It is a cliché at this point that Thanksgiving is so entrenched with the sport of football.
There is a whole “Friends” episode about it along with probably and many other Thanksgiving themed episodes from television shows.
For me, my pea brain sat out the 1990s in some other room because football on TV was repellent to my adolescent eyes and my parents weren’t strict enough to make me watch things I would regret missing out on years later.
Only through the combination of renting some NFL Films video cassettes at the local Blockbuster, my family finally scrounging for satellite television and my then discovery of ESPN did I finally start following sports in 2001 when I was 11.
By then I found I missed the Dallas Cowboys 1990s renaissance glory years despite actually being alive during the time, enough to be disappointed in my dad for not forcing me to watch it.
My history of actually watching football on Thanksgiving reflects my history with watching the Cowboys in general. The heartbreaks outweigh the wins in my memory since it seems there is a whole lot more of those than the other in my mind despite Dallas actually having an 11-11 record since I’ve been watching.
What makes watching these games harder for me is I usually watch games by myself. Even when I started watching as a preteen and my dad would have the game on in the living room, I would be watching the same game upstairs in the game room. It was funny at times because my television was a few seconds ahead of the living room one so I spoiled some big plays for my dad during the early years.
My sports fandom was and is a very personal thing that I isolated from other people. The only kids my age who actually followed sports didn’t start to pop up until several years later in junior high. With my several years head start, my hobby of reading books about professional sports league’s history that included perusing the 2003 sports almanac, I had a superiority complex discussing sports with them since it felt like having a conversation with a five-year old.
My dad I could have conversations about it, but he was usually vague on the details so it only went so far. Plus, he was more invested in his Texas A&M football fandom which I couldn’t relate with.
So usually being forced to watch the Cowboys with other family members on a day of celebration when my investment in them can turn my whole mood depending on the results can make for some ugly Thanksgiving Day memories.
With other family members not being as invested, making oddly hopeful comments that elude me as a game watcher and other things I am not used to has always made the experience weird for me.
Thankfully, it’s not all bad and I have gotten better as I have gotten older. I usually only save my full on investment while watching the most important games and I know I need to watch by myself if I can.
I also have developed a technique where I am ready to give up and detach if I see a game is going bad and no longer take the performance as a personal attack against me and my caring.
My favorite memories around Thanksgiving and football though centers on the college games in the days that followed.
Despite not being as big of a fan of college football as the NFL, I still follow it enough to know which games are big and the traditions behind some.
One such from growing up was the vaunted A&M vs UT game that was always during that weekend.
My family would usually travel to see family somewhere and stay for several nights before and after Thanksgiving.
Football would just be on and it was up to anyone sharing the room on how invested you got watching a rivalry game you did not care about and see how it played out.
What made the A&M vs UT rivalry fun though is because it split the family. My dad is and was the biggest Aggie fan and graduate I know and gets more invested than I do with my Cowboys since he regularly scares the dogs from wanting to sit with him.
My mom graduated from UT and is enough of a sports fan and proud of her alma mater to at least follow them even if she doesn’t seek out to watch every game.
You have to understand the hatred Aggie fans have about Longhorn fans to realize it went deeper than just football or sports. I’ve heard the speal from my dad himself and it almost makes me question how he allowed himself to marry my mom.
It would come out during games to the point my mom would have to watch in another room. Obviously my dad took it way more seriously and she would never rub it in if Texas won, which they did more often than not in the 2000s, but it was still a fun dynamic for me as a sidelined observer.
The last game happened 12 years ago and I miss the weird tension it would cause since my parents are as civil as any married couple of 37 years are.
Nowadays, I like watching my sports averse older cousin, whose only football watching of the year comes when he is forced to watch it at Thanksgiving since that is what the rest of us are doing.
It’s not that he can’t stand to watch sports or never played and enjoyed them, he just never got in the habit of regularly following or watching them on television. I like getting his unique perspective while watching and filling him in on the context and other things.
While I am more chilled out these days the games usually don’t ruin the memory of hanging out with family, let’s just say I am glad Dallas plays a really crappy Washington team this year on the day. I hope my chill does not get tested.