A Thanksgiving Day without football is like mashed potatoes without the gravy!

As long as I can remember, I’ve watched NFL football games on Thanksgiving Day. As a youngster, it was always the Vikings vs. Packers on our television. When we moved to New England in the early 1990’s, I was introduced to high school games on the festive holiday. Those are rare in the Midwest. I photographed the games in Fitchburg, Leominster, and Townsend, Mass., during the 90’s for the Sentinel & Enterprise newspaper.

After moving on to The Telegraph in 2000, I began covering the Nashua Thanksgiving Day game between Bishop Guertin and Nashua High School. After Nashua North was built, the Titans kicked the Cardinals out of their spot in the rivalry against South’s Purple Panthers.

When my son, Brandon was old enough to accompany me to the games, he tagged along with me on the sidelines at Stellos Stadium to see what football was all about. Those memories of the games didn’t influence him enough to play the game until this year.

As a freshman at Memorial High School in Manchester, he can’t wait for his first Turkey Bowl game against Central. So now, rather than walking the sidelines, shooting the action for our newspaper, I’ll be watching the game from the stands. I may wander down to the field to sneak in a photo or two. And, after the game, there will be no souping the film. Just plenty of mashed potatoes covered in gravy, pumpkin pie, and turkey.

Enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving with your families and friends. Take in a Turkey Day game if you can, even if it’s only on tv. Ya gotta have some gravy with those spuds!

-Bob Hammerstrom

bhammerstrom@nashuatelegraph.com

Tags: BG, Bishop Guertin, cardinals, Central, Crusaders, Day, Fitchburg, Football, game, High, Leominster, Little Green, manchester, Memorial, Nashua, north, Panthers, Purple, School, South, Thanksgiving, titans, tradition, traditional