3 sports debates you can deploy at Thanksgiving dinner if things get uncomfortable

Some lighthearted sports arguments!

Thanksgiving is a holiday where we celebrate the basics in life: our family, our friends, our food, and our shared love of gigantic inflatable pop culture mascots floating through the streets of New York City.

But as we all know, Thanksgiving can be a time of anxiety. As our country gets more and more politically divided, inter-generational extended familial gatherings can become a breeding ground for awkward conversations and jokes that don’t quite hit like they intended.

Here at Royals Review, we’re ready to help. I’ve assembled some Kansas City-related sports debates that you can deploy if (or when) somebody insists on talking at length about the election or if somebody digs up an old family disagreement. These are guaranteed* to get the ball rolling on some fascinating and safe banter about what really matters at this time of year: sports.

*Please note that if your family are not sports people, you will have limited success with this approach. If that is the case, I recommend bringing up the Wicked movie, your favorite cat videos, or the CBS original television sitcom Ghosts.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Which city has the best trio of stars?

Speaking of things that we’re thankful for, we’re incredibly blessed at the star talent our team has. Kansas City fans have got one of the best players in the league, a dynamic youngster who impresses with a unique combination of speed and power. This year’s ascent to stardom was astounding. And can you imagine that we also have Bobby Witt Jr. and Patrick Mahomes?

I am, of course, referring to National Women’s Soccer League MVP Temwa Chawinga, who plays for the Kansas City Current. If you haven’t watched any of the Current’s games, that’s your loss. Chawinga is the type of electrifying player who clearly has what the youngsters are calling “the sauce,” and if you watch her you will understand. She is incredible. And alongside Mahomes and Witt, well, that’s quite the trio.

Does any other city have a trio as excellent? This question is most fun if you pick three different sports, but you can include a couple of players who play the same sport. There are plenty of sub-discussions to be had here, like whether or not fame plays into it. In my opinion, it’s hard to beat KC. I think Denver comes closest—Nathan MacKinnon and Nikola Jokic are the reigning MVPs for their respective leagues, but finding that third player is hard.

Is Salvador Perez a Hall of Famer?

Salvador Perez probably has one of the most fascinating Hall of Fame cases in recent memory, which is why it’s a great debate topic. I’ve seen some writers refer to him as a future Hall of Famer in a matter-of-fact sort of way, and I’ve seen other writers talk about how Perez clearly lacks the resume—and everything in between.

Personally, I think that Perez is a classic “Hall of Very Good” candidate. Yeah, he’s been around for a long time, which has helped him to develop a reputation, but he hasn’t won a Gold Glove in six years and has yet to have an MVP finish higher than seventh. Additionally, his pitch framing has been really bad in his career, which some find a big deal and others don’t.

On the other hand, Salvy plays catcher. And Salvy does have some nontraditional awards, like World Series MVP and this year’s Roberto Clemente Award, and should finish his career with nice round stats like 350+ home runs and 2000+ hits. Salvy has an outside shot at 400 homers, too. It would be hard to keep him out if that happens. So: is he a Hall of Famer?

Should Alex Gordon have tried to score in the 2014 World Series?

I do not care if this is a stupid or old debate. I do not care if a high school team re-enacted it or not. There are way more inane real life Thanksgiving dinner debates that could happen, so we might as well talk about the glory of what could have happened if Gordon scored the tying run while we’re eating pumpkin pie. Why not?