On National Football Day

Oops, I mean Thanksgiving.  Funny how easy it is to get mixed up.  I wonder how it got started that this day seems to revolve around the real American pastime.  Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy watching a bunch of dudes bash their heads into each other trying to posses an air-filled pig's skin.  I just find it interesting how difficult it is to avoid seeing some form of football on Thanksgiving.  After you finish your Turkey Bowl, you shower, get ready for the day and turn on the TV to watch professionals slug it out.  In our house, that meant finding a way to force my sister to turn off the Macy's parade and switch the channel to the game.

The Lions and Cowboys always play (though never each other), which is great because in case we miss the first game, there's the option of watching the next one.  The Lions always lose.  This year I thought they might actually pull it off , but to my dismay...sigh. 

I wonder how the conversation went when some commissioner decided to make these players miss Thanksgiving.  I wonder if it went something like this: "We were talking about it and realized that we could make a lot more money if we started a tradition of making you work on a day that most of the country gets to enjoy off.  Don't complain.  At least you get to have your faces on national television playing a sport you love.  Think about all the TV and stadium crews who have to work hard so that you can play." 

Thanks to our male dominated society, we guys get to relax watching an entertaining game while we wait for the women to finish making the food.  Deny it all you want, but even in my house the men tend to sit around or play while the women organize the feast.  Normally we're really good at helping out, but not on this day.  I think it's rather sad.

For fans of either Utah or BYU, this day typically involves some debate on the upcoming rivalry game.  Those who are obsessed with BYU football and have byutv can have the joy of reliving some of BYU's best moments watching the Cougars pull of amazing and glorious victories in recent Holy War match-ups.  Such a great feeling.

As much as my family loves football, I'm grateful that's not the only thing we do.  After we clean up the dishes, we spend almost the rest of the day playing cards.  We play nerts, scum, hearts, or bridge while my grandma tries to get us to eat more of her cookies or some other thing she made for that day.  We're way too full to even think about eating anything for the next twenty-four hours or so, but she keeps passing the plate around.  We try to keep our grandpa awake by making him play with us.  My dad, my sister or I end up winning most of the time even though my mom tries to bend the rules ever so slightly to give her an edge.  We force my older brother play even though he insists that he never enjoys it.  He ends up being right once again. 

What would Thanksgiving be like without football?  It would probably include a lot more games and a lot more sibling rivalries.  I love it.