The Three F's of Thanksgiving: Family, Food...and Football?!

When you think of Thanksgiving—is "football" one of the three F's that come to mind? For many Americans, the fourth Thursday in November is about family, food and football. For others, it might be turkey and stuffing? A much needed national holiday/short break? Perhaps the third F is Friendsgiving. With the recent passing of Matthew Perry, the origin story of Friendsgiving is recognized and celebrated. For me,  Thanksgiving is a day of three Fs and two S's: sports and spirituality. 

For 25 years now, students, parents, alumni, teachers and friends have gathered at Lake Merced for the St. Ignatius Turkey Trot. I am happy to report we raised over $1000 for the St. Anthony Foundation. One family went to Mass before the trot; they said the church was packed. 

It's good for all of us to pause, give thanks, and have fun. Yes, we will take in too many carbs. Others will be over-served in other ways. Some of you will toss a football and plenty others will watch it. And, since 1934, one of those two teams has been and remains the Detroit Lions.

As mentioned on ESPN Daily "no other team in professional sports can claim to be as much a part of an American holiday as the Detroit Lions." Due to World War II, they did not play from 1939-1944. However, the Lions have played on every single Thanksgiving holiday since. 

Eric Woodyard, a Michigan native and Lions insider said "I have to say, the Thanksgiving day Lions bit, is probably the single best marketing tool that they have. Even though they are not a very good franchise, if ask anyone on thing they know about the Detroit Lions, it's that they play on Thanksgiving."

"If you're a Lions fan, most of those Thanksgiving games this century have say in your stomach like leftovers gone bad...but as a quick look at the standings show, it's a new day in Motown."

Though they are 6 and 16 this century, the Lions lead the NFC North with an 8-3 record. They have some star power in WR Amon-Ra St. Brown and Defensive End Aidan Hutchinson. The Lions were the featured team in the 2022 Hard Knocks Training Camp series. I have done everything in my power to rewatch these series; I hope HBO makes it available again. Though he did not make the ¡Coaches Caliente! calendar, Dan Campbell has brought the team to relevance once more. Yes, Detroit fans have much to be thankful for.

I recommend listening to The Lions Look to Flip Their Thanksgiving Day Script. Though the team fell to the Packers 29-22, this particular podcast helped me frame how I enjoy spending the Thanksgiving holiday: start the day with faith and fitness, grab a football and conclude the night with friends and family. Given that my family eats turkey in the evening, we will be slightly distracted knowing that the Niners and Seahawks are in a battle for first place in the NFC West.

And my only other question is about marketing tools: I think the Lions use of Honolulu blue is right up there with this one. While I don't like the all-grays, that Honolulu blue is awesome. 

How do you frame your holiday? Do you have any traditions that include sports and spirituality?

Photo Credits
Signage
Dan Campbell

Turkey Trot: One of the Best Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving: a great American holiday. I love learning the manifold traditions that accompany the most underrated of Feast Days. Although I don't go "over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house" for turkey, I do love going to Mass on this secular holiday—a word that is Old English for "holy day." At my parish, the Men's Club prepares a free breakfast to feast before the feast! But for the past 16 years, I have opted to run and now walk what I think might be the ideal way to start your Thanksgiving. The proverbial...the essential:  St. Ignatius Turkey Trot.

The Turkey Trot has taken place, rather informally, at Lake Merced—near our campus for the past 21 years. What started a simple and fun way to gather current students, their families and friends, alumni and more has solidified into a meaningful way to start the day. We meet at 8:30 and register on the spot. All the money we collect goes to the St. Anthony Foundation, located in San Francisco's Tenderloin District. 

In the 16 years I have trotted, we have had one rainy day. We have been blessed with sunny skies and sunny faces every year. The reality in our home this year, however has forecast something much different. With the most destructive wildfires in state history, we pray for rain. Given the air quality, which not only closed our school but has forbidden our teams from practicing out of doors, we will come to this year's event with heavy hearts and new mindsets. Regardless, it's time to Trot. And so it is with that spirit, that I've created a Do and Don't list for those who will join us and/or anyone who wants to organize a Turkey Trot of their own. Happy Thanksgiving.

