In this fast-paced, modern world, people’s lives tend to be very busy. Thanksgiving is a rare hiatus from this (a holiday which hopefully includes a break in homework-Ha!) and a fun time to spend with family. However, some people seem to care more about football, turning on their TV’s instead of spending quality time laughing and eating with family. Has “the big game” become a distraction from celebrating the true meaning of Thanksgiving? Or is it an American tradition?

According to an ABC article, “Americans work more than anyone in the industrialized world… And Americans take less vacation, work longer days, and retire later, too.” Therefore, Americans have less free time to spend than people from other countries do. Thanksgiving is a rare time when relatives can get together and see each other. Odds are a platoon of relatives spent all day preparing your Thanksgiving favorites for dinner. Did they exert all this effort just to have you gobble it down (Get it?) and run off to watch football?

On the other hand, football on Thanksgiving Day is a longstanding tradition dating back over a hundred years. The first Thanksgiving Day football game was at the collegiate level in 1876, in a clash between the Princeton and Yale football clubs. The first professional NFL game on Thanksgiving was aired 44 years later, in a game between the Akron Pros and Canton Bulldogs in 1920. Proponents of Thanksgiving Day football argue events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade are aired, so why not show football? Watching football is fun and can provide bonding time for friends and family, but it is easy to ignore those who are not watching football. You know, the ones who have to wash the dishes or go to chat and laugh with each other as you disappear into the living room to watch the game?

Thanksgiving is a time to embrace our families and enjoy the time we share with them. This Thanksgiving, I urge you to spend a little less time watching football and a few more minutes talking to your relatives who you rarely see. After all, football is on almost every week, but family gatherings are rare.