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Stars, stripes and stuffing Thanksgiving Day football an American tradition
Updated: Wednesday November 21, 2001 1:45 PM
The background noise to our thanks every year comes from football. The rest of the world may think this is a little strange indeed, the rest of the world might think our version of football with its fat men and all of their equipment and padding is a little strange -- but, hey, this is our holiday. The American holiday. We fill our houses with family and friends and food and the sound of John Madden . Pow! Wham! John makes us look up from our second helpings of stuffing and gossip to see a replay of a particularly hard tackle or block. We watch the pitiful Lions in Detroit try to upend the superior Packers from Green Bay . We watch the suddenly pitiful Cowboys in Dallas play the Denver Broncos. The lengthening shadow on the field from the hole in the Texas Stadium roof has become a 21-inch sun dial indicating the passing of the day. Part of the tradition. The men in the family reacquaint themselves by talking about the games, the players, past and present, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach and Barry Sanders and maybe Yale Lary . This is the language of men that always opens social doors. The women in the family reacquaint themselves by talking about the men in the family. Look at them. Never changes. They plop down in front of that screen. Have to drag them to dinner. This is the rhythm of our day. Football and thanks. The world might think it's a little strange, this communal gathering around televisions and tables, the smell of a well-cooked turkey filling the room, but to us it is natural and pure and good. This is our holiday. The American holiday. Thanksgiving. It never has meant more to us than it does this year. Leigh Montville's commentaries appear regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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