The Legend of the Turkey Bowl
November 19 , 2007
The term “Turkey Bowl” is widely known and used to refer to a number of amature American football games that take place all around the country on or around Thanksgiving Day. While the games themselves usually are not televised or read about in the local newspapers, Turkey Bowls are important to the thousands of participants who play every Thanksgiving. For those who play, it is a time to revisit old rivalries that have lasted for decades.
Some of these games are organized and official, like when colleges play their rivals. But the majority of them are disorganized with no officials. Turkey Bowls are played by all walks of life, including family friends, college fraternaties, volunteer fire departments, local churches, and teenage boys all across the country. They use the day and game to have fun, play football, and renew old friendships.
Simply named, the "Turkey Bowl" has roots dating all the way back to the 1940’s. Every year the muddy warriors of the Turkey Bowl play an exhausting game of football before they sit down with family and friends to enjoy their Thankgiving feast.
In some instances, the modern-day Turkey Bowl is one that takes a whole year to plan. The planning includes deciding on which day to schedule the game due to everyone’s different schedules, which rules to play by (College or NFL), and most importantly, tackle or touch. All are carefully thought out and taken into consideration.
Chris Chudada, CEO of the Ironman Football League, reminisces about his experience with the game: “My friends and I would play tackle football almost every weekend in fall and winter before I created the Ironman Football League. It was just a group of friends who all grew up in the same neighborhood and would get together on weekends to play football. Even though we all got together and played football 5 months of the year, the most important game was always on Thanksgiving. It was our version of the Turkey Bowl, and we all enjoyed it and had a lot of fun.”
The Ironman Football League would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. To all of the Turkey Bowl participants out there, have a safe and fun game!