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Denver Native (Carol)
11-26-2009, 03:23 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9615

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- During rookie Tom Brandstater's childhood, Thanksgiving Day was defined by eating turkey and watching football with his father.

Come November 26, that dream will become a reality for Brandstater and the rest of his teammates against the New York Giants. For the third time in club history and first time since 1963, the Broncos will host a Thanksgiving Day game.

"To be on the field, to see it live, it's going to be fun and exciting," Brandstater said. "It will bring back a lot of memories of my childhood watching it on TV."

Instead of always watching games with his father, Chris Simms had the opportunity to watch his father's games. The 12-year old Simms witnessed his dad, Phil, play in the last Giants' Thanksgiving Day game in 1992 -- a 30-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

A few years later, Simms encountered his first personal string of turkey day games, as quarterback for Ramapo High School. Now, his East Coast fan base will be following him to the Rocky Mountain region.

Simms anticipates that his entire mom's side of his family will attend the game, in addition to eight to 12 friends from the New Jersey area. The only person unable to attend the game is Phil, who will be working color commentary for CBS Sports during the Cowboys-Raiders Thanksgiving contest in Dallas.

The matchup with the Giants will mark Simms' third Thanksgiving Day game in four seasons. He was with the 2006 Buccaneers for their 38-10 loss to the Cowboys and 2008 Titans for their 47-10 win over the Lions.

From those experiences, Simms has concluded that a Turkey Day tussle is far from a negative. He equated the Thanksgiving Day experience with having an extra bye week.

"A lot of these guys are going to be sore Monday and Tuesday before that Thursday game," Simms said. "But when you play, it's a cool atmosphere, and then that weekend off is a very nice thing to have."

Much of that weekend off can be devoted to spending time with loved ones. When Renaldo Hill played his first Thanksgiving game as a member of the 2006 Dolphins, the schedule threw him an unexpected benefit.

The game happened to be in Hill's hometown of Detroit. The Dolphins procured a 27-10 win over the Lions, and a home-cooked meal was waiting for him.

"It made it that much better that we got the win, that I was able to stay home and have a Thanksgiving Dinner with my mom and my family," Hill said. "That was enjoyable."

This season, Hill is ready to return the favor to his mom. She will be flying out to Denver to watch the primetime contest with the Giants in person.

Hill expects his mom to mirror the same feeling he felt on that Detroit trip.

"She'll be able to enjoy it with me then, and she loves watching football," he said. "So why not watch her favorite person play and then go home and have a meal?"

While Hill added that most players would ideally like to spend the majority of Thanksgiving Day with their families, playing football can extend a thankful hand to other sources.

"It's definitely one of those days, I'm out there pretty much showing my thanks to all those people who helped me along the way," Hill said. "I'm very appreciative of the game and going out there to do what I love."

In his 83 career games played, Mario Haggan has never seen the opportunity to play on Thanksgiving Day. Like Hill, Haggan sees the turkey timeslot as a chance to reflect on how fortunate he is to have pro football as his profession.

As for the holiday eating, it will have to wait until football is finished.

"My wife and my two kids are here, so we'll just sit back and eat some turkey on Friday," Haggan said. "On Thursday, it will be all about the Giants."