Classmates keep Thanksgiving football tradition alive for decades

By Jennie Miller
C & G Staff Writer

SOUTHFIELD — Every Thanksgiving morning, a group of former grade-school classmates in their 40s gather 'round the pigskin in an annual return to their old stomping grounds.

Ron Fink, 44, of West Bloomfield, also known as “the commissioner” of the league, has organized the game since he was 12 years old.

“We started playing in 1977 in my backyard with a bunch of friends,” Fink said, remembering how the group got bigger and bigger, and the game quickly moved to the field at Adler Elementary School, where they attended school at the time.

Every year they return to that field. No matter where their lives have taken them or what city they’re raising a family in, they return to that field. The guys may look a bit different 32 years later, but they still act just the same.

“We set up cones for the sidelines and end zones,” Fink said. “We wear our sweats and just go out and have a good time. We don’t ride our bikes there anymore, but we do go to the 7-Eleven after the game at Lincoln and Greenfield and get Slurpees and junk food, and we sit on the wall and talk. It’s a tradition. … The losing team buys the winning team a Slurpee and a bag of chips.”

It’s a tradition they all cherish. Through the years they’ve graduated, gotten jobs and started families, but they’ve never lost sight of their friendship.

“We went to elementary school together, we went to high school together, we went to college together, we stood up in each others’ weddings,” said Kevin Mendleson of West Bloomfield. “It’s a great group of guys who grew up together. Even if you lose touch for a little while, you always know you’re going to meet up on that day, which is really cool.”

There are certain rules about the game. For instance: no wives or girlfriends, no kids, no spectators, no cheerleaders, Fink said.

“My daughter thinks I’m crazy,” he said with a laugh.

“My wife thought I was an idiot,” chuckled Ivan Glasser of Farmington Hills. “Especially back when we were still playing tackle. I’d do nothing exercise-wise for 364 days and then we’d go and do that. I’d be so sore the whole rest of the day.”

Four or five years ago, the guys decided to change the game from tackle to two-hand touch. A few of them were getting a little too banged up, so the rules were modified.

“The game changed a little when we went from tackle to touch — all of a sudden size became a disadvantage and you wanted the smaller, faster guys, so you have to change up how you draft up your team,” Glasser said.

When choosing teams, the guys try to make it as fair as possible.

“Usually we assign the two best people the role of captains so they’re on opposite teams,” Fink explained.

Fairness aside, it’s still super competitive.

“We yell at each other, it’s pretty funny,” Fink said.

Each of guys has had his share of wins and losses, but in the end, it’s all about the camaraderie.

“I’ve taken as much 7-Eleven as I’ve had to pay out,” Glasser said. “It’s just a lot of fun. We’ve been doing it for so long. It’s an excuse for all of us to get together again, and go back to our old stomping grounds. It’s a tradition, and we all look forward to it. … It might be as stupid as this Thanksgiving tradition that keeps us all together, you know? Every year, whether you want it or not, you’re going to see them again. We’ve had days where it’s 10 degrees out and there’s snow and we’re like, are you kidding? But we still do it.”

The weather is always unpredictable, but it never stops the guys from playing.

“We’ve been through everything, from beautiful 60-degree days to unbelievable 30-below,” Mendleson said. “We’ve had rain, goose poop, ice, 10 inches of snow.”

Mendleson wears the same knit cap he’s had since he was 5 years old. Glasser wears the same all-white sweat suit every year that draws a lot of laughter as it gets dirtier and dirtier. Another friend, Jeff Goldman of West Bloomfield, wears a sweatshirt every year that has a giant hole in the middle of the back.

This year, however, for the first time in three decades, Goldman won’t be on the field with his friends.

“Jeff’s entire family is taking a cruise this year,” Mendleson said. “It’s eating him alive that he can’t be there with us. I mean, the grandparents, the nieces and nephews — everyone is going on this cruise, so how do you not go? We give him a hard time about it, but he’ll be back next year.”

Also changing things up a bit this year is the first-ever addition of a new generation of player. Mendleson’s son, Logan, 13, will be taking the field.

“He’s probably bigger and faster than any of us,” Fink said.

“He’s the only one in our entire group who has any real experience — he’s had six years of organized football,” Mendleson said. “He’s probably going to show us all up. But it’s going to be fun, and he’s really looking forward to it.”