running this has been more work than I ever imagined.

And yet I keep coming back. For the past ten or so days, I've been on vacation. It's been needed, and it's been really refreshing. I'm back to the grind on the 31st or so. But it wont be as much of a grind. I've been absolutely blown away by what this staff, led by James in my absence, has done. It's great writing. It's fun writing. And it's writing about a team who could not be less great or less fun. That's what I love about Aston Villa. It's not the team, it's the community. It's this site. It's this incredible writing staff.

So thank you, to everyone involved. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, happy holidays, or just a great final week of 2015. Aston Villa have done almost nothing to make our years better, and yet they somehow, as they always do, have done almost everything.

Now, go spend the rest of the day with people you love, like, or even mildly tolerate. Because tomorrow is football, and tomorrow is another chance at salvaging this year.