Thanksgiving 2020 is like no other because of the Corona virus. We are supposed to be thankful for so much we have, yet we are asked not to get together to be thankful for friends and family. This year, it is just too risky because Covid-19 is everywhere.
This brings me to my family tradition. A lot of people have a traditional Thanksgiving Football game...the Turkey Bowl. Ours is no different except my family has been at it for 95 years. The featured photo here is the original group of players started by Boy Scout Troup 520 in 1925. Since then, we have had generations of Clay family and friends play in this game. My grandfather used to play when he was alive. My father still plays, and last year was the first year my then three year old son went. We had three generations playing in the Turkey Bowl last year. It was a really happy moment for me because you never know what next year will bring. Everyone is getting older, and you never know who will still be around in a year.
Then 2020 happened. Covid-19 shut down everything....including our Turkey Bowl. It just doesn’t seem real that it is Thanksgiving and we aren’t playing football. Yet, it is more important to be safe and skip one year with the hopes that we can get ten more in the future.
A friend of ours that also plays in the Turkey Bowl is Pulitzer Prize winner and writer Mark Konkol. He has written about our game in the past and published it in Chicago newspapers. This year, he decided to write about it again, although the game was not played He published it online on “The Patch” yesterday. If you want to learn more about the game, click the link HERE and you can read the article.
So, while this year has a lot to want to forget, we must all remember that there is a lot to be thankful for. We are thankful for those around us, as especially thankful for all of our wonderful patients. And Yes, we will be thankful to start a new streak of consecutive Turkey Bowl games next year.
Be safe and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
https://patch.com/illinois/chicago/coronavirus-ends-south-side-turkey-bowls-streak-after-95-years
