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Opinion
Kavitha A. Davidson

The Ivy League Origins of Thanksgiving Football

Princeton and Yale played, and the masses joined the elite.
Tigers are in the stripes.

Tigers are in the stripes.

Source: Stock Montage/Getty Images

-New York Herald, December 1, 1893

Times haven't changed much since that Friday in 1893, the day after Princeton defeated Yale in a Thanksgiving matchup that solidified the holiday's association with the gridiron. The "modern Thanksgiving Day" is as much about football as it is about turkey, family and gratitude. To borrow a quote from the new movie "Concussion": The NFL doesn't just own "a day of the week, one the church used to own" -- it's also usurped a national holiday.