It’s Thanksgiving, and everyone is enjoying Monica’s festive meal. After watching professional football on TV, they decide to have a friendly American football game in the park. Despite being forbidden by their parents to play against each other due to years of fierce rivalry over the ‘Geller Cup,’ Ross and Monica participate. Rachel and Phoebe struggle to contribute effectively. Joey and Chandler become infatuated with Margha, a Dutch girl watching the game, and become competitive over her. As the game progresses, the Geller rivalry intensifies. Monica turns it into a boys versus girls match, leading to the use of every possible trick to win.
Did you know?!
• The two children on the swings in this episode are Marta Kauffman’s children.
• In this episode, Phoebe wears a That Girl (1966) t-shirt. The star of “That Girl” is Marlo Thomas, who plays Rachel’s mom.
• The uncut DVD version of the episode has a different ending. Monica and Ross decide to toss the Geller Cup down the garbage chute. Phoebe is at the bottom, catching it for Monica, but as she’s about to leave, Ross walks in to claim it for himself. Also, in the uncut DVD version, when Phoebe asks Margha to set the timer, she calls Phoebe ‘Beefy’, and when Monica trades Joey for Rachel, she says “That’s great, there goes my last shred of self esteem.”
• Susanna Midnight (credited as Susanna Voltaire) is the actress who plays “Margha”. Beside all the confusions and arguments among the fans about her ‘Dutch Accent’, it was never cleared whether she was actually “Dutch” or from the Netherlands or not, due to the fact that neither the casting directors nor the members of the crew were aware of the fact that the actress was really from the United States, and does not have an accent. She added the fake accent to audition for the part of ‘Margha’. Later when they found out she was American, the entire crew was shocked.
• The park that the friends play football in was not filmed outside in a real park. It was actually a specially designed set, made for this episode, in a soundstage across from where the regular episodes are filmed.
• Joey’s maroon #22 jersey is for 1984 Heisman trophy winner Doug Flutie from Boston College. Both BC and Matt LeBlanc share a hometown of Newton, MA.
• The girl over whom Joey and Chandler are fighting says she is Dutch. Her accent is not Dutch at all. Susanna Midnight who plays her is actually an American actress.
• When Joey says they should pick captains, Chandler says “and then Tennilles.” The Captain and Tennille were a seventies pop duo who sang “Love Will Keep Us Together” and many other hits.
• The “Thankgiving Day NFL game” they’re watching at the beginning of the episode is actually the Minnesota Vikings @ NY Giants game from September 29, 1996. While there’s a touchdown score called for the Giants right before halftime on the episode, the only touchdown for the Giants that day was a 3rd qtr 1-yard rush.
• This episode is included on the 2001 DVD release The Best of Friends Volume 3.
• The “Geller Cup” consists of a Troll doll placed on a block of wood. The Gjøl Troll was a popular Danish toy in the 90s, featuring trolls in multiple outfits and hair colors; the toy’s countless iterations were often collected by consumers. The Troll doll fad eventually faded before reemerging in popular culture with the the animated movie Trolls (2016).
• At 10:27 in as they walk away from each other in different directions , Chandler has the smaller piece of Joey’s jersey while Joey has the bigger piece of it. At 10:32 in both pieces of the jersey are seen on the ground next to the bench by the fence. At 10:35 in the jersey is then on the bench but at 10:48 in the jersey is back on the ground to the left of the bench again (it’s just to the left of Ross on the lower left edge of the screen).
• This episode has 2Unlimited perform “get ready for this” which 2 performing members are Dutch also…
• With this episode, Chandler will have and end up seeing all 3 girls’ breasts. Phoebe flashes Chandler to distract him when playing football. In season 1 episode 13, The One with the Boobies (1995), Chandler saw Rachel’s when he walked in on her in the shower. In season 4 episode 24 The One with Ross’s Wedding: Part 2 (1998), he and Monica start sleeping together and eventually get married.
• The touchdown counts – Monica did throw the winning pass after the buzzer, but she said “Hike!” and started the play BEFORE the buzzer. As long as the play is started before time runs out, the game continues until the play is over.
• According to the trophy Monica produces, the Geller Bowl is tied 3 to 3: Ross won the first, you can’t see the date, but it appears to be 1977. Ross won in 1978 Monica won in 1979 Ross won in 1980 Monica won in 1981 Monica won in 1982