Founder of St.Anthony's, Father Boedekker prepares the Tom

Do's for Participants

• Show up with your running or walking shoes, rollerblades or yes, even your scooter (no age restrictions). Strollers are encouraged! Dogs and cats are welcome to trot, too.
• Wear past Turkey Trot t-shirts. Show your loyalty! I love seeing how many different shirts and years we can gather.
• If you opt otherwise, I recommend wearing gear that reflects your/appropriate fan loyalty. This year , third string QB Nick Mullins jerseys are encouraged. Steph Curry or Buster Posey never go out of style. I'm down with the old school look i.e. Dan Fouts SI '69. Remembering the late #87 Dwight Clark or #44 Willie McCovey—RIP—are fitting. If you have family in Kansas City or have given up on the Raiders, Patrick Mahomes is perfectly acceptable. Any and all blue and gold (or green) to represent the University of Notre Dame's Fightin' Irish is always classy. Not to mention legit. BTW: Nice graduation rate, Irish. Fair warning: you may be asked to leave if you wear #16 Jared Goff. Between going to Marin Catholic and now playing for an LA team, you should know better. Just sayin'. Possible exemption however is given if you went to Cal. Go Bears.
• Give what you can. We request a $10 donation to St. Anthony's. SO many people give more because they want to. Thank you. Others give the Alexander Hamilton. Thank you. Please don't let the cost be prohibitive. We are grateful you show up and share in this tradition!
• Come Hungry and come even if you are hungover. We provide Bob's donuts for all who finish. And, for those of you who are 21 years of age and older, we know the night before Thanksgiving is a popular time to reconnect with family and friends. Some folks over do and over enjoy the reunion. Don't let an aching head or inability to see straight keep you at home. Get fresh air and join the cause. 
  

Do's for Event Organizers

• Have a sound system. There's really no good "Thanksgiving" soundtrack and I'm doing all I can to refrain from listening to Christmas music until the day after Turkey. When in doubt: go with Springsteen."We Take Care of Our Own" works. "Badlands?" Oh hell yeah. Go old school with Woodie Guthrie or Bob Dylan. Any others? Furthermore, the sound system is quite helpful when it's time to start your trot. Crowd control isn't always easy; this helps.
• Begin with a prayer. This might be the easiest prayer I lead all year. On Thanksgiving, we extend gratitude to God for all we have been given. This is a national day to give thanks. Let's begin with those words in mind.
• Have fun with it. Every year, this means something new. Last year, I delighted in choosing navy and orange for our shirts. I wanted to honor the city of Houston and their Astros for all they had been through and what they accomplished in moving from a cellar dweller to World Series champs. The path they took there—in particular defeating the Dodgers—was worth recognizing. 

  

  Great shirts, great colors. Thank you Houston for beating LA

Don'ts for Attendees

• Show up in dress code. I'm always doing what I can to make the standard set by the dress code something to respect and understand. For a Turkey Trot, neither is necessary! Don't wear collared shirts...don't wear jeans. Save ONE of those for school ;-) Spandex and flat bills are welcome.
• Expect to get a medal. There are competitive runners in every Trot, but that is not the objective of the gathering. I understand some folks can't help but think otherwise. #ballers.
• Forget to throw the football. Show off your canon. Pretend this is Turkey Bowl 2018. Lake Merced has a huge parking lot. I hear the Cleveland Browns are looking for a coach. Practice leadership skills here and now.
• Leave
  
  without saying Happy Thanksgiving to someone new!

Don'ts for Organizers

• Forget to take photos! The memories are worth capturing.
• Be afraid to ask for help. Every year, someone steps in to help. I am EVER grateful
• Opt out of participating in the Trot. ENJOY this wonderful tradition.

Have a wonderful holiday!

The Two Faces of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, a wonderful American tradition and national holiday since 1863 has two faces. Contrary to what you might think those faces are not stuffed and more stuffed, turkey and pumpkin pie or even Pilgrims and Amercian Indians. No the faces of Thanksgiving are beautiful to see, perfect in their goodness; they are gratitude and generosity.

So fun to have faculty, alumni, family & friends at the 2017 Turkey Trot. Much warmer than Boston ;-)

Many of the Gospel readings of late have focused on these faces, revealing their importance and yet how challenging they might be. Generosity isn't always easy. Sometimes, we give with the hope (or expectation) of getting something in return. True generosity is able to give without counting the cost. And gratitude—thank God my mom emphasized the importance of writing that seemingly innocuous thank you notes when I was young; making time to give, write and say thanks is a spiritual discipline. I have often wondered if Jesus, in His humanity, walked away disappointed that only one out of ten lepers who were cured returned to say thanks. And yet, even one face of gratitude is worth seeing. Thanksgiving is a time to look for both.

