Thanksgiving, for what it's worth, is the coolest holiday around. Between the day itself and its immediate aftermath, being both a college kid and a sports fan at that time of the year cannot be touched. I say that time of year because right now, I am cursing that I ever went on Turkey Day break. And I do it every year, because while at home I convince myself, as I'm sure many of you do, that a life of endless, uninterrupted SportsCenters and Detroit Lions games is just that ... endless. But no, the greatest holiday has to fall right before finals, right before the end of classes when professors don't even have the courtesy to ask "More gravy with that?" as they slam crap down your throat.
To be fair, most professors did the crap slamming before Thanksgiving, expecting that we would dabble in some of their subject matters while eating our turkey sandwiches. Well guess what. I didn't dabble. To take it a step further, my mind didn't even take a foray into the thoughts of what awaited me after the break. All that mattered was a) Thursday's games, and b) Saturday's games (including my nine holes of golf with my father).
And yes, there is a reason I neglect to mention Friday's matchups. Contrary to what you believe, writing this column for you clowns isn't my only "job." I am a waiter at a certain establishment which asks you "if you know them" in their radio commercials. I had to work a double shift at said establishment on Friday, thus missing the intrastate hoedown that is Texas-Texas A&M and the "whose program has fallen the fastest?" bowl between Nebraska and Colorado. All for the love of serving deep-dish pizza with a smile (whoops, gave it away).
So my Friday was athletic-less, but my viewing for the rest of the weekend more than made up for that. First thing's first, though, on a non-football note. Did you hear how new Mets general manager Omar Minaya shared Thanksgiving dinner with our Pedro at Martinez's home in the Dominican Republic? Did Pedro even know it was Thanksgiving, or did he think it was just Thursday dinner? And regardless, hasn't the Turkey Day wooing (thank you Theo and Curt) already been done? Will Pedro dock the Mets points for lack of originality? Just throwing those out there.
Back to me and my viewing.
Thursday (10 a.m., ugh) I attended my high school game as it romped on Thanksgiving for the thirteenth year in a row. Ho-hum, it was more of a social event to see all the bleary eyes after our unofficial high school reunion the night before at a local restaurant turned watering hole.
Then my little sister and I had to drive out to Montague, Mass. (where?) with Mapquest guiding us as we scaled the terrain to our aunt's house. Just in time for the second half of the Peyton Manning Show. Hmmm, a team from Indianapolis dismantling Detroit. Interesting. Sadly, Peyton Manning did not beat the snot out of any fans, just the Lions defense (which got me wondering: I think Detroit would have rioted had its team won, seeing as the announcers always refer to the Thanksgiving contest as "their Super Bowl." Man, they are garbage.)
Cowboys and Bears. Ugly old uniforms, and ugly new teams. Rookie Notre Dame product Julius Jones had a big day for Parcells' squad. If Jones were traded to the 49ers next season, he would probably hold the record for playing for the most "once proud - but now, not so much" teams in a three year span.
Saturday: I wrote about BC a couple of weeks ago because I actually do care a little bit about how it does now that it had the chance to go Fiesta Bowling. Something about seeing anything Boston or New England-related on a national stage is rewarding.
So to come out of our round of golf to flip on the car radio and hear the score "Syracuse 14, Boston College 3" so early in the first quarter was a little disheartening. But more for the fact that I wanted to watch a good game than for the fact that I felt for poor pitiful BC. I dozed in and out of the second half, and it was apparently as much a debacle as the first. Everett's own Diamond "Troy Brown" Ferri had the game of his life, playing both safety and running back in his first collegiate game back in Boston no less.
All I know is, BC fans were true to form, only being quasi-loud when things were going right, which was not often. One friend who was at the game called the crowd "dead." 'Nuff said.
Among other games, I also got a good glimpse of the New Hampshire-Georgia Southern mud bath, another one of those "I shouldn't care but if it involves New England I'm all for it" games. UNH won 27-23 and goes to Montana for the 1-AA quarterfinals next weekend, for the five of you who care.
And I can't forget the new Sox DVD, which I watched ... no, fawned over, twice. And there are a few more viewings in my future. I went into it fresh, no one having told me anything about it, and I will do the same for you. Grab yourself a copy and spit on anyone who tries to take it from you.
