Sports has become a staple in the traditions that happen during Thanksgiving week. Because of the diverse schedule of sports that happens during Thanksgiving, fans of a variety of sports come together to feast and frenzy over their favorite teams.
Of course, the NFL is the winner of the week, with the Packers travelling to Detroit to take on the Lions, and the Chiefs and Cowboys colliding in Dallas, college sports also has must-watch matchups over Thanksgiving break.
Feast week is the title ESPN uses to describe the college basketball slate of the break. With tournaments happening in places of paradise such as Maui and Las Vegas, college basketball features multiple clashes of top-ranked teams throughout the week.
In college football, Thanksgiving week is rivalry week. A week where not only the two teams collide on the field, but also the fanbases. Rivalries like “The Game” between Ohio State and Michigan, and the Iron Bowl, an in-state rivalry between Alabama and Auburn, are defined by traditions, history, and hatred.
In the state of North Carolina, the North Carolina and NC State game carries the same weight as described above. For years, this rivalry has become Thanksgiving weekend staple, and the hatred between the two teams is brought out on the field and in the stands.
Green Level alum Blair Alexander knows the rivalry between the Tar Heels and the Wolfpack well. Alexander, a redshirt junior, is a defensive lineman at NC State, and this year’s game will be his fourth opportunity to play against the Tar Heels.
“Being able to beat North Carolina as a little brother school always gives us a great feeling,” Alexander said.
NC State is commonly known as the “little brother school” to their rivals in Chapel Hill, and like many NC State fans and alumni, Alexander wasn’t having it.
“North Carolina is a school that tries to claim they are always better than us,” Alexander commented, “beating them gives us great bragging rights especially for our alumni and fans so it’s definitely a very important game to us.”
While college football has a huge slate over the break, college volleyball is also in full-swing, as the SEC Volleyball Tournament finishes on Thanksgiving week.
Asia Thigpen, a former Green Level volleyball star, is a member of SEC’s number one seed, the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky entered the SEC tournament with a perfect 15-0 record, and their sights set on not only a conference championship, but also a national championship.
“Winning the SEC tournament was one of our goals this year,” Thigpen noted, “and we are super excited because it gives us an opportunity to prepare for the NCAA tournament. But we know that whoever wins the tournament won’t dictate who wins the National Championship game, and that’s overall what we have our minds set on,” said Thigpen.
The Wildcats received byes for the first two rounds of the tournament and advanced through the quarter finals round with a 3 sets to nothing win against Auburn. On Monday, Kentucky will play Tennessee in the semifinals, with a spot in the SEC Championship game on the line.
“We are pumped for a chance to win the SEC tournament, and we always say: it’s how we play, not who we play,” said Thigpen, “it reminds us that if we can take care of our side of the court, we will beat teams regardless of how they’re playing.”
With Thanksgiving break just around the corner, it’s time to get pumped for a week-long slate of the best match-ups from traditional football games on the professional field to the college field, and intense basketball and postseason volleyball on the hardwood.
