The rules of two-hand touch football are clear and leave little room for interpretation.

Case in point: Section Three of the official STACK Turkey Bowl Handbook states: the “ball carrier is ruled down by contact when touched with two hands above the waist.”

Two hands. Above the waist. Clean and simple.

All fine and dandy for a Turkey Bowl with family and friends. But undoubtedly, some crazy birds will look to take it up a notch this Thanksgiving with a good old-fashioned game of tackle football, Turkey Bowl style.

So what’s  the better option? STACK debates . . .

Two-Hand Touch

Pros

• Minimal risk of injury
• Less mud/dirt/grass stains

Cons

• Relies on honor system (inconclusive evidence of two-hand touch in many cases)
• Potential for awkward co-ed touching of sensitive areas

Rules

• Ball carrier is ruled down by contact when touched with two hands above the waist.
• Both hands must touch simultaneously.
• Touches below the waist or at the feet do not constitute a takedown.
• Two defenders each placing one hand on the ball carrier does not constitute a takedown.
• If ball carrier is touched by one hand and falls to the ground, he or she is considered down by contact. If a ball carrier goes to the ground without being touched, he/she is not ruled down (i.e., NFL down-by-contact rules apply).

Tackle

Pros

• More realistic gameplay
• Satisfaction of good old contact football

Cons

• Likelihood of family member missing Thanksgiving dinner while sitting in the ER
• Increased risk of inter-family shoving matches
• Precludes participation by women, young children and over-the-hill relatives

Rules

• No leading with the head or lunging toward ball carrier
• No picking up and/or body slamming ball carrier
• No driving quarterback/ball carrier into the ground
• Play is whistled dead and ball carrier is ruled down when gang tackled by group of defenders

Decision

The argument overwhelmingly favors playing two-hand touch this Thanksgiving. Save the intensity and contact for the organized playing field.