Thanksgiving and football are joined at the hip.

Or is it the wing?

Unless you’re Lions coach Dan Campbell.

An unabashed ham, Campbell is an unapologetically a ham fan. He’ll force down fried turkey. But he’ll throw your dressing/stuffing to the dogs, along with that cranberry sauce.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum is also a ham guy.

“Candied yams, dressing, and ham” to be more specific.

Tatum’s teammate, Jaylen Brown, is a fan of “dressing” and “mac and cheese.”

I mean, who isn’t?

Bill Belichick is traditionalist when it comes to both football and Thanksgiving. The Hoodie is a big fan of both turkey and high school games on Turkey Day. Belichick was raised in Maryland, which shares a similar high school football-Thanksgiving Day lineage to that found in New England.

Of course, no state does high school and Thanksgiving Day football like the Commonwealth.

As it should be, since the first Thanksgiving occurred in Plymouth 402 years ago.

Thanksgiving Day football can be traced back to 1869, when an advertisement in the Evening Telegraph of Philadelphia touted a “a foot-ball match between twenty-two players of the Young America Cricket Club and the Germantown Cricket Club . . .  on Thanksgiving Day at 12 1/2 o’clock, on the grounds of the Germantown Club.”

The game was not televised.

In 1876, Yale beat Princeton on Thanksgiving 2-0 and covered the 1.5-point spread.

High school football on Thanksgiving arrived less than a decade later. Needham vs. Wellesley launched what is the oldest and longest-running public school Turkey Day football rivalry in 1882.

Franklin Roosevelt was born in the same year.

Multiple Thanksgiving Day football rivalries in Massachusetts have roots in the 19th Century. They include Boston English vs. Boston Latin (1887); Salem vs. Beverly (1891); Winchester vs. Woburn (1891); Durfee (Fall River) vs. New Bedford (1893); Brookline vs. Newton North (1894); Falmouth vs. Barnstable (1895); and Reading vs. Stoneham (1899).

Four of the rivalries noted above pre-date the Stanley Cup.

They all began before the American League.

Enjoy a slice of history in the morning before inhaling multiple slabs of apple and pumpkin pie.

Football, Thursday, and awkward conversations at the dinner table are current constants on Thanksgiving. The holiday annually falls on the third Thursday of November.

American Thanksgiving was created by Abe Lincoln in 1863 and was founded with underpinnings in faith and grace.

It’s since become another excuse to overeat, watch football, and load up with “pre-Black Friday” sale items from Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy and Target.

Dinner may include turkey, ham, or a vegan, quinoa roast.

One random missed nut, or hidden gram of gluten, could trigger a medical and/or emotional catastrophe.

For some, Friendsgiving has replaced the annual dirge with family.

For others, family may not include anyone with shared DNA.

We don’t judge.

(Save for the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, whenever sports intersect with the real world, or whatever topic we choose to cover.)

Thankfully, the Zombie superstore Midnight stampede has been curtailed by technology and toned-down business hours.

And that’s what this day is all about, isn’t it.

Being grateful for what is, rather than pining for what isn’t.

For instance, take the Patriots.

Please.

There’s plenty to be thankful for this season. For one, it’s affirmed the appreciation some of us had for what we witnessed during the first 20 years of this century.

It’s never going to happen again in our lifetime.

Be grateful for Robert Kraft. We have not been shy about our thoughts about Kraft’s role in manifesting the team’s current situation. Thanksgiving offers us the opportunity to both appreciate the big picture and afford him the benefit of the doubt – perhaps for the final time – that he or his son, Jonathan, will do what’s necessary to create a winning culture and football team. Kraft spent millions on his stadium and its related amenities. Gillette is the Palace of Versailles compared to its predecessor that once stood next door.

Be grateful for Bill Belichick. His role in the dynastic run of the team has been obscured by the drudgery of the past four seasons. Just because he cannot win without Tom Brady doesn’t mean Belichick was not pivotal in Brady’s success in New England, especially during the first phase of the QB’s career. Belichick makes a good target for those frustrated with the team since he played a major role in constructing it.

Be grateful for Mac Jones. With each loss, hope grows for the seismic shift that is clearly needed to bring this franchise up-to-speed in the post-Brady Era. Mac sped up the process this season. He mercifully flopped before his option year. That’s doing the Patriots a solid. Jones was one of five QBs taken in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Only one, No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence, has won a playoff game. No. 2 pick Zack Wilson has been officially benched. Jones appears on his way. Trey Lance was traded. Justin Fields may finally have found traction in Chicago. He, too, could well be replaced depending on where the Bears land in this draft as they own Carolina’s potential No. 1 pick.

Be grateful if you bet against the Patriots each week this season and backed the under in each of their games. You’d be 15-5 if you did. Somehow, the Patriots are 3.5-point favorites against Big Blue. The total is 33.5 points at DraftKings. That’s the second-lowest total number available since sports betting was legalized in 2018. Caesars had a total of 32 points on the Saints-Browns last Christmas Eve.

Enjoy Thanksgiving with your food, fare, football, and family of choice.

And be grateful for it all.

After all, you could be a Jets fan.

Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @BillSperos on X) can be reached at bsperos1@gmail.com