Tag: Thanksgiving

Easily one of my favorite traditions is our yearly Thanksgiving flag football game. This year we had the same core return. I knew it wouldn’t be one of my finer games, been shut down for a while with a really nagging groin injury that I just can’t seem to shake.

The morning was a little on the cold side, probably the low 30’s, but it was quickly heating up outside to a very comfortable game temperature. Josh set up the cones for boundaries and the rest of us had our pre-game warm up rituals. Many had a catch, a few stretched, I did some light running to gauge how fast my groin would allow me to run today (as it turned out, not very fast at all).

The first game was all big plays, with some very quick scores. It was almost comical in how fast the teams were scoring. Apparently I had also scored the first safety of the season and perhaps ever in out Thanksgiving tradition.

Unfortunately our QB for the day Mark banged up his knee and had to eventually sit out. He played on it for a little bit, but it was clearly giving him some trouble and finally had to shut it down for the day.

Luckily we had extra player and former MVP Dave in the wings and shuffled up the teams a bit.

I liked the new teams, thought both teams were fairly equal. We had a QB change and Mr. Yuk-Yuk really had a very solid day slinging the ball to us. I don’t believe he had any turnovers, and had some solid throws throughout the game.

Chris really carried our offense. Which was really great, I wasn’t moving nearly as well as I’m used to. Probably a combination of injury and just plain getting old slowing me down. I did get a chance to use a few stiff arms after making the catch, and still enjoy making several people have to take me down, even in flag somehow.

Our defense was especially solid as well. Gregg, Chris, Joe and myself all played consistant enough to give our team the win. I was especially impressed with how well we all played well together, it was a very solid team effort. Everybody picked up one another’s slack when necessary, and it was a very refreshing experience.

I did roll my ankle pretty good during the second game, slipping on mud a bit. But luckily it didn’t keep me from finishing and didn’t swell up as much after the game as it initially felt like it would.

All in all, another great game and a tradition that I really hope we can continue doing for many more years to come.

In what is probably my favorite tradition I have, we played another Thanksgiving flag football game this year. We had a great bunch of guys playing this year, with some new comers added to the mix as well.

The team I was on:

• Me
• Josh
• Mark
• Dave

Other team:

• Wes
• Chris
• Joe M.
• Joe L.

On paper I really thought that the opposing team had the advantage, but I was lucky to be on the winning side this year. Everyone had at least one signature play it seemed, so that was great. The ball got spread around, with more short passes and trick plays than in years past.

I didn’t really do much offensively, but I always try to make sure to at least create working space for my teammates even if I’m not the one making the plays. Josh, Mark and Dave were making plenty of plays for us. Amazing job, especially for a bunch of “old” guys.

My personal highlight was my tackle on Joe M. and leveling block on Chris. Coincidentally the 2 gentlemen who trash talked me this week. LOL, honestly both instances were pure coincidence and no malice involved.

I must be getting old as my lower back is quite sore and a sprained finger is swelling up nicely as I type this. Nothing too bad however, but I’m really not used to feeling sore after our game.

Again this was a lot of fun, and a great bunch of guys. Competitive and fun, but not too competitive where people are acting like idiots. Can’t wait til next year.