As the sound and fury of sport stills for the briefest moment, consider two people for whom this Christmas will offer no release from an unimaginable grief.
It’s been 60 days since Manila and Grace Wisten’s 18-year-old son Jeremy - devastated and utterly inconsolable having been released from Manchester City’s youth academy - took his own life.
His parents pleaded with him to see that he was young, talented, personable, loved - and could find a life beyond that club. But when he retreated to his room, they would literally hear him grieving.