Thanksgiving Hot Takes

Vincent Goldschmidt, Emily Gunsel, Faith Givens, Charlotte Roscher, Jack Biggs, Brianna Kohut, Rachel Zarubski, Felix Lettini, and Bernie Roedel • November 28, 2024

Photo credit/ Dylan Pugh

Vincent: Thanksgiving is a better holiday than Christmas
Though Christmas is enjoyable every year, Thanksgiving is higher on my holiday rankings. As someone who doesn’t enjoy fish and comes from an Italian family, who does the seven fishes Christmas Eve, the dinner on Thanksgiving’s food is much more satisfying. With that, the Turkey Bowl is my favorite tradition, whether it’s after dinner with family or an organized, morning affair. Lastly, NFL games have more of my investment on Thanksgiving than on Christmas. This year in particular might not be, with two games with tons of implications for the AFC, but overall the Thanksgiving games have everyone tuning in during dinner and dessert, especially once the turducken gets displayed.

Emily: The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is better from home
After 100 years, it’s hard to miss the annual parade that shuts down most of Manhattan every Thanksgiving. Although I was too young to remember much, going to watch in person was a must for my family growing up. Once my siblings and I got older, we started to host the holiday, forcing us to stay home and help prepare for dinner guests. This might have been the best thing for our new tradition: Balloon BINGO. Every Thanksgiving morning, my dad prints out six BINGO cards for my parents, three siblings and myself, each square hosting a different balloon or float in the parade that year. We watch the parade on TV, crossing off the boxes as new balloons come through. The first person to win BINGO doesn’t really win anything, just bragging rights maybe, but nonetheless, it never gets old. And of course, you can’t forget about the dog show at noon!

Faith: Thanksgiving food is just OK
The meaning behind Thanksgiving dinner is great. It’s good to have a time to get together with your family and be thankful for the year you’ve had. However, the food is just OK. Maybe it’s because I’m not a fan of turkey, but the other “traditional foods” aren’t specifically Thanksgiving-specific. The staples of my family’s dinner are recipes that my mom cooks multiple times throughout the year and although her food is great, it isn’t special like our other Holiday traditions. I’ll always enjoy the dinner but it isn’t the meal that stands out the most, it’s the time spent with the ones I love.

Charlotte: The best part about Thanksgiving is Black Friday being right after it
I love Thanksgiving food, but I also love great deals. I am fully aware that most companies jack up their prices right before the “holiday” and advertise it as a big sale, but I love that. It makes me feel like I am getting a sweet offer. I vividly remember going out until 2 a.m. shopping with my mother, waiting in lines and trying to find things as Christmas gifts. Those moments where it’s stressful and tiring are where I truly bonded with my family more than having some homemade food where we don’t even talk.

Jack: Corn casserole is great
Iowa produces a lot of corn. The midwestern state produced just over 2.5 million bushels of it in 2023, making it America’s largest producer of corn. So, it’s no surprise that corn has snuck its way into Iowan Thanksgiving tradition. Corn casserole, which is made with cornbread, whole corn, creamed corn, sour cream and butter is a staple of Thanksgiving meals I ate growing up. Corn casserole’s brother from another mother, green bean casserole, is atrocious, but the corn variant can steal the show away from staples like turkey and stuffing. All hail corn casserole.

Brianna: Stuffing Is overrated
When you get down to it, stuffing is just wet bread. Yes, it’s a Thanksgiving staple and many people enjoy it, but I’m the lone dissenter in my family who doesn’t like it. Stuffing is typically a side that consists of breadcrumbs with some herbs and seasoning for flavor, but I personally never seem to get much flavor from it. It can also, of course, be used to stuff the turkey, and I’ll admit on the occasions that my family has a Thanksgiving-style dinner out of season it’s not as terrible as it is when it’s a simple side. But on Thanksgiving itself, where my family has the turkey and stuffing separately, I don’t think that it’s nearly as good as people say it is. Give me more candied yams, something I definitely like on the side instead.

Rachel: The Eukanuba Dog Show is better than the Thanksgiving Day Parade
I know I’m going to catch a lot of heat for this take. I love dogs but am unfortunately not in a position to own one right now. The Eukanuba Dog Show shows a variety of dog breeds that compete in different categories. Once a winner from each category is chosen they compete for “Best In Show.” I prefer seeing a bunch of dogs to parade floats. I’m also upset that they cut the judging, but fortunately they have full category judgement on YouTube. But I want to see the full dog competition on TV when it is airing.

