On Thanksgiving, the friends decide to play a game of touch football, even though Monica and Ross aren't allowed to play football.
Tropes:
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: As Ross and Monica refuse to let go of the ball, Chandler insists that this is not what's important on Thanksgiving.Chandler: The important thing is... the Dutch girl picked me! Me, not you! Holland loves Chandler! Thank you, Amsterdam! Good night!
- Breast Attack: Phoebe catches the ball but it hits her hard in the chest causing her to yelp "Broken boobs!"
- Cock Fight: Joey and Chandler compete for the attention of an attractive girl who they meet in the park. When their attempts to embarrass each other start to disrupt the football game, Ross decides he's had enough and asks her which one of them she wants to go out with. She opts for Chandler, but is immediately put off by his immature gloating and leaves. Chandler is disappointed for a moment, but rebounds by pointing out that "the Dutch girl picked me!"
- Competition Freak: Monica and Ross. Their competitiveness was why Judy banned them from playing football as kids and it doesn't take long for them to fall back into old habits when they start playing again. By the end of the episode they're still wrestling over the ball long after everyone else has gone home for dinner.
- Determinator: Which is why Ross and Monica are refusing to relent long into the night. They insist this proves no one cares about the game as much as they do. Even it starting to snow doesn't cause them to stop.
- Dude, Not Funny!: During an argument, Ross replies to Monica with "Cheater, cheater, compulsive eater!" Everyone, including Rachel and Chandler who are on Ross' team, gasps in shock at the comment.
- Eskimos Aren't Real: Chandler gets Joey to embarrass himself in front of the Dutch girl by asking him where Dutch people come from.Joey: Well, Pennsylvania Dutch come from Pennsylvania.
Chandler: And the other Dutch come from somewhere near the Netherlands, right?
Joey: Nice try. See, the Netherlands is this make-believe place where Peter Pan and Tinkerbell come from. - Eye Scream: Downplayed. The one time Rachel doesn't have to go long, she ends up panicking and hitting Monica in the eye with the ball. During the last huddle and with a throbbing eye, Monica tells Rachel to go long this time.
- Girls vs. Boys Plot: While the teams are originally mixed, Monica eventually trades Joey for Rachel, and it becomes a battle of the genders— complete with the girls using their femininity to distract the boys.
- I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: Phoebe flashes Chandler to get the ball from him, and it works. The second time she tries it, Chandler covers his eyes and ends up running into some brush.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Chandler would’ve gotten the hot Dutch girl if he hadn’t driven her away with his Unsportsmanlike Gloating.
- Laser-Guided Karma: When Chandler embarrasses Joey in front of the Dutch girl by making him look stupid and the Dutch girl picks Chandler, Chandler rubs it in Joey’s face, but then his gloating makes the Dutch girl think he’s an immature dork, so she decides not to date him, either. Joey then mocks Chandler for not getting the Dutch girl.
- The Load: Rachel is the worst player, by far. She isn't able to catch a ball and runs away when she's attacked. Double Subverted when she scores the most important point — but then Chandler reveals that she didn't cross the line.
- Serious Business: What was meant to be a simple touch football game before Thanksgiving dinner becomes an all-out match between Ross and Monica for the "Gellar Cup".
- Pants-Pulling Prank: To keep Monica from getting the ball, Ross pulls down her sweatpants, exposing her boy shorts.
- Picked Last: When the gang split into teams for the game Rachel ends up being the last one chosen and she's not happy about it.Ross: See, sweetie, now I pick you!
Rachel: You don't pick me, you're stuck with me! - Thanksgiving Episode: Although the focus isn't on the dinner so much as the impromptu football game before it.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: Chandler does this after the Dutch woman picks him, which immediately makes her change her mind about him. Monica gets a jab in when her team has scored twice as many points as Ross' ("Forty-two to twenty-one! Like the turkey, Ross is done!"). Once Ross' team evens the score, the guys celebrate with a slow-motion high five as the girls huddle.
- Yank the Dog's Chain:
- The hot Dutch girl picks Chandler as the guy she wants to date, but then Chandler rubs it in Joey’s face, which causes her to lose interest in Chandler and leave.
- On the last play of the game, Rachel finally manages to catch a pass and spikes the ball in celebration. Then Chandler points out she was actually standing just short of the goal line. So instead of scoring a game winning touchdown, she just fumbled the ball.
