Here in America, we love two things: food and football.
Thanksgiving gives us the opportunity to combine these two great things into an American tradition unlike any other: The Turkey Bowl.
Thanksgiving was created to celebrate a feast between the Indians and Americans a long time ago. Nowadays, the only thing that comes to mind is watching the Detroit Lions lose their annual thanksgiving game while your strange uncle, who you managed to avoid for the other 364 days of the year, rambles on about his newly acquired Snuggie.
But for some local families, Thanksgiving is an opportunity to participate in the greatest sport in the world: pick-up touch football.
No one knows exactly when the Turkey Bowl tradition was started, but it seems like football has always been associated with thanksgiving.
Professional football on Thanksgiving dates all the way back to 1902, and the Detroit Lions have played every years since 1934.
“Since the Lions are my favorite team, I like watching them play every year, even if they lose,” said junior Jonny Goldstrom.
In this area, a high school football rivalry always takes place on thanksgiving.
Gonzaga College High School holds an annual Turkey Bowl game against St. John’s College High School in D.C. Due to their close proximity, the school’s maintain a very intense rivalry that dates back to 1893. The game is generally very competitive and has been featured on ESPN.
One of the more renowned Turkey Bowl traditions around the area is run by the Backus family (senior Austin Backus played cornerback on the Varsity team).
Every year, they play a pickup game at Irving Middle School. The game is usually pretty informal, with kids and adults of all ages playing.
“We usually try and have at least 15 players on a team,” said Backus. “But this year, we’re going to try and have three or four teams, so more people will get the chance to play.”
The Backus family was not the first to establish a Turkey Bowl game; senior Colleen and sophomore Patrick Whitehouse have been playing a similar game for many years now.
“The Whitehouses were the first family in the area to have a game,” said Backus.
The Whitehouse Turkey Bowl is similar to the setup of the game run by the Backuses. Anyone is invited to come, and it’s usually played at a local field.
The game is a long-running tradition for the family.
“We’ve been playing for a long time,” said Patrick. “I think it was 13 years ago when it started.”
Unlike the NFL games played on these days, the games are far from competitive. Because of the many young children who come out to play, it has to be two hand touch or flag football, so no one gets hurt.
“It’s really just for fun,” said sophomore Drew Tangen, who plays in the Turkey Bowl run by the Whitehouse family. “It’s not competitive at all; I wouldn’t even call it football.”