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Logan: Ham is not better than turkey on Thanksgiving
There has been the age old debate of what is better on Thanksgiving: ham or turkey? As someone who loves his food, turkey absolutely beats out ham for the main food on Thanksgiving. At least with my family holiday dinners, ham has been the main entree for Christmas dinner and turkey for Thanksgiving. Not only is a turkey going to feed more people at the dinner table than ham, it tastes far better and turkey is more versatile, combined with just about all other foods at the big feast. The thought of ham with gravy just sounds sickening to me, but turkey lathered up in gravy on the other hand, yeah, I am all in. I don’t know whose idea it was to go from venison to turkey, but I am grateful for that absolute legend who made this the societal “norm.”

Felix: Thanksgiving Day football games are not that good
The best part for many Americans on Thanksgiving is watching the three NFL games. Two of those three games always feature the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. Although the Lions may be a Super Bowl favorite this season, their history on Thanksgiving has been lackluster. The last time they won a game during the holiday was back in 2016. It is tradition to watch the Detroit Lions find new ways to lose and disappoint their home crowd. This year, the Cowboys have been a huge letdown. It is only fitting for them to face another horrible team in the New York Giants. No one wants to watch Tommy DeVito and Cooper Rush face off during their Thanksgiving dinner. The night game between the Dolphins and Packers has potential but that’s really it. Recently, they added games on Black Friday and they are disappointing. The powerhouse Kansas City Chiefs are taking on the injury prone Las Vegas Raiders. How amazing is that? I would rather watch the Egg Bowl instead.

Bernie: Thanksgiving Day football games are not that good (again)
I agree with Felix, except when the Cowboys are losing, then they’re great.

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About the Contributors

Vincent Goldschmidt, Editor In Chief/Sports Editor

Vincent Goldschmidt is a junior Multimedia Communications Major, on the track of Sports Media, and is the Editor In Chief and Sports Editor for The Wood Word. Along with his Wood Word work, he hosts a sports talk show, He Knows Ball, on VMFM 91.7, serves as the Sports Director and a Sports Anchor for TV-Marywood, and the lead play-by-play broadcaster for Marywood's Emmy nominated sports broadcasts.

Emily Gunsel, Community Editor

Emily Gunsel is a 5th year in the School of Architecture pursuing a minor in Multimedia Communications. Along with being an editor for The Wood Word, she is the Social Media Coordinator of the American Institute for Architecture Students (AIAS) and an active member in Campus Ministry. Outside of school, Emily interns for an architectural firm back home on Long Island where she is responsible for social media and marketing.

Faith Givens, Managing Editor/News Editor

Faith Givens is a Sophomore Multimedia Communications major with a focus in Film, TV, and Digital Production. She is the Managing Editor and News Editor for the Wood Word. Faith also is a DJ on VMFM 91.7 and camera assistant for Marywood Films. Outside of Marywood, she spends her time reading, writing, and listening to music.

Charlotte Roscher, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Charlotte Roscher is a junior PR/Journalism major and has been a part of The Wood Word for over two years. As well, she is a costume coordinator and make-up artist for Marywood Films. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games, crocheting, going to the gym, and spending time with her friends. She hopes to find a career in social media, whether it's writing stories, marketing, or media production.

Jack Biggs, Staff Writer

Jack Biggs is a junior Multimedia Communications major with a focus on Sports Media. He is a Staff Writer for The Wood Word, and does camera work and graphics for the He Knows Ball podcast. Outside of the Communications department, Jack is a team captain in the esports program and a member of the tennis team. He loves watching open-wheel racing and getting angry about various Pittsburgh sports teams.

Brianna Kohut, Staff Writer

Brianna Kohut is a senior Multimedia Communications major with a minor in Writing. She is also a DJ for VMFM 91.7. When not writing or serving popcorn at Cinemark, Brianna enjoys listening to music, watching movies and Youtube videos, and playing D&D with friends.

Rachel Zarubski, Opinion Editor

Rachel Zarubski is a senior Writing major and junior PR/Journalism major. Along with being the Opinion Editor for The Wood Word for two semesters, she is a 91.7 VMFM DJ and scriptwriter for Marywood TV. Outside of MMG activities she likes to read, spend time with friends, listen to music, writing, and watching reality/competition shows. She is open to different career options.

Felix Lettini, Multimedia Editor

Felix Lettini is a sophomore Multimedia Communications major with a focus in Film, TV and Digital Production. He serves as the Multimedia Editor and hosts Who’s Writing on The Wood Word YouTube. Besides The Wood Word, Lettini is an audio technician for Marywood Films and hosts his own show on VMFM 91.7. Outside of Marywood, he spends his time fishing and farming.

Bernie Roedel, Multimedia Staff

Bernard Roedel is a sophomore Computer Science major with a minor in Multimedia Communications and is on The Wood Word's Multimedia Staff. Outside The Wood Word, he's the Lead Editor for Marywood Films and works for the Emmy nominated basketball broadcast crew. Additionally, he's majorly involved with 91.7 VMFM as he hosts a radio shift, co-hosts The Felix Lettini Show, and contributes to He Knows Ball.