In light of the Thanksgiving holiday, I felt it appropriate to compile a list of things for which we should be thankful.

This is a completely unoriginal idea, so I figured it would only be appropriate to narrow the focus a bit and list a few things sports fans in Pike County should be thankful for.

So, here we go…

Pike County fans should be thankful for the football season they had.

An undefeated regular season is a great memory for those players, especially the seniors.

The Patriots of Pike Liberal Arts should definitely be thankful for a second straight state title.

Again, that’s an accomplishment those young men can carry with them the rest of their lives.

The folks out in Goshen should be thankful for Bart Snyder leading their young men. A great man of high character who also happens to be a good football coach is hard to come by these days.

The same holds true in Troy, where Charles Henderson also has a great individual leading its football program.

Troy fans should be thankful for Levi Brown.

Brown has proven himself to be one of, if not the, best quarterbacks in school history. Under Brown’s leadership, the Trojans are in position to win 10 games in a year for the first time since jumping to the ranks of the FBS.

The Troy basketball programs are definitely thankful for the university’s plans to build a new basketball facility.

With a new arena in place, Troy will be able to recruit top athletes the way the football team has done, and, in time, we could see Troy as a perennial mid-major power.

But, on a more widespread level, we should all be thankful for the opportunities we have here in Pike County as sports fans.

We have competitive high school football programs in every corner of the corner, as well as the distinction of being one of only 120 cities in America with a collegiate athletics program that competes at the Division I level in all of its sponsored sports, including football.

So, anytime over the next year you find yourself sitting in front of your television watching Troy University sports, or are sitting in the stands at your high school of choice, just remember to be grateful for the freedoms we have to be able to gather together for something as trivial as a mere game.

Nick Duke is a sports writer for The Messenger and he can be reached at nick.duke@Troymessenger.com or on Twitter at Messenger_Nick.