Thanksgiving - and Tradition Changes!

Oh, boy it seems like a lot has happened since my last post. I have been simply too occupied to keep up with my blog and newsletter, so for those of you who have been wondering, I will keep you in the loop from now on.

First thing that comes to mind is - Thanksgiving! Remember that? I grew up in suburban New Jersey, Tenafly in fact, so this year I went there for the Traditional Turkey Day Classic - and had a mini reunion of not only my class but others both before and after mine. And those football players - they looked not only young but small!

What was most interesting of course was meeting so many of my fellow team mates from back in the sixties, when we had an undefeated season and were such different people. Many of us wore those football jackets - but my mother had given mine to the garbage man! Here's John Godfrey '66 in his jacket. (I don't know why, but he always looked "concerned." Maybe he was just wondering if he really remembered who we all were!)

So, while John seems to have kept his light brown hair, we can't avoid the fact that most of us are (help!) approaching ... yes, approaching that age, and so it shouldn't be surprising that the star quarterback and captain of my team, Rob Nelson, is sporting a - well, the picture tells it all!

Yes, some of us aren't using Just For Men and are proudly flaunting our pedigree.

There were some class members of other earlier classes who displayed their enthusiasm in proud Tenafly Tiger fashion - but I wonder? Does Ron Wittreich ever wear those pants at any other time?
But then again he's from a class in the forties, so he can do whatever he wants!

This day was a vacation from New York City, a break from the Macy's parade, and a return to my (have to say it!) roots for what they were worth. And I re-encountered many from the "old" days because this game was the last not only of the season but for the league as well. The Bergen County Scholastic League - BCSL American - is being scrapped for something else, and so our "traditional" rival, Dumont, would be playing with someone else.

But what was perhaps a more significant change in our tradition was signaled - pun intended - by the last person to hold the ball in that 34-6 Tenafly victory: quarterback Emma Lieberman.

Yes! That's right, 17 year old senior Emma has been playing football with the boys since 7th grade. The article in the Bergen Record the next day featured her: Tenafly Female QB Makes History. Check her out! Here she is - all 130 pounds of her - handing off to her running back.

So, as the article says, while she may not be the first female football player in the league, she is the first quarterback. Times are a-changin', right?