The faces of Thanksgiving show up in unexpected people and places, which makes them worthy of seeking. For example, for the past 20 years, nearly 200 students, faculty, alumni, parents, and friends have come to the circle at Lake Merced to walk, run, jog or stroll our Turkey Trot. All of the proceeds go to St. Anthony's Dining Room, a place that loves all and serves all (ala Hard Rock Cafe) in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. We ask for a $10 donation from every participant, And, as the organizer, I see the faces of every one of them. I can't tell you how many are excited to give much more than the suggested donation. Others thanked us for not only organizing the race but for supporting St. Anthony's. We are grateful and want our community to know that. 

We say "thank you" for attending—the fact that anyone even shows up is a grace. We give t-shirts to the first 100 registrants, something I always have fun in creating. During the years when the Giants won a World Series (2010, 2012, 2014...2018??!!), the Turkey Trot t-shirt was either orange with black lettering or black with orange lettering. Hard not to be grateful for three championships in five years. This year's shirt, however, was navy and orange, the colors of no Bay Area sports teams. So what gives, right? This year's shirt was my way of thanking the Houston Astros for defeating our rivals—the Los Angeles Dodgers. Happy Thanksgiving LA! Giving thanks can be fun.

So grateful for my ND Family, gathered for a pre-game meal

Indeed, there is so much to be grateful for. Every other year, I get to see the faces of my other family, one that I love very much. Later today, the Fighting Irish will take on the Stanford Cardinal down on the Farm. This pigskin classic brings alumni, family, and friends from far and wide. We come together for tailgating, football and Fireball and much more. The ND family is inclusive of faces old and young. They have been my classmates, teammates, mentors, prayer partners and friends. Always thankful for this family...and of course, a good victory. Go Irish!

At the Friday Morning Liturgy before the Thanksgiving holiday, in the homily, Father Steigeler said that gratitude is a reactionary virtue. We express gratitude because someone has been generous. He challenged us to practice both. This Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to begin.

I would never ask a high school student to be two-faced, but considering what these two look like....maybe I would.

Read about the SI Turkey Trot in 2010!

A Great Way to Give Thanks--the Turkey Trot

I recently heard that U.S. hunger at highest level in 15 years. Moments later, I read that studies continue to report that the happiest people exercise—and they do so in the morning.  While this information may seem incongruous, I couldn't help but connect the dots. Thanksgiving is a time to give gratitude, yet overeating on this national holiday is the norm for millions of Americans. What to do? There’s one simple answer—the St. Ignatius Turkey Trot (or one near you!)

For thirteen years now, St. Ignatius students, alumni, families, friends and a number of dogs have met at the circle at Lake Merced to begin Thanksgiving Day with a Turkey Trot of 4 miles around the lake. This year’s cold morning temperatures didn’t keep nearly 150 runners, joggers and walkers away from this tradition.

All proceeds from the Turkey Trot go to the St. Anthony Foundation. Everyday "St. Anthony’s provides over 1000 people with food, clothing, alcohol and drug recovery help and medical care. To date, they have served over 36 million meals to the hungry." For over 60 years, they have managed to serve our brothers and sisters in the Tenderloin community without any federal, state or civic monies.

Every St. Ignatius sophomore becomes familiar with the mission of the St. Anthony foundation through the sophomore retreat—an urban plunge. And those lucky juniors who take part on the San Francisco Immersion can attest to the breadth and depth of St. Anthony’s justice education and outreach programs. Truly, they can bear witness to the ways and means by which the mission of St. Anthony’s put their own faith into action.

The Turkey Trot is a win-win tradition. Not only does it allow St. Ignatius to continue its support of the St. Anthony Foundation, but participants are assuaged of any guilt from the impending Thanksgiving meal. And, as reported in The Weekend Edition blog “The Happiest Place in America” reports “The effect of exercise gives a person a 10 hour happiness boost, so you want to do it early in the day. If you spend time on outdoor recreation, your endorphins are jumping! With its 9:00 a.m. start, the Turkey Trot is the ideal way to start the Thanksgiving holiday.

There are a number of Turkey Trots throughout the Bay Area. This year’s Silicon Valley Turkey Trot raised a record amount of money for the Second Harvest Food Bank. The Turkey Trail Trot in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park aims to promote the sport of running and youth athletics and benefits a different public school each year. Bottom line, I think it’s a great way to gather friends and family before the day long festivities, food, and football.

My only recommendation is once the run is over, wherever you are—throw a football.

Photo Credits
All photos are taken by Eric Castro