Brett Jones may be from Canada but the New York Giants center certainly is familiar with America’s take on Thanksgiving and its significance on the football calendar.
So while Canada’s version of Thanksgiving falls in October, Jones remembers watching the NFL growing up and seeing the build-up to games on Thanksgiving in America. This week, Jones and his Giants teammates travel to play at the Washington Redskins and the Canadian born-and-bred center will have a thorough understanding that this is a game that – no matter the opponent – that everyone tunes in to watch.
It’s as American as pumpkin pie.
“I always would watch them growing up. I always watched football,” Jones said on Tuesday. “So, it was fun when you eat – I would sort of forget about it until it was like, ‘Oh, yeah. There are games all day today on Thursday’.”
Jones admits that in college – he attended Regina in Saskatchewan – he would watch the NFL games on Thanksgiving all day long. Presumably as a study break, of course.
Wink. Nudge. Wink.
Canadian Thanksgiving, though happening about five weeks before it does in the United States, is very similar according to Jones. He said Canadians “have a turkey and it’s the exact thing” in terms of meaning and celebration.
He even said that an equivalent to Black Friday is beginning to develop in the culture north of the border.
On the field, he’s been nothing short of a revelation. Jones has been rock-steady over the past weeks, replacing an injured Weston Richburg and stepping in seamlessly. Coming off Sunday’s 12-9 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the play of the offensive line was clearly a reason why the Giants emerged with just their second win of the season.
“It feels good for us, that’s our job. We’ve been working on it each and every week, we’ve been getting better and better and it’s fun to see that on the film,” Jones said. “So, definitely it’s a point where we can build from and it’s exciting.”
