Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year again.  That time of year where we get together with friends and family, gather around the table, and eat obscene amounts of food, followed by an afternoon (and evening) of football or whatever else is on television.  In my case, I'll be changing things up a little bit by taking my wife (who is Australian) and her friend (who is also Australian) to the movies this evening to see the movie called. . .wait for it. . .Australia.  It actually looks like a pretty interesting movie, so that should be a good time.

I'm actually sort of sad that the Vikings aren't playing on Thanksgiving this year.  As purplegrey pointed out over in the FanPosts, the Beloved Purple have had a pretty decent amount of success when they play on Thanksgiving.  Their most recent Turkey Day appearance came in 2000, when they travelled to Dallas to take on the Cowboys, and came away with a 27-15 victory behind two Daunte Culpepper to Randy Moss TD passes and 148 yards rushing from Robert Smith.  The most memorable Thanksgiving appearance for the Beloved Purple was probably two years before that, also against the Cowboys, in a game that saw Minnesota win 46-36 thanks to 359 yards and 4 TDs from Randall Cunningham.  Three of those TDs went to Randy Moss. . .Moss' only three catches of the afternoon. . .on touchdown tosses of 51, 56, and 56 yards.

Overall, the Vikings are 5-1 on Thanksgiving, having won contests in 2000, 1998, 1988 (against Detroit), 1987 (against Dallas), and 1969 (against Detroit).  Their lone Thanksgiving Day loss came in 1995 as they lost a 44-38 shootout at the Silverdome.  That ties them with the Miami Dolphins for the best winning percentage on Thanksgiving Day.

So, what am I thankful for?  Well, lots of things, to be honest.

--I'm thankful that I have a beautiful wife and the two best dogs ever to come home to every day after work and to live out my life with.
--I'm thankful that I'm a part of the greatest military that the world has ever known, and to be a part of the work we do around the world.
--I'm thankful that SBNation took a chance on some guy with no real blogging experience. . .or any real writing experience, other than ranting on his own personal website about his team. . .and gave him an opportunity to talk daily about the Minnesota Vikings.  2 1/2 years later, I'd like to think I've done pretty well here.
--I'm thankful that there were six teams in the 2007 NFL Draft that thought they could draft somebody better than Adrian Peterson.
--I'm thankful that I never have been and never will be a fan of the Green Bay Packers, because it would be impossible for me to put together that amount of arrogance or give myself that much of a sense of entitlement.
--I'm thankful to each and every person out there that visits this site on a daily, weekly, monthly, whatever basis.  Without you guys, this site is pretty much nothing.  With you guys, it's one of the biggest and most popular Viking communities out there.  Give yourselves a pat on the back for that.

How about you guys?  If you're out there this afternoon and can pull yourselves out of a tryptophan-induced coma for a few minutes, let everyone know what you're thankful for!

Probably won't be on much for most of the rest of the day, folks. . .so, until tomorrow, have a Happy Thanksgiving!  And, for crying out loud, if you're going out shopping early tomorrow morning, keep yourselves safe and keep yourselves sane.