Turkey Day football 2012

For those of you in an area where this still matters -- or Massachusetts, where it ceases to matter after this year -- are you hitting up a game?

 

Depends on if my kids get up in time to go down to the center and check out Burlington at Lexington.

 

Why in Massachusetts? I know they passed a new all-state tournament. Is that the reason? If so, it's too bad the Thanksgiving Day games won't be played, but Mass., needed a new playoff system. Too many "Super Bowl" winners.

 

The legendary Texas high school coach, G.A. Moore, used to ask for playoff games on Thanksgiving Day when his teams got that far, and for a while they usually did. The coaches would flip a coin to decide what day they'd play, and if he won the flip, the game would be on Turkey Day. It was one of his mind games, and he had a bag full of them.

 

Not that I'm anywhere close to Montgomery, but Alabama State opens its on-campus stadium today in the annual grudge match with Tuskegee.

 

In Connecticut and its the first time in a long time I'm not going to be involved or watching any Turkey Day football. It is a nice tradition, but it was a total pain in the neck.

There was a merflufe a few years back when the playoff system was being discussed because the Thanksgiving games were going to be eliminated. They just decided to cram more games at the end (First round will be played on TuesdAy and the next on SaturdY)

 

Crap, how many people does that place seat?

 

Roughly 26k I think.

 

Very impressive looking facility.

 

The two oldest high schools in San Jose, San Jose High and Lincoln, continue to play their Big Bone game on Thanksgiving Day, even though the Central Coast Section instituted playoffs in the late 60s. Both are usually way out of contention anyway, but if they're close, they skip the playoffs to keep tradition alive.

The San Francisco public schools city championship is also played on Thanksgiving Day at Kezar Stadium, which has been downsized since it last hosted an NFL game into a high school-sized venue.

 

The game I covered went to overtime. A French exchange student kicked the extra point that decided the game.

 

They're still going to play the games, but as I understand it, if the teams are in the same league, they'll meet once during the 7-week regular season, then again at Thanksgiving, and could meet in the playoffs, too. The idea of Thanksgiving deciding a playoff berth is out the window.

They could play an extra week into December here, like they do in many other states, and there are enough facilities with turf where field conditions shouldn't be an issue. But basketball/hockey coaches need to protect their little fiefdoms.