Make no mistake: Pat Rizzolino is a Red Rover, through and through. Born and raised in Easton, he graduated from playing football with his brothers on a corner lot as a kid to putting on the pads for real for Rover Nation as a member of the class of 1982. Anyone who knows anything about high school athletics in the Lehigh Valley won't have to wonder how he spent the fourth Thursday of every November. “You're born in Easton or Phillipsburg, it's just ingrained in you that your ultimate goal as an athlete at either school is to play against each other on Thanksgiving Day,” Rizzolino says. But, make no mistake about this, either: a new documentary he's helmed about that storied Turkey Day football rivalry is not a love letter to Easton; at least, not a love letter solely to Easton. Instead, Tradition: An Easton & Phillipsburg Story is a tribute to the schools, players, fans and community members on both sides of the Delaware River who have boisterously stoked the flames of this white-hot gridiron duel for well over a century. “You need both communities,” says Rizzolino. “It couldn't be Easton and another school in the Valley. It wouldn't be the same.”
Several sources list the annual throwdown between Easton's Red Rovers and the Phillipsburg, NJ, Stateliners as the oldest interstate Thanksgiving Day rivalry in the country. “It's always just blown my mind that some kind of professional film hasn't been done about this tradition and the rivalry, because there is no other tradition or rivalry in the whole nation like this,” says Rizzolino. That's not to say the game hasn't garnered national attention; it has aired on ESPN at least twice, most recently in 2006 for the teams' 100th meeting. With a few exceptions—the game was punted to a different day a couple of times because of snow, and the COVID-19 pandemic forced its outright cancellation in 2020—Easton v. Pburg has been a marquee Thanksgiving Day event since 1916; previous matchups between the two schools were played on other days.
It's like playing in the Super Bowl every Thanksgiving.
But just what is it about this particular game that would compel someone to eschew the comforts of a cozy couch and venture out into Pennsylvania's temperamental November weather on a holiday? Why are thousands of people so invested in watching two high school football teams battle it out for bragging rights and the privilege of hoisting up the Forks of the Delaware trophy? “Until you go to a game, you don't really know what it's all about,” Rizzolino says. “It's like playing in the Super Bowl every Thanksgiving.” Jean Carlos (JC) Falcon, a cinematographer and producer on the film, found out for himself the first time he took in the spectacle at Lafayette College's Fisher Stadium, the longtime home of the big showdown. “The fact that everyone in these two towns is like, ‘this is what we commit to every single year; rain, snow, doesn't matter. This is where we want to be,' and then Thanksgiving starts afterward. I thought that was cool,” Falcon says.
Falcon, a native of the Dominican Republic who grew up in Whitehall, didn't play football and wasn't familiar with the fervor surrounding the annual Easton-Phillipsburg game, he says. Rizzolino had the pleasure of initiating him into that world when Falcon started spending time with the family, first as the boyfriend and then eventually the husband of Madison Rizzolino, one of three daughters Pat shares with his wife, Cindy.
By that time, going to the game was firmly enshrined as a sacred Thanksgiving Day ritual for Rizzolino. He can recall missing only two matchups since he was a boy: first in 1992 when he was hobbling around on crutches post knee surgery, and then again in 2002 when he and Cindy took their three young girls to Disney World. For the latter, Rizzolino admits he initially was a little sore about the timing of the trip. “I remember walking around Disney, on the phone the whole time with my brothers, asking for play by play of what was going on during the game,” he says. But now, the memory elicits a sly smile: “It was OK. I lived. I survived without going to the game.”
Rizzolino is fully aware that his wife and daughters have paid their dues when it comes to humoring his passion for this particular pastime. His game-day ritual begins well before the first snap, on either the night before Thanksgiving, or the morning of, as he begins assembling the centerpiece of the family's table. There are two key components: a replica helmet from his playing days, and a mounted turkey. Memorable coins from games of years gone by are the finishing touch. All of these things remain on the table while the game is played, and during the meal that follows. “It's just part of Thanksgiving,” he says.
Rizzolino had often toyed with the idea of making a film about the longtime rivalry but had no experience in that world. Lucky for him, his son-in-law does. Falcon was a TV and film major at DeSales University, which is where he met Madison. Post-graduation he and Madison moved to New York City where he worked for BuzzFeed. Some four years ago, they relocated to Los Angeles, where Falcon operates his own production company and lighting/grip rental studio called Tiny Machine.
After Rizzolino began talking up the project, Falcon agreed to tag along with him to some games to scope out the scene and familiarize himself with the main players, on and off the field. Filming started in earnest in 2021. While the game is of course the centerpiece of the documentary, there was much to explore away from Fisher Field: the Thanksgiving Eve preparations and traditions (including a massive bonfire for Easton and a fireworks display for Phillipsburg), the blue-collar roots of both towns that give rise to the hardscrabble skirmish on the gridiron, and the supporting cast of former players and fans who've forged lasting friendships through their shared love of those precious four quarters of football, no matter what the final score may be. The fact that Rizzolino, who narrates the documentary, might just be the ultimate insider, was more than a little helpful, Falcon says. “This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects where you have an all-access pass to these people's lives,” he says. “As a filmmaker, that's something that takes years to build up to if you're trying to make a documentary. Pat's been doing that part of the work his whole life.”
This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime projects where you have an all-access pass to these people's lives.
Falcon and the film crew compiled a massive amount of footage over the past couple of years. By fall of 2023, the team was deep into the editing process; Falcon's brother, Angel, is the documentary's chief editor. Tradition: An Easton & Phillipsburg Story premiered at both Easton and Phillipsburg high schools on November 19. They plan to enter it into film festivals throughout 2024. Ideally, the next stop will be a streaming service. “It feels good, it looks good. I think it's going to be a really nice treat for the community,” Falcon says.
While it may be a little while before the Lehigh Valley can log on to Netflix or Prime to see the Rovers and Stateliners go at it on the small screen, every Thanksgiving brings a fresh opportunity to witness this singular tradition in person, although tickets can be tricky to acquire. It's a safe bet Rizzolino will be there, alongside thousands of his closest friends. “It doesn't matter what the weather is, what the score is, and it doesn't matter what the teams' record is during the year,” he says. “People will show up every Thanksgiving.”
Published as “Insight” in the December 2023 edition of Lehigh Valley Style magazine.
