November 23, 2006.

Ah, Thanksgiving! The day for gluttony, then football, then a little more gluttony before finally falling asleep crook-necked in the living room recliner.

It’s a day that made famous the All-American animal that Ben Franklin pushed to be the national symbol of the United States.

Since Thanksgiving is an All-American holiday and the Bald Eagle is the national symbol, it’s only fitting in this state that eagles will be the bird on sports fans’ minds this weekend.

Boston College’s Eagles play Miami tonight in a college football game that many of us will miss after passing out in said recliner. This rivalry brought us Doug Flutie’s most memorable play – a last-second Hail Mary caught by his roommate Gerard Phelan. It iced the Heisman Trophy for Flutie that season.

On Friday, it’s Porters Chapel Academy’s turn to put the Eagles on display. PCA is one win from a state championship appearance.

Porters Chapel and Briarfield Academy in Lake Providence are our two remaining hopes for state football championships, the first that could be won by an area team in a long, long time.

Like their nickname claims, Porters Chapel has been flying majestically over playoff competition, averaging more than 30 points on offense and shutting down opponents’ offenses.

Less than 21 hours after Porters Chapels Eagles take flight, Southern Miss’ golden variety will try to reach a conference championship game.

While Ole Miss and Mississippi State battle it out for the bottom of the SEC, Southern Miss will play Marshall. A win over the Thundering Herd will earn the Golden Eagles a shot in the Conference USA championship game against Houston on Dec. 2 in Texas.

The Golden Eagles under coach Jeff Bower have been a beacon of consistency. After a horrid 3-8 record in 1993 that had many Golden Eagle supporters asking for Bower’s head, Southern Miss has had 13 straight winning seasons.

They’ve been to eight bowl games in the last nine years and will be playing someone, somewhere in a postseason bowl this season.

Then comes Sunday night. The four-day binge is over and the truest of true football fans can take in one more game after a full weekend. Philadelphia’s Eagles are scheduled to battle the Indianapolis Colts on NBC.

And finally Monday, former Southern Miss Golden Eagle Brett Favre leads the Green Bay Packers against the Seattle Seahawks.

Thanksgiving in America is known for the big, dumb bird – not John Madden.

Around here, though, it‘s the eagles we’ll be watching. Five days in a row.