In a generation inundated with Facebook, BlackBerrys, Tweets and twits, we seem to have lost touch with history. Sure, dates get robotically memorized in order to adequately pass tests — in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue — but these lessons hardly bear any realistic application once class gets out. It may come up once or twice in a bar conversation or maybe if you become a high school history teacher. That's about it.
But I think it's time that we get in touch with our roots, that we journey back into the past to discover the true origins of some of society's greatest conquests.
I'm talking, of course, about the history of football on Thanksgiving.
When we return to our familiar abodes on Thursday, some will gorge on turkey and others will stuff their faces with mashed potatoes. The common denominator, however, will be football. Good, old-fashioned, red-blooded American football. Don't give me any of that overseas-sport-that-actually-uses-your-feet nonsense. I'm talking pigskins and cheerleaders only.
Contrary to popular belief, the history of football on Thanksgiving actually extends back to the very first traditional incarnation of Thanksgiving, held in 1621 at Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts. There, the American Indians and the new settlers gathered for a feast and enjoyed a little touch football when they ran out of witches to burn.
In the very first Thanksgiving football game ever, the aptly named Sexy Settlers took down the Squanto-led Wampanoag Tribe, 700-0. Of course, the results of this game are widely disputed in historical textbooks, largely because the settlers refused to give the Native Americans the ball, citing a frequently misquoted rule that states that "Native Americans have no rights and consequently cannot play offense."
Against the Wampanoags, Brett Favre threw for a Thanksgiving-record 3,481 yards and 82 touchdowns, prompting the announcer — the only pilgrim not to participate, as he was too busy stuffing his face with turkey — to coin the term "gun-slinger," as Favre literally used a musket to defend himself whenever his opponents blitzed on first down. At least there weren't any cell phones back then.
In between that first day and the 20th century, the world of Thanksgiving football entered into the so-called "Dark Ages." War took precedent over games, and gridirons were traded in favor of trenches. But the sport was resurrected in 1973 when "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" was shown on CBS. The opening scene, in which Lucy convinces Charlie that kicking a football is Thanksgiving tradition, re-stoked the proverbial fires of history and brought back what was once lost.
Of course, modern-day Thanksgiving football did not really take off until the popular sitcom "Friends" (1994-2004) aired a 1996 episode in which the gang played a game of touch in the local park while waiting for the turkey to cook. Though "historians" will stake their claim on the fact that the first Thanksgiving football game was actually played in 1920, few will argue with the notion that this wonderful tradition finally became socially relevant when Chandler and Joey comically hit on that hot Dutch girl.
Perhaps one of the greatest moments in history came on Nov. 23, 2000, when Detroit Lions quarterback Charlie Batch threw for 194 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for 17 yards and another score. As the MVP of the Thanksgiving Day Classic, Batch also gave my fantasy football team a much-needed win. That's really the only reason why he's included. (As a side note, my squad this year that was previously winless finally won a game this week. Three cheers for me. Yay.)
So this year, on the historic 389-year anniversary of the very first Thanksgiving football game, take the time to reflect on the moment. Whether you're at home, on the couch, checking out Tom Brady's luscious locks while dreaming about diving face-first into a bowl of queso dip or just out on the high school fields reliving your glory days with some old buddies, remember the past and consider yourself lucky to be part of such a grand tradition.
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Alex Prewitt is a junior majoring in English and religion. He can be reached on his blog at http://livefrommudville.blogspot.com or followed on Twitter at @Alex_Prewitt.
