This Thanksgiving, as we celebrate pigskin feats instead of pilgrims feasts, talk about personal fouls instead of hunting fowl, and the hybrid turducken tries to usurp the traditional turkey, it may start to feel like the NFL actually owns the holiday ... but I promise you, it doesn't. The NFL has no binding contract with the Mayflower's ancestors to lay official claim to this particular day. We, the people, own it -- which is why Thanksgiving pick-up football games are just as much of an American tradition as the annual pro game in Detroit.
In towns across the country before the NFL games kick off, high school buddies, families and entire neighborhoods show up at local fields for their own games of pick-up ball. Some teams are set in stone every year, while others use a captain system or simply divide up the teams along the lines of what would be the fairest match-up (our game is always old guys v. young guys, with the age cut-off shifting depending on who shows up).
To this end, what if you were elected coach of the ultimate Turkey Day football team, and rather than having to pick from your group of friends, you got to pick any professional athlete to play on your team? Who would you pick? Of course, there are a few rules:
1) You can't choose a current or former NFL player (they already have a league to play in).
2) You can only choose two guys from any one sport (you can't just take the Miami Heat as your squad).
3) Despite everyone playing both ways in traditional pick-up games, it's more fun to pick an offense and a defense, so you can.
4) It's two-hand-touch football, with only one designated lineman on each side. The defensive lineman has to count to "Five Mississippi" before rushing.
We look forward to seeing some of your squads. Here's ours:
-- Follow Jon Finkel on Twitter @Jon_Finkel.