You Can't Just Rely On Football To Get You Through The Winter

What are other cool activities for cold weather? How about fixing all your friends' personal problems.

- JOE QUEENAN

I COULD NOT possibly get through the dismal months of winter without the NFL-not necessarily because all the games are exciting but because there are so many of them.

That said, depending on the NFL for emotional hibernal sustenance can be problematic. After the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, you have almost all the dismal days of February and March lying in wait for you. And if you are a Giants or Jets fan, the season ended way back in October.

Concerned that professional football doesn't last long enough to get me all the way through the bleak winter months, I polled just about everyone I know, asking them how they managed to stay sane.

Some of their answers surprised me-learn Sicilian, start sporting a jaunty authentic woolen Basque beret. Most didn't-empty the closets, install powerful daylight lamps in every room, polish off "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," go to Florida.