The Cowboys playing on Christmas is basically a set in stone tradition at this point. Now I proudly hang a Lone Star above my nativity scene and I tape pictures of Jerry Jones, Tom Landry, and Brian Schottenheimer over the faces of the Wise Men. Given this new tradition is on one of the most celebrated holidays in America, we decided to rank all of the bars that we have gone to on this hallowed day to watch the Cowboys.

5. Dive Bar That Lets You Smoke In It

This is both the saddest and happiest bar in the neighborhood. Open for an hour after 1am, these places often feature plywood tables, no mixed drinks, you can rip darts inside, and the doors don't close completely. Its hot in the summer, cold in the winter. There is a vaguely Irish name. The bartender actively hates your guts, and the regulars can't even make eye contact. They have their Bud Light with an egg cracked into it at 9am. Somehow they have a 20in CRT still. And on that the Cowboys are getting their ass kicked.

4. Liquor Store with a TV

This one counts. The liquor store down the street from your house has a plasma across from the register. You go so much that the guy doesn't seem to mind if you stop to watch for 10-15 minutes inbetween buying a Voodoo Ranger, a pint of freezer burnt Ben and Jerrys, a peach flavored vape, and a $20 scratcher. It is a brief respite between family activities, and you get to see the only guy who doesn't complain about your choices.

3. Uncle's Basement Mancave Bar

Your Mom's brother just re-did his basement and it has nearly sent his rocky marriage over a cliff. The icing on the cake is that he added a full service bar with a mirrored back in the corner, complete with barstools and two kegerators. Can he afford this? You're too afraid to ask. You accept a cosmo because the kegs haven't arrived yet, beggars can't be choosers. At least this place has the least sticky floors of all in the list and the couches are better. Unfortunately the conversation ranks the lowest. It is three because the drinks are free and the TV is the best but it is the least fun of them all.

2. Only Bar In Your Parent's Town of 800 People

This is a unique one. You're home for the holiday in a small Midwestern town. Somehow the bar in the strip mall is open, and everyone that you grew up with is there. Some flew in from out of town from their "city" jobs (is St. Paul really that big of a city), but most have stayed put. There is an air of desperation and there is a bit of meth on the back of the broken toilet but it feels like home. This isn't a Hallmark moment, for many here there won't be a happy ending. It'll be a heart attack over a microwave meal. But, the Cowboys are playing and you all can forget that for a few sweet minutes.

1. Buffalo Wild Wings

Mecca is open on Christmas. What more can we see. Old Faithful still blows, the flag has 50 stars, and chickens still have wings. It is the number 1 slot for obvious reasons, we don't need to list them out.

Merry Christmas. Drive home safe.