LAS VEGAS — A lot of Gonzaga fans are doing Thanksgiving a bit differently this year.
Instead of spending time with loved ones, they're spending time in Las Vegas as the Bulldogs have several marquee matchups in Sin City.
However, even though fans were away from their immediate family on Thanksgiving, a lot of them were able to spend the holiday with their Gonzaga family.
"We’ve got like a 100 something people probably here on Thanksgiving to watch the Zags. Like, how does it get better than that?" said attendee Zak Davis.
Gonzaga fan Lissa Tripp announced she was organizing a fan Thanksgiving dinner a few months ago. When she did that, she originally rented out a back room of a restaurant. One day after announcing the event, she had to move it to a ballroom because it got too big. Then three weeks ago, the event got too big for that ballroom, so they had to move it to another one.
"It just didn’t surprise me. Zags will show up, no matter what," said Tripp.
Not only did Zag fans show up for the event on Thursday, but former player Sam Dower was also in attendance.
"Once she (Lissa) said that she was hosting a Thanksgiving event, I was like, ‘Okay, not only am I in, but I’m like ten times in.’ As you can see, the outcome of this is just something beautiful. So many Zags under one roof? I wouldn’t miss it for the world," said Dower.
The event was extra special as the majority of these fans have not been able to gather for nearly two years due to the pandemic, especially in a social setting.
"I think everybody just wanted that feeling after last season of doing nothing. Now, being able to be together, especially on a holiday like Thanksgiving, it's just a way to be around each other in a weird place like Vegas and feel a little bit of that hominess," said Tripp.
Home for Thanksgiving in Sin City was nondescript room in the New York, New York hotel and no one in that room would have it any other way.
"It’s great to just get out and gather and feel the love here. It sounds cliché, but we’re all on the same team," said Davis.
"It’s unreal. I don’t feel like any other college experiences something like this, like what Gonzaga has," said Dower.
"I love it, all of it. I just want it all. I want more," said Tripp.