His first pass to a wide-open Rachel is not corralled. Chandler lines up directly under center before some mild homophobia dictates running things out of shotgun instead. The male Geller’s squad is as inept on offense as it was on special teams. The move causes Ross to drop to the ground as if he’s been shot by a sniper. Joey, looking like a middle linebacker in a maroon football jersey, catches it and makes it halfway (that is to say 15 feet) down the field before employing a fake lateral to no one in particular. We already have a rule change ratified unilaterally. Chandler ends up simply throwing the ball to the receiving team. Chandler’s leg path veers directly into his roommate’s foot while the pigskins drops to the ground, at most, a foot away. For reasons beyond comprehension, Ross tees the ball up high on his angled foot, at least five inches above the ground. But hiccups like this should be expected, especially after the neophyte openly admitted to never playing football moments earlier.Ī game-opening kickoff is attempted by Chandler because kickoffs were still a valued part of the game in 1996. Not only does she lack focus, she shamelessly asks Monica what “blocking” entails. It is immediately clear that Phoebe is not a plug-and-play talent. Turkey-basting responsibilities dictate a 28-minute game. Irrelevant in the player draft held minutes later, joining Chandler and Ross versus Monica, Joey and Phoebe. This sorry display leads to Rachel becoming Mrs. It is a sign of the fractured on-field relationship to come and perhaps the fractured off-field relationship explored in later seasons. In the fashion of every diva wide receiver of the time, she takes umbrage with her boyfriend’s throw, claiming it almost hit her in the face. Rachel, sporting pigtails she didn’t have minutes before, wastes no time proving she has stone hands by treating a lob from Ross like a tetherball to be sent far away from her body. Old New Yorkers look on from a park bench. Young New Yorkers look on from a swing set. After appeals to both better angels and darker demons, it is decided that a game will be played. They want to prove to themselves and each other that they can play a competitive sport again. They figure if they can make it here, they can make it anywhere - including the gridiron. Monica and Ross are adults now with careers and expensive apartments in the beautiful West Village. There is still lingering bad blood between the blood relatives, although they share a profound sense of loss and yearning for the Geller Cup, a bauble tossed into a lake by a father 12 years ago seeking to fix his fractured brood. Long ago they were forbidden to ever play football again by the familial matriarch after a once-sacred tradition called the Geller Bowl turned violent. What Joey doesn’t know, however, is that his words are the key to unlocking a dark secret shared by Ross and Monica Geller. When halftime comes, Joey suggests tossing the ol’ pigskin around or, as he puts it, “get a little 3-on-3 going.” It’s a fine idea born out of a desire to burn a few calories while deepening friendships. Their next two appearances came in 19, both in Pontiac against the Detroit Lions.) From 1929-1938 they played on the holiday, but always as the visiting team against crosstown rivals Staten Island Stapletons or Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1926 they beat the Brooklyn Lions, 17-0. (The Giants actually have a rich tradition of playing on Turkey Day. More specifically, they are watching a New York Giants home game, which is believable only if we’re to assume they’ve also acquired a working time machine. It’s Thanksgiving Day and the boys (Ross, Joey and Chandler) are watching football instead of helping out. We enter on Rachel and Monica’s apartment. The journey takes us to a place you’ll never expect - where tinfoil hats are needed, where the genesis of one of football’s most perplexing trends may lie. You see, there’s something entirely disturbing about The One with the Football.Ĭome with me, won’t you, on a fun-ruining expedition to overanalyze art and sport not intended to be analyzed. To walk away with no takeaways, no concerns. That’s the point - to be light, carefree, to not accidentally elicit any higher thinking. In many ways it’s the perfect 90s sitcom installment: moderately funny with relatable people in relatable situations completely bereft of any meaningful stakes. Gawker ranked it the 12th best out of 236, an impressive feat considering there is no major plot reveal, memorable gimmick or marquee guest appearance. It is a beloved episode currently available on Netflix. ![]() NBC would air Home Alone during primetime the following Thursday. It went up against Diagnosis Murder, Martin and High Incident at 8 p.m. It is one of the series’ Thanksgiving episodes although it aired a week ahead of the actual holiday. The One with the Football is the ninth episode of Friends‘ third season and aired on November 21, 1996.
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