IRVING – Akin Ayodele grew up in Irving. Patrick Crayton in DeSoto. Jacques Reeves in Lancaster. Keith Davis in Italy.
The four Cowboys know what today's Thanksgiving Day game against Tampa Bay feels like, smells like and tastes like.
They know about Clint Longley's come-from-behind miracle against Washington in 1974, even if none of them had been born yet. They remember Leon Lett's slip-and-fall routine against Miami in 1993.
They also remember Randy Moss's three-touchdown effort in 1998, the year the Cowboys passed him up in the draft, and then his two-touchdown effort two years later, both Minnesota wins.
For players new to the Cowboys, like wide receiver Terrell Owens, today is just another game until they play in it. Quarterback Tony Romo has been around for three Thanksgiving games, but this will be his first start.
He has a memory, though. The 1994 game against Romo's favorite team, Green Bay, when Jason Garrett rescued the Cowboys and brought home a 42-31 victory.
But it's different for Ayodele, Crayton, Reeves and Davis, the North Texas players on the active roster. Same for receiver Jamaica Rector of Celeste and nose tackle Remi Ayodele, Akin's brother, both of whom are on the practice squad.
Ayodele is in his first year with the Cowboys, having signed as a free agent in March. Crayton and Reeves came in together in 2004. Davis has played in three Thanksgiving games.
"Is it going to be special? I usually try not to think of it as that until afterwards, but in a sense, yes," Ayodele said. "I'm playing for the hometown team and I'm being a part of it. Growing up with the tradition and all the great athletes and the guys who have been through this organization, to be a part of it every day, I pinch myself. I'm very honored just to be here."
In their own words, here's what the Thanksgiving football tradition means to the four locally raised Cowboys:
Akin Ayodele
"We had our own little tradition growing up. We'd go play after the game. We'd go play our own little game at my high school [Irving MacArthur]. Tackle football. No pads. Just me and my friends. Every year we'd meet and go play. For hours. We'd have at least 20 guys. There would be guys on the football team against just regular students. ...
"When I was young I couldn't remember every being sore or getting hurt. I'd play quarterback, too. I'd play everything. We'd rotate because everybody wanted to play quarterback or running back. Sometimes we'd have our own little plays, option plays, reverses, halfback passes."
Jacques Reeves
"It's special because on Thanksgiving, me and the family would get together and watch the game. Now everyone comes to the game and we have our dinner afterward. It's at my place now. Usually it was at my mom's house. But they moved it to my house now. It's going to be a lot of fun. My mom still does the cooking. My aunt, too. I'm just doing the eating.
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JOHN F. RHODES / DMN Cowboys players who grew up in the area know all about Leon Lett's (78) arctic adventure that cost Dallas a game against Miami in 1993. |
"I don't know if I have any particular game I think about, but I used to work the games to raise money for our track team. My senior year, we'd do that. If it was a home game, we were there."
Patrick Crayton
"You know what comes to mind? Probably the first time the turducken came out and Emmitt got the leg."
John Madden used to award a turducken – a combination of deboned turkey, duck and chicken – to his MVP of whatever game he worked on Thanksgiving. Emmitt Smith took the prize in 1996, when he ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns in a 21-10 win against the Redskins.
"Other than that, we'd watch the game on television. My first game I ever went to was the first one I played in. Tickets were too expensive. I can't use that excuse anymore. I've got to get 10 tickets for the game. We'll probably go to my grandmother's house or my aunt's after for dinner. They want to do Christmas at our house. You can't get two holidays."
Keith Davis
"The first Thanksgiving game I was ever a part of was when we were playing the Redskins in my rookie year [2002]. That feeling right there was unbelievable. Just knowing you were watching it on TV all your life and now to be a part of it?
"That's one of the biggest moments. It was like a dream come true. Me playing against the Redskins, the Cowboys and the Redskins – it doesn't get any better than that, especially on Thanksgiving.
"Growing up here in this area, every Thanksgiving, you know, it's time to eat good, give thanks for your family and everybody around you, and then you'd watch the Cowboys beat somebody. That's the tradition."
E-mail tarcher@dallasnews.com
