Thankful for family, turkey and sports

Matt Baide | Nov 24, 20220

One of my favorite holidays is today, one that always has similar moments every year, but are still special in their own distinct way.

I’m sure many of you have stories of family coming over on Thanksgiving in the morning, everyone conversing and catching up, perhaps watching some football before everyone is called to the dinner table to partake in turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, rolls and whatever dish your family has decided is tradition to make every year.

I’m sure there are a few family members you disagree with, but those differences either come to the forefront during a hearty Thanksgiving debate or you put those feelings to the side for the sake of the family.

Anyone with a sibling knows they fight. My brother and I are no different. Together, we are two of the three people on the podcast Washington East to West Sports on YouTube. Our sports views don’t necessarily align, but the teams we are fans of mostly align. The NHL is where our fan views don’t align.

When the Kraken were announced, I decided to switch my allegiance to the Seattle hockey team, while my brother decided to stay loyal to the San Jose Sharks, the team we both rooted for since we were kids. Many people asked why the Sharks, and the reason is simple: Sharks are my favorite animal. I still love watching Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, and my girlfriend gave me the experience of a lifetime last year by paying for us to swim with sharks at the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. Next goal, swimming with great white sharks (in a cage, I’m not crazy) in South Africa.

I have often wondered my brother won’t just adopt the geographic team we never had until now. The loyalty to the Sharks seemed like something he just did because it’s all he’s ever known and maybe he’s afraid of being called a bandwagon fan. Perhaps it’s because of our love of the animal is the reason he doesn’t want to betray the team in that way. It could be that he remembers all the good times we had as fans of the team, including reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016, only to lose to the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games.

But after a while of questioning it, I realized that it shouldn’t matter, because that’s one of the great things about sport. You can root for whatever team you want, whatever player you want, whatever city you want, and anyone who tells you otherwise is most likely projecting their personal issues or fan frustrations onto you.

There are many things we don’t agree on, like how useful analytics are, how valuable a quarterback is to a football team and what the Seahawks should do with their first round pick from the Broncos. But on this festive day of giving thanks, I’m thankful that I have a brother in my life to have Twitter message debates with and be able to talk about which video games we should play next. I’m thankful for his wife and my sister-in-law for enhancing the family dynamic, bringing in a different perspective and being a great person who cares about the family. I’m thankful for my nephew, who yells at me to go into his bouncy castle on his birthday that I know I will pay for the next day.

I’m thankful for my parents for instilling a love of sports in me and for being good parents. I’m thankful for my girlfriend, who has brought unmeasurable happiness into my life with love I didn’t know was possible. I’m thankful for my cat Pika, who is always willing to sit on my lap while I watch sports.

I’m also thankful for the staff at the Journal and readers who have made it this far into my column. Like sports, this is a team game, and I’m thankful that I get the opportunity to report on the news of Mason County. I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving, and now you can legally put up your Christmas lights tomorrow.