Thanksgiving, Food, Football & In That Order

David Wilson
David Wilson

Like many of you, I grew up enjoying Arkansas family gatherings on Thanksgiving Day.

In 1974, I was in the sixth grade and not quite 12 years old during our Thanksgiving celebration. That particular Thanksgiving sticks out in my mind because after we all had our usual delicious dinner, my Uncle Vernon and I (along with almost everyone else who was there) watched a very thrilling football game on television between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins.

I became a loyal fan of the Cowboys at the age of 8, before they had ever won a Super Bowl, and my interest in the team remains to this day.

But I digress.

My point is, from the early 1970s until now, I've always celebrated Thanksgiving with family and with the Cowboys, in that order.

On the very memorable Thanksgiving just mentioned, on Nov. 28, 1974, I was excited as the game time approached. Dallas was 6-5 and in third place in their division behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Washington. I knew they desperately needed the win to have any hopes of getting in to the playoffs.

Uncle Vernon (who was actually my great-uncle on my mother's side of the family) asked me who I was for and without hesitation I said, "Dallas!"

He said, "Oh no, that's who I want to win. We can't both be on the same side. I guess I'll have to be for Washington."

And so we gathered around the television with full stomachs and a genuine interest in the game.

Washington led 9-3 at halftime and went up 16-3 in the third quarter, and things looked grim. Uncle Vernon was playfully rubbing it in.

With less than nine minutes to go in the third quarter, Dallas quarterback Roger Staubach--one of my childhood heroes--got knocked out of the game by a jarring tackle.

An unknown Dallas backup quarterback named Clint Longley came in and would eventually finish the game, because Staubach remained woozy the rest of the afternoon.

Longley directed the Cowboys to two quick third-quarter touchdowns and suddenly Dallas led 17-16.

The crowd had come alive in Texas Stadium, and it also got loud in our den where everyone had started cheering for Dallas.

Everyone except Uncle Vernon. He had assumed the role of the bad guy and was going to stick with his adopted team until the end.

The game, however, was far from over.

Washington battled back with a fourth quarter touchdown to take a 23-17 lead and it looked as if both time and the Cowboys' luck was running out.

But with only 35 seconds to go in to the game, Longley hurled a 50-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson for a monumental 24-23 win.

Jim Lassiter of the Arkansas Gazette wrote about the game: "Texas Stadium literally erupted. And kept erupting. Once again the Cowboys are the darlings of Big D."

There was also quite an eruption at our house. I remember that even my grandmother was cheering and she didn't even watch much football. It was just an exciting way to end the game.

As the entire room cheered, Uncle Vernon acted as if he was upset about the outcome, but he was smiling.

I didn't know it at the time, but Uncle Vernon had served in World War II, helping load bombers on islands in the Pacific Ocean. He had gone through much tougher things than being on the losing end of a Thanksgiving Day football game.

That evening, as Uncle Vernon was leaving, I rubbed it in on him a little bit.

He smiled and said, "No, really and truly, if you'll remember, I was for Dallas."

When I reminded my mother of that Thanksgiving years later, about how Uncle Vernon pretended to be for the other team just so we could go back and forth at each other, she said, "He was always so competitive."

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving this year, with grateful hearts, a warm family gathering, great food, and perhaps a good football game.

Incidentally, Dallas and Washington are playing against each other again on this Thanksgiving.

I'll be watching and I'm sure I'll enjoy the game. We will have much to be thankful for, but it won't be the same without Uncle Vernon.

DAVID WILSON, EdD, OF SPRINGDALE, IS A WRITER, CONSULTANT AND PRESENTER, WHO GREW UP IN ARKANSAS BUT WORKED 27 YEARS IN EDUCATION IN MISSOURI. YOU MAY E-MAIL HIM AT [email protected]. THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR.

Editorial on 11/23/2016