Is Thanksgiving a meal or a day? Mike Bobo talks gratitude, family and football
Mike Bobo is the interim head coach of South Carolina football, so it was inevitable that he’d have to weigh in on the most pressing question on everybody’s minds this time of year.
No, not who the Gamecocks are going to start at quarterback this weekend against Georgia. We’re talking about whether Thanksgiving is a holiday or a meal.
Ever since former USC coach Will Muschamp quipped in 2016 that Thanksgiving was meal, not a full day in talking about how the Gamecocks practiced that Thursday, it’s been a bit of a running joke since in the week what usually advance of the program’s usually annual rivalry game with Clemson.
So naturally, Bobo was asked by reporters for his thoughts on the matter Tuesday.
“It’s a holiday. I mean ... I try to live your life where you’re thankful every day,” Bobo said. “When you wake up, you ought to be thankful that we live in this country and do what we get to do. But when it’s Thanksgiving, it brings more attention, to make yourself sit down and be grateful. And that’s something that I’ve always tried to stress to my kids and kids that I’ve coached. Yeah, we got a lot to be grateful for. There’s gratitude.
“And so we’ll continue to stress that, but I’m basically (doing) Thanksgiving every day with as much weight is I’ve put on since I’ve been here, so I might skip the meal and just be thankful to be able to be at home with my family Thursday afternoon.”
Bobo’s message of gratitude carried a little extra weight with his players this year, as the Gamecocks play through the COVID-19 pandemic and a coaching change.
“I’m thankful for life, I’m thankful for everything, family. I’m the most thankful person ever,” senior defensive lineman Jabari Ellis said. “I kinda be where my feet are. I’m thankful, that’s all I can say, thankful for the opportunity, everything.”
Even with the challenging season South Carolina has faced, with a 2-6 record and set to play a heavily-favored Georgia squad, several Gamecocks expressed gratitude for even getting to play amid the pandemic.
“I‘m just thankful for all the guys that have chosen to stay here and really just fight, fight for the University of South Carolina and fight for each other on the field Saturdays. I’m thankful that we were able to have a season,” freshman quarterback Luke Doty said. “I’m thankful that we’re in the position that we’re in. Because, like I said, we’re fighting. And that’s where it’s gonna come down to, just having guys around us that won’t quit and will lay it all on the line on Saturday.”
“I’m most thankful for my family. Every time I’m around this game of football, I just want to thank God for blessing me and putting me in the position I’m in,” redshirt sophomore running back Deshaun Fenwick added. “I’m also just thankful for just being able to play another day of football, actually just waking up in the morning. Because a lot of people don’t get to do what I do on a daily basis.”
Even if Bobo considers Thanksgiving more than a meal, he’s not changing up what Muschamp had the team do on that day too much. There will be practice in the morning, albeit more of a walk-through as part of his permanent shift in the practice schedule. After that, players who live close to Columbia will still be allowed to go home, with plenty of reminders about wearing masks and social distancing.
As for the players from farther away? Bobo hopes some of their local teammates will invite them over — he’s already got one volunteer in senior tight end Nick Muse.
“I’m excited for Thursday night. I think we get to go home, the closer guys,” said Muse, a native of Benton, North Carolina. “And if anybody on my team wants to come eat, they’re always allowed to come to my place.”
