Sportsgiving: CMU athletes take time to enjoy the holiday in the midst of sports season
The men’s basketball team will be on a plane. The women’s basketball team will be in Chicago. And the football team will be at Comfort Inn.
While most students are enjoying the Thanksgiving break by splitting time between the dinner table and the couch, three Central Michigan teams are trying to get or stay in midseason form.
“I’m used to it now, this is the fifth Thanksgiving I’ve missed,” said senior defensive tackle Shafer Johnson. “I’m used to it now. It used to bother me, but I’ll be ok.”
The football team hosts Eastern Michigan at 1 p.m. on Friday in the regular season finale at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. While they won’t have time to go home before the game, athletes will get a chance to enjoy the holiday with their family and their football family.
“They’re shutting down the dorms and the cafeteria, so we’ll have the whole team over at the Comfort Inn for a pregame meal,” said Head Coach John Bonamego. “There’ll be a Thanksgiving dinner and we’ve invited the parents and their families. We’ll have to charge them, per NCAA rules, but that should be a fairly large gathering.”
Before the meal Thursday, the team will do a walkthrough of Friday's game plan at practice. After Friday’s game, Bonamego said the team will have time to go home.
Bonamego is used to being busy on Thanksgiving. He’s coached games on Thanksgiving three times, twice with the Lions in 2013 and 2014 and once against the Lions with the Green Bay Packers in 2003. Detroit won all three games.
“It’s a neat tradition, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I’d love to see us do something similar. I think it’s doable and I think we can enhance that end-of-year experience for not just us, but for all of the conference. It’s something that’s worth looking into.”
For the men’s basketball team, their Thanksgiving meal won’t come until Friday. Thursday is a travel day for the team after playing three games in Estero, Florida for the Gulf Coast Showcase Monday through Wednesday.
“The coaches wives have planned a Thanksgiving meal on Friday for those guys,” Head Coach Keno Davis said. “We have a lot to be thankful for and we’ll try to have a majority of the team there for that night.”
Davis said the team won’t practice Thursday, but will hit the gym Friday after the football game.
They don’t have much time to rest, with McNeese State coming to McGuirk Arena on Monday night. The women’s basketball team has even less time to rest, with a game Friday at University of Illinois-Chicago following Wednesday’s win at Loyola Chicago.
The team had practice at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, with a Thanksgiving team dinner planned for 2:30 p.m.
“That’s kind of what happens in basketball,” said Head Coach Sue Guevara. “We were able to pick up two games in Chicago and that way we have players and families that are here with us. We’ll get to share Thanksgiving with them too.”
Junior forward Jewel Cotton, who scored 19 points in Wednesday’s win, said she’s not too worried about being busy during the holiday.
“Thanksgiving’s only one day and we have 364 other days to celebrate,” Cotton said. “I’ll make sure I cook a good dinner when I get home.”